We will reference amazing step by step business tips for new businesses, startups and those that lead small teams. We’ll reference some of the legal requirements, fundamentals of marketing and link over to a checklist that every new business will need.
However, a lot of those tips and references will be repetitive and in this post I want to focus on some practical, important but rarely spoken about tips that every new business needs to drill into their psyche.
We’ll start with the obvious but not mentioned enough…
1. Stop Making Excuses
New businesses can be nerve wracking. Depending on your role sometimes the days aren’t long enough, problems come up you couldn’t expect and people make things more challenging. However, there are no excuses. The client you missed a deadline for, the lack of new leads, the poor execution of that project… excuses do not hold value. Excuses and complaining provide you with literally nothing in return.
Do not spend any time on excuses.
2. Solve a Problem
Start brainstorming your business around a product or service that will solve an existing problem, preferably one you would personally like to see solved for your own benefit as well as the benefit of others (making this choice will keep you fully invested in the creation process.) If your business fixes an already existing issue you are much more likely to draw a clientele of the people looking for that solution. Try to come up with something that will fill an existing hole in the market and the customers will come.
3. Listen!
People will have things to say about your new business, listen to them! Friends and family can sometimes be as useful as the experts (and be extra sure to listen to the experts.) Tell people about your business plan and then watch closely for their reactions, verbal and non verbal ones. Keep your ears and eyes open and take notes as much as possible. Everything you hear as a reaction to your business plans can serve as advice for the future, especially those words from veteran business owners and the people in your life who most want you to succeed. Yes, the business is yours and based in your idea, but without outside input you’ll never be sure if you’re on the right track.
4. Keep it simple
This tip is as easy as it’s title. don’t over complicate things for your potential customers. Sure, you’re excited about your new idea and want to be able to do as much awesome stuff with that idea as possible, but if you’re not careful that enthusiasm can lead you to making your product or service overly complicated. Narrowing your focus is important, solve one problem with your product before you try to solve multiple ones. You don’t want to be struggling to catch up with your own ideas, but rather have one simple good quality product or service. Once you’ve mastered offering one great simple service or product, you can start thinking about expanding that idea, but don’t put the cart (add-ons and upgrades) before the horse (your original idea.)
5. Don’t Quit Your Day Job Just Yet
Starting a business is a process, build in stages rather than going all in and quitting your day job. Those starting months of building your business are most likely not going to be lucrative, so stay safe in your nine to five until you are fully financially able to leave and commit all your time to your new business. Full time business ownership is difficult and starting this way is going to leave you feeling much more secure than you would dropping everything else immediately to start the business.
6. Know the legal requirements for starting a small business
Legal stuff is certainly not the most exciting part of starting business, but it is critical and if ignored or done incorrectly can ruin you in the long run. You need to form a leal structure, start a detailed accounting system, register your business with the state, take care of tax liabilities, and once you begin to hire workers you will also need to follow employer laws to the letter. Many of these laws are state specific and very detailed, be sure you know exactly what you ned to start your business legally and be aware of everything you may be liable for.
7. Count the costs
Once you’ve figured out your great new business, you have to start considering the expenses you will incur to make it a reality. In order to create a proper budget you will need to count every possible business expense necessary to start your business and operate it. keep the costs of location, rent, renovations, supplies, marketing, salaries for employees and yourself and more.
Once you’ve made these calculations, take this number at AT LEAST double it. I mean it, double that. The unexpected costs of running a business can sneak up on you if you aren’t prepared and it’s much better to be over prepared than under. Also keep your living expenses in mind, the rent to your home can’t go forgotten in favor of the rent for your home.
Take all this info you’ve gathered and create a detailed business budget. You might need to look outside yourself for startup capital or take out a business loan. Try to go over all of your options before sinking all your money into a startup.
8. Be Prepared to Be Broke
It sucks to say, but there is a high probability your business will not succeed and you can end up at or close to bankruptcy. it’s a fact that over half of new businesses fail in their first five years, are you prepared for that reality? if not, you should get there. Come up with a worst case scenario plan, figure out how long your savings could last if your business went down, and be sure not to forget tip five too early on. You need to be ready for everything you are hoping won’t happen, because if you aren’t. should something go south, it will affect you on a much higher level.
9. Talk Your Business Up!
Selling is hard and many new business owners are not well versed in how to do it best. sharing your hard work with the world can be really intimidating, but you need to get over those fears if you want to succeed. be outgoing, tell everyone and anyone about your new and exciting business. If you’re not the most outgoing person this can be frightening but you’ve just got to fake it till you make it because if you can’t land customers then you can’t build a business. Practice speaking highly of your business as much as possible, especially if it feels odd to you. networking and positive speech about your business are so critical!
10. Balance Your Passion with Knowledgde
Passion is critical when starting a business, passion is what will drive you to improve and grow your business over time. However, passion can’t lead your decision making, that should be knowledge. Do the research about your industry and talk to potential customers and experts in your industry to discover what potential your business in it’s respective field. It’s important to reach out to any sort of person who could help provide you with more knowledge, and you can do that reaching out because you are passionate. In short, let your passion speed the action and let the knowledge inform it.
And there ya have it, keep these ten unlikely business tips in mind when starting a new business venture and you’ll be on the right track to success!
