Starting a business is an exciting time, however as with anything that takes a lot of time and commitment there’s certainly room for error if it’s not done correctly. This doesn’t mean that there is only one correct way to build a business, but there’s some things that you can do to make the process easier on yourself and avoid being one of the statistics that says that you’re among the start-ups that fails in their first 5 years, so in this post we are going to share with you some of the things that you can have in place when starting a business to make sure that you get off to the best possible start.
An idea:
The very first thing that you should have for your business is an idea, although you probably do already have an idea, the other problem is that you could have multiple ideas and whilst this is not a bad thing in and of itself because there is nothing to stop you from starting multiple businesses if you really want to. However what the best approach would be here is to start one business at a time and focus on one idea at a time since it’s very difficult to multitask and do all these things successfully when it comes to running a business, so get clear on your idea for your business and start from there.
A niche:
Having a niche in your business is simply what you have as a way to position you as an expert in your chosen field of expertise. This could be, for example, if you’re a copywriter who focuses in a specific industry, such as travel or retail, or perhaps you even focus on writing a specific type of copy, such as marketing or sales materials. Your niche is nothing more than a way of separating you from the competition and showing that you have value because you’re able to focus on a specific area of expertise that your clients may need help with. Many people put off starting to focus on a niche because they feel it’s going to limit them when it comes to getting clients, but actually the opposite is true and you will find that it’s easier for you to find clients when choosing a niche because they will be more confident in your specialisation and they will want to work with you since they won’t have to explain the ins and outs of their industry or product or service to you.
A Business model:
Your business model is simply the way that you deliver your services or products to your customers, so for example you could have a product based business model where you sell directly to your customers through your website, such as an e-commerce business model – you could also have an affiliate marketing business model which is a very hands-off model, but is where you recommend other people’s product and services to your clients and then earn a commission when they buy the said product or service. You could also have a digital subscription service where people sign up for a monthly service and pay you a recurring fee. At the end of the day, the business model you choose is something that should be based on the types of customers that you have, the types of products and services that you’re going to be selling and also what suits your lifestyle as well.
A website:
If you’re going to be doing any kind of business online then it’s pretty essential that you have a website of some kind. Whilst having a website is not mandatory for your business in any way, and some people do have very successful businesses without a website, it’s something that’s going to make your life a lot easier – especially if you’re selling any kind of product or digital services.
The great thing about having a website is that you can also use it to drive traffic through inbound marketing, such as blogging and creating content. The thing that you have to remember with starting a website is it’s not actually as difficult as you possibly think, and it doesn’t have to be perfect – it just has to be something that lists out what you do and how you can help people and perhaps give them a way to work with you. However, there are certain legal aspects that you have to take care of when having a website, such as having a privacy policy, and terms and conditions, and letting people know about how you use and share their personal data. These are simple things that you can have done by someone like Aston Knight Solicitors or you can look online for free templates that you can input some of your business information and generate a privacy policy – it’s just essential that you have one to avoid getting in any legal trouble.
Chosen services:
If you’re running a service based business, then you need to have a list of the services that you’re going to offer – for example, if you’re a copywriter, then you may want to include things such as website copy, blog content, newsletters, or even things like product descriptions if you specialise in working for retail clients – the best way to do this is to start off with just a few services, perhaps between 1 and 3 and then aim to increase the size as your business grows and you see that there are gaps in the market that can be filled through the need for these services.
Pricing:
Setting pricing is something that a lot of business owners seem to struggle with – especially if they’re not selling a tangible product and they don’t know the time that goes into making something digital or not as tangible, and then what profit they would need to make services – this especially can be quite difficult to price, but if you go online you will find lots of resources to help you with this, but it’s just essential that you have this from the beginning so that when people do enquire about working with you that you are able to give them a breakdown of your pricing and not just rely on picking random numbers out of the air.
