I often get asked by people, how do you go about starting a business? Now, running your own business can be incredibly fulfilling. It is also an enormous amount of work. And what I always say to people is, don’t think about running a business as being a career choice. It is more of a lifestyle choice and it is definitely not a nine to five.
Quite often people only see the glamorous side of business, they don’t see the sacrifices that are required and the work that goes into making a business work. However, as I said, it can be incredibly fulfilling if you do put that work in. So, here are my top six tips on getting started in business!
Now, #1, you need to develop your idea.
Ask yourself if what you’re doing is solving a problem. Whether it’s a product or a service, is it really different to what else is out there in the market and is there a gap for it? If there are several other people doing something similar, why would a customer pick you? How is your idea different?
#2 The business plan.
To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail and you need that business plan as a base, even if the plan is going to change. Quite often you start off with a plan and things will naturally evolve as you go on and this is fine, but not having a plan to start with is a recipe for disaster.
Think about where you want your business to be in six months or 12 months? Set some goals, some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for you to be able to measure against to see if you are progressing against the plan and if you’re being successful.
And finally for #2, think about your milestones. What are the key milestones that you can hit to know that you’re in the right direction?
Now #3 you need to register your business.
Choosing a business name isn’t as straightforward as it seems! You need to come up with a name, something that is on brand for you, that’s going to be very recognizable and really memorable.
Once you think you have an idea of a name, before you register a business name, the first thing you want to do is go and Google it. You want to make sure that other people don’t have that name and it’s a domain that you’ll be able to register the website for. You also want to check that you’re going to be able to get social handles for it and that it’s something that you can really build your brand around. What you don’t want to do is have problems further down the line, knowing somebody else already has your name.
When you’re satisfied that you have done your research and you have chosen your business name, you need to register your business at Companies House.
Now for #4, you need to think about finances.
I want you to think about how much cash do you really need, are you Bootstrapping this or are we getting investment from somewhere to get started? What is the cash requirement of the business and then where is that cash coming from?
Next, are you looking at grants? Quite often there might be some government funding to help get you started. Are you using your personal wealth to fund the business? Are you taking on loans or investment from family and friends? Are you looking to crowd fund the business? Think about the cash requirement, where it’s coming in from and then form a cash plan.
In business, people always say turnover is vanity, profit is sanity but cash is king. I’ve seen many great businesses be fantastically profitable but not have the cash to really fund the growth that they’re going after.
#5 Build your brand.
Your brand is your identity, it’s not just your logo. It is the values that your company is going to be based upon. It is your tone of voice. It is how you’re going to make someone feel when they see anything about your business or they interact with your business.
You are an extension of and a reflection of your business so your personal brand is also a reflection of the brand within that business. Think about how you are going to protect that brand and how are you going to present yourself as part of that brand preparation?
#6 You’ve got to work on how to get the brand out there.
Ask yourself how people are going to find you? Chances are you’re going to develop your own website so have you thought about SEO? If people are going to be searching for you and your business, how are they going to find you? Are you going to be able to optimise that search?
What about social media? We’ve talked about getting the social handles right but how are people going to find you on social media? What is the incentive for people to follow you? If you want to create loyal customers, using social media to build strong communities is vital. If you genuinely have a unique product or service that someone’s going to be able to find and really identify with, find your tribe, build the community and the community will follow. A really big part of getting your brand out there is engaging with your community.
I’m conscious that we have covered an awful lot here but this really is just the starter, the things that you need to think about when you are starting your own business. I’m aware I’ve covered these topics really quickly and in a short space of time but I promise that we will look over each of these points in more detail and I’ll try to give you more advice and support on each of these as we progress.
So, next steps!
I want you to start researching the business, start thinking about your idea, looking at the competitors in the market, finding out where that gap is, starting to plan the business, thinking ahead and getting the brand out there. Put all of these foundations in place and then you’re ready to start building the business plan, to start getting ready for launch and doing all of the preparation but remember to stay accountable.
It’s fine to have big ideas and dreams of starting a business but unless you’re truly accountable to somebody, how are you going to make sure that you actually can make that happen? So, think about accountability, whether it’s a friend or a family relative who can help hold you accountable.
Now, off you go! Get the business plan written, think about that brand and let’s see about getting started. I’m looking forward to seeing how you get on in your business journey!