If you’re starting a new business, it can be a little overwhelming knowing how to prioritize your to-do list. After all, you have to hire employees, create a marketing strategy, and prepare for the actual launch of your company—among many other tasks. Startups are notorious for their instability – so how do you make it past those first few years and focus on growing into a successful company? Well, we’ve got a guide for you below to help you through those initial stages.
Table of Contents
Create a business plan
A business plan isn’t just important, it’s tied to the success of your company. A business plan provides you with the answers to the “why” and “how” of your business strategy. It also forces you to think about your business in a strategic way that will give you the clarity of purpose you need to be successful.
Start marketing
If you’re a local service business, it’s critical to call in the big guns: hire a local SEO company to help you improve your Google rankings. Not sure how SEO works? Let’s dive into a real-world example. Pretend you’re a Pittsburgh plumbing company. When a customer in Pittsburgh searches for “plumbing company”, Google will show a list of relevant, local results. If your website is search-engine optimized, you have a much better chance of a customer seeing your company.
Besides SEO, it’s also important to set up a social media presence. You might even want to consider social media ad campaigns to target your ideal customer demographic, it’s a great way to build hype and brand awareness.
Connect and network
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know that’s important when it comes to running your business. It’s a good idea to network with other startup professionals who’ve already been down the path you’re briskly walking down. Other professionals can give you advice or even connect you with potential future clients. Consider using meetup.com or looking up local marketing and networking events in your area to get started.
Hire the right people
The hiring process is tiring for everyone. But that doesn’t mean you can just ignore it. Without employees, your company can’t function. So, make sure you spend time vetting potential candidates and consider using a professional recruiter to filter out bad matches. At the very least, you should leverage the convenience of automated applicant tracking software (ATS) to keep applicants on file and organized.
Consider your office space
The modern workspace is undergoing rapid changes. Thanks to the internet, it’s easier than ever to assemble a remote workforce or simply use coworking space like WeWork as a short term office space. Whatever the case may be, you can save a ton of money by avoiding leasing a traditional office. Unless the structure or needs of your business require the use of an office, it’s wise to consider the alternatives if you want to see a major impact on your bottom line.
Cash is king
Building your business empire isn’t going to be cheap. And the worst part? It’s likely going to be several months until you see revenue. If you’re worried about money before launching your business, make sure you get that ironed out. Ideally, you’ll have savings to carry you through the first few months in addition to investor capital. At the very least, make sure you have cash resources to fall back on if things are a little rocky at first.
Stay positive
It’s incredibly easy to get discouraged in the business world. Maybe a top expert in the industry gave your service or product a poor review, maybe your top employee quit, or perhaps it was just a slow quarter. Whatever the reason, the result is the same: sadness, helplessness, and feelings of inadequacy. Although failures are to be expected, you’re going to need to figure out ways to ride out those periods of darkness. Whether that means going to therapy, leaning on your support system, or practicing a healthy work-life balance – it’s important to find ways to reach a positive mental space.
Takeaways
Running a new business is very hard. But with careful planning and positivity, your startup can go from struggling to successful.
About Carson Derrow
