Tips & Tricks For Starting Up a Small Business

For some of us the beginning of the year means embarking upon new and exciting business ventures. You’re talented and you feel a little wasted doing admin at your office job. You have a passion, and you’d like to make it your profession. Often trying something a little different and getting out of one’s comfort zone is what we need to progress and therefore succeed.

So you’ve got an idea in mind but you don’t really know where to begin with setting up your small business. Taking the plunge can be a little frightening; it means making the active choice to change up your comfortable normality, often meaning taking risks which can make us anxious. These are totally normal emotions, in fact, if you weren’t having concerns, that would be a worry. Businesses don’t always blossom into fast growing profit pits right away. It takes time, planning, practice and nurturing.

So what can you do to ease the stress? Here are tips and tricks that we think will help you in the process of starting up a small business:

1. Do your research. Compare yourself with brands or companies that produce similar products or provide a similar service. If you’re convinced that you have a unique selling point, research will ensure that you really do.
2. Use your trusted friends and families to see what the think of you business idea; why not send out a survey to find out an anonymous survey to find out how many people would buy your product or use your service?
3. Before investing any time or resources, evaluate yourself and see if you have some the typical traits of an entrepreneur. Are you motivated, able to adapt and confident? Are you resilient?
4. Use your talents. Whether you paint, draw, sew, knit or bake, utilize this creativity for your small business. Sometimes simple can be most effective.
5. Don’t just start a business because something is cool right now and you think commercializing it will make money. Develop a business concept that you’re passionate about, something that is personal to you and won’t grow old. If it’s related to something that you have experience with, your passion won’t fade easily. From there, develop a product or service that you believe can enhance the people’s lives.
6. Once you’ve settled on an idea, figure out how you can make it become a reality. Is the product or service something that people want or need? Can you make a profit selling it? Does the product work?
7. No matter how enthusiastic you are about your small business, though, it won’t be successful unless you have a plan in place for how you’re going to start and run it. A solid business plan will guide you going forward, even if your plan is simple and straightforward. This will also be necessary for presenting your idea to potential investors.
8. Register your business’ name and have it trademarked to secure a domain name.
9. Make a budget. Once you determine how much money you’ll have to work with, figure out how much it will take to develop your product or service and create a marketing plan.
10. With a small business, it’s important to try and use as much as your own money as possible, However you may decide that you need some sort of funding to go forward. Depending on the size of your business, you may need to find an investor who shares your passion, someone you believe you can work with.
11. Ease the load. Whilst you focus on the important things such as your business plan, your marketing strategy and your budget, you shouldn’t feel bogged down by things like web design that could take you hours and hours to make perfect. If completed by a professional you could get the job done quickly and efficiently. This will take the hassle and out of creating and managing your small business website, as well as minimizing the cost of the startup.
12. Use your support system. Whether your support are your family or your friends, use them for support as well as distraction during your new journey. They can support financially, as well as emotionally, which can be a great benefit.

Businesses are communicating with consumers in more diverse ways than ever. In an increasingly digital world, now is the time to take that idea you’ve always quietly kept to yourself and take it to the next level. There are so many tools available to help you on your journey so no need to stress. Good luck!