Set Up A Business In 10 Simple Steps

Starting a business has to be one of the most challenging things you will ever do. Coming up with a great idea, building that idea into something workable, and then successfully selling the idea is something which is incredibly challenging and can take up all of your time and energy. That’s why today we want to go through some of the simple steps you need to take to start up your own business to make sure that the stress doesn’t cause you to forget something important. 

1: Do Your Research

Before you dive in and start setting up a limited company for yourself you need to take some time to research what it means to own a business. There are so many things you have to think about when starting a business and this is why it is good to spend a few days reading articles and resources online to get your started. Make sure that you are ready to start your business and that you know it is the right thing for you at this stage in your life right now, otherwise it might be wise to hold off for a while. 

2: Plan It Out

The second stage to starting a business is to sit down with a pen and paper and plan it out. Planning your business is something which can take a bit of time but it will be an invaluable reference for you to look back on later in the game. When planning out your business you need to think about things such as platform, audience, product, budget and more. Having this plan in place will make sure that you don’t slip behind when working on your project. 

3: Plan Your Finances

The most crucial step to starting a business is getting the money you need to get it off the ground. Depending on the type of business you set up you might need a substantial investment when starting off and of course this may be difficult for you to get hold of. There are a lot of ways to fund a project such as using your savings account, taking on a loan from the bank, and even crowdsourcing your money through a site such as KickStarter. 

4: Come Up With A Business Structure

Once you have funded your business and you are ready to get going, it is time to think about the physical structure of the business. There are a lot of departments involved in a business supply chain from start to finish and whether you hire in house or outsource, you need to know where a product goes from start to finish and how you will get it there. Make sure you know exactly how you want your business to flow and create a full process to follow every time you get an order.

5: Pick A Name

The name of your business is one of the most important things you will decide upon during the first few months as a business owner. Your brand name will be forever associated with you and this is why it is crucial that your name is a good one. Make sure that you take the time to think of a name which is memorable, unique and interesting. This is the key to great branding and it will ensure that whenever someone thinks of your brand, they know who you are. 

6: Get Licenses and Permits

It is important for you as a business owner before you begin practices to gain any licenses you may need to perform your business legally. This could include a license to run a commercial business from home, a license to sell certain products and much more. 

7: Choose Helpful Tools 

Running an empire it really difficult and it is incredibly crucial for you to utilise the tools you can to make it easier this year. For example online these days there are tonnes of tools to help you as a business and many of these are free: 

• Buffer – to manage and schedule social media posts 
• Canva – to create flyers and marketing materials 
• Slack – to manage a project team 
• Google Drive – to store and edit documents 
• Quickbooks – to manage finances 

8: Find A Location

Once you know what you plan to do for your business you will need somewhere to set up camp. A lot of the time new businesses will work from home as they get on their feet and this can be a handy way for you to save money and build up some revenue in your first few months. However after this you may need to scale up and hire team members and this means an office is the best port of call. Choosing an office will depend on you, however it is best to choose a place with good transport links to make life easier for the people who will be travelling to you every day for work. 

9: Gather Your Team

Speaking of people coming to work for you, now you need to gather a team. The first few months of a business will likely consist either of you alone or with a partner managing the whole process of your business. However it is also important for you to hire new blood once the workload gets high and they will be able to help you grow and develop further. Make sure to choose the best and also the most enthusiastic people for your team and they will make a whole world of difference to your business. 

10: Promote Your Small Business

Once you have started running your empire once and for all it is time to promote it and get the word out there. This will include creating a website and social media accounts for your brand, sharing content with your followers and engaging in conversation. You may also want to invest in a Google Ad during the first few months to help you gain some traction. 

What Is Your Business Missing?

Do you ever get that feeling that your business is missing something, but you can’t quite figure out what it is? If that is the case, then you might want to read the list that we have written because, in it, we have got some of the common things that businesses are missing from their current model. If you can identify what is missing in your company, then you can change it, and that is what we are here to help you do. As such, keep reading down below to learn what some of the common things are that your business could be missing.

A Good Marketing Strategy

You need a good marketing strategy if you want to get ahead on the market. If you have noticed that your business is not doing that well right now, it could be down to the failing of your marketing department. Keep in mind that the only way your clients are going to know anything about your business is if you tell them, or if one of your clients tell them. That is why marketing is so important, and you can’t just go in with the attitude of winging it will do. As such, we suggest that you hire a marketing executive to oversee everything on this side of your company. This will give you the peace of mind that you need that you are employing all of the best tactics in the book.

As well as this though, you need to be up to date on your online marketing as well. You should think about hiring an SEO Company to take care of the content for you so that you know it is optimised for all the search engines. If you want your site and your content to be seen, you need people to write it that know what is necessary to get to the top.

The Right Team

Can you say that you trust every member of your team? If not, then the ones you can’t trust need to go as soon as possible. Every time you step in to your business, you need to know that the people working for you have the best interests of the company at heart and that they will do whatever is necessary to keep it going. Anyone who is not performing to the high standard that you require or who seems to be more interested with their personal life at work than their business one needs to be removed from the company as soon as possible. You only want the best team possible working for you at any given time.

Something Unique

Finally, your business needs to have something unique in order to succeed in the market. If you are not offering anything different from your competitors and you can’t give clients a reason to choose you over them, then you are not going to last very long. As such, you need to identify your unique selling point and market heavily in that direction.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now have a few ideas of what your business could be missing.

Make an Exhibition of Yourself

Trade shows can be something of a Marmite experience for many companies. But it’s not just that you either love them or hate them, shows either bring in real, tangible benefits to your business or they feel like an awful lot of hard work for very little in the way of return.

In this article, we won’t be trying to convince you to exhibit, we’ll let 22 trade show statistics that will convince business owners to exhibit immediately  do that but instead we’re taking a look at what you need to make a trade show or exhibition run successfully.

The Right Team

Quite simply you need your best, most people friendly sales team on the case for this job. It’s not easy to keep up the level of energy and enthusiasm required to staff a stand all day over several days, so choose wisely.

Your team isn’t just there to chat and smile a lot, they need to know that they also have targets to reach. That might look like capturing the email addresses of 300 potential new customers or giving away a set number of information packs to visitors to the stand. Whatever your target, make sure it isn’t just there for the sake of giving your team something to do but is created with the idea of giving your business a real and measurable boost.

The Right Design

You will be among a lot of stands so you need to stand out from the competition. Speaking of competition try and get a hold of a floor plan in advance of booking your stand and figure out the very best location for your team. If you can then get a sense of where any competitors are then even better.

In terms of your stand design, think about how your media boards will look and the message you want to portray. What are you selling about your business today that’s going to attract potential clients? What is unique to you that your rivals can’t offer?

There’s no reason why your stand shouldn’t be interactive and feature video, demonstrations or live features.

Merchandise

Finally, think about merchandise and what you’re giving away. You know your client best so try and steer clear of the traditional, boring pens and so on. Look for sporting equipment, clothes, mini Bluetooth speakers and so on. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and figure out what you’d want as a reward for interacting with you at your stand.

Yes, exhibitions are hard work. They take time and effort to design and install and just as much time and effort to break down at the end. Your staff need to be on their game every minute of the time they spend there and you need to have prepared clear objectives.

But get it right and you’re potentially in direct contact with hundreds of new customers. Customers who may have heard of you before or who might just need you to introduce yourself. Get exhibiting, get it right and get results.