Start Your Own Business Online

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | Start Your Own Business Online

To be or not to be is not a question anymore.

Either you “be” on digital platforms or prepare for the closure of your venture.

Running an online business is the need of the hour. Given how a pandemic could shake the entire corporate world’s roots, we can no longer be sure of what comes next. Online business is the safest option to ensure financial security.

The best part?

It gives you the freedom to make money from anywhere in the world. It doesn’t always have to be a tangible product. You can even sell your skills, talent, and educational expertise online. According to Fundera statistics, global ecommerce sales might hit $4.8 trillion by 2021. As for providing services over the Internet, those numbers are on the rise too.

Don’t fret if you are one of the noobs. You can follow a proven set of steps to ensure success when initiating in the online business world.

Here is how it goes:

Find a need and fulfill it

Most people start by looking at a product they are strong at. Instead of analyzing the market, their aim is to come up with a flawless product structure.

Remember, you need to solve a specific problem faced by the people. Plus, ensure there are potential customers for it. Look at how your idea could help people differently.

For example, Google improved the online search process. Netflix provides on-demand streaming media, and Uber is trying to improve the on-demand car service. Although your product or service may not be a must-have, you could still find a way to repurpose it and resolve a dire need.

The Dropbox co-founder Drew Houston speaks highly of such entrepreneurs when he says that the happiest and most successful people he knows don’t just love what they do; they’re obsessed with solving a significant problem, something that matters to them.

Passion, coupled with innovative problem-solving, could beat all obstacles blocking your digital journey!

Write a stellar copy

It doesn’t matter if you have a food business, a construction company, or even a photography studio. Every venture needs and compelling copy to make the desired mark upon its prospects. A good composition will motivate, encourage, and convince your audience to interact with your business.

Essentially, a copy refers to the marketing text found on leaflets, flyers, and billboards. In the case of an online business, it is the content found on your website aiming to understand the emotional impetus behind any purchase. There is also smaller stuff like social media posts and product descriptions, which require incredible copywriting.

Hence, it is imperative to invest in a good copywriter to improve your overall brand image. Your customers won’t consider the magnitude of your operations when going through your website. It is how you string your professional insight into compelling words that can leave a lasting impact on them.

This is one reason why 64% of the B2B marketers outsource their demanding copy needs.

Unlike other paid marketing campaigns, a good copy will continue to promote your online business for a prolonged time.

Use search engines to drive traffic

Online visitors today are using search engines more than ever before. According to the Internet Live Stats, Google processes 40 000 search queries every second on average. This translates to 3.5 million searches per day.

Considering the intense competition online, new business owners must implement a scalable search engine strategy.

Working on SEO and SEM could be your best shot. SEO is a powerful way to drive evergreen traffic atop the funnel. Meanwhile, SEM refers to using paid advertisements that pop up on the search engine results page. Advertisers bid on the keywords entered by the users of Bing or Google when looking for a specific product/service.

Ideally, seeking assistance from local SEO specialists could be your first step when starting your online business covering a certain vicinity. For example, you could get help from a Seattle SEO expert to devise your online marketing campaign if you are a startup in Seattle.

They could help you gain insight into optimizing your website or starting a pay-per-click advertising campaign. The former involves attracting organic traffic to your portal. Meanwhile, the latter (PPC) consists of showing ads instantly on the search engine’s first page. Besides getting you an instant traffic flow, PPC ads will allow you to discover your best and highest converting keywords.

Verdict – Stay in the information loop to maintain relevance

One of the main ingredients to ensure your success in virtual paradigms is – constant upgrading.

If you are planning to kickstart an online business, make sure it fits the current trends. From website design to customer satisfaction – everything has to fall in line with the industrial standards. Each time you feel like you’re drawing apart from the prevalent ideas, work hard to up your game.

We hope you’ll sneak up the search grid and stay there!

About the Author

Evie Harrison is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences and express herself through her blogs.

Find her on Twitter:@iamevieharrison. Learn more about Evie at about.me/iamevieharrison.

6 Rules for Defense Start-Up Innovators

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Defense Start-Up|6 Rules for Defense Start-Up InnovatorsThe defense industry is changing in the United States of America. For years now, huge corporations such as British Aerospace Engineering and Raytheon have completely dominated the market and swooped in to poach promising innovators. Inventors and programmers have found themselves swallowed up in vast bureaucracies, working on projects that they feel morally uncomfortable on and with less than savory people.

Recently though, the defense needs of the United States have begun to shift. The asymmetrical aspects of America’s security, as well as the growing threat of flashpoints with China and Russia, require constant innovation at a quick pace. Cyber defense and information security are massively complex and quickly evolving fields.

As such, the work of developing new solutions has diversified. Smaller companies, including recent startups, can offer the DoD and its allies’ tailor-made solutions in a fraction of the time it would take a giant like Boeing. This is because of optimization. A smaller group can dedicate all its resources to the development of a single product and does not have to negotiate the labyrinth of internal politics large companies face.

Of course, small startups cannot compete with larger corporations when developing flagship systems like aircraft, but the market has truly opened up for innovators. Here are some key things to consider if you want your defense startup to earn national security contracts.

Specialize

Try not to get carried away with too broad a range of innovations. The department of defense is ideally looking to fill requirements most simply and cost-effectively possible – after all, it is taxpayer’s money that you are vying for. Companies with a clear specialization that can dedicate their time to achieving solutions to one problem will get a better look in. It is also far more cost effective for the company.

Take Part in Accelerator Programs

Accelerator programs are advantageous in several ways. Firstly, they swiftly educate startup innovators on the make-up of their market. Unless you have experience working in the defense industry, it can seem like an incredibly daunting place. It has a unique culture and very stringent security. It can be a welcoming place, but it certainly takes some getting used to. Accelerator programs allow startup innovators to bed into their industry.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, they are networking hubs. One of the most challenging aspects of working in the defense industry is gatekeeping. Company representatives are often wary of outsiders, and government officials are rightfully very selective of their interactions. Working in conjunction with an accelerator program, startups can network in an incubated environment, where all parties are encouraged to collaborate.

Thirdly, they open doors to funding and investment. Financing for any startup is difficult enough to secure. Funding for defense projects is even harder. Because defense projects often rely upon public funding, there is a huge amount of risk oversight required before any organization tied to the government can invest. Programs such as the Boston Accelerator Program can link your startup with investors in a supportive environment. The United States Air Force funds one of the program tracks and keeps a close eye on developments from participants.

Partner Up

This is a good rule of thumb for any startup, not just those looking to innovate in the defense field. Partnering up is the most cost-effective way to develop new products and gain insight into your industry, particularly if you are new to it. For instance, if your team has developed a new piece of aviation software, partnering with an aerospace hardware development company will allow you to integrate your software into products you might not have been able to access on your own. This will put you in a much better position: defense buyers are more likely to buy software with real-world applications that are already in use.

Steer Clear of Politics and Avoid Espionage

This is easier said than done. Politics and the defense industry are intertwined, but if you want some advice from us? Steer clear. The political landscape within the pentagon can change drastically overnight, and with every firing comes a sacrifice of influence. Try and stay politically neutral, no typing your innovation to any one military mind or geopolitical culture.

You would be equally wise to leave espionage to the spies. Do not compromise your reputation by falling into the manipulative world of spooks, honey traps, document sharing or financial misuse. This is all serious stuff and is best avoided, no matter how tempting it becomes to boost your startup with subterfuge related contracts.

Software is the New Hardware

In the past, defense startups were faced with a daunting task: they had to fund the development of hardware. This was an immensely costly process and required huge investment – often without ever getting off the ground. Times have changed. There has, however, been a culture shift.

Startups specializing in software and AI for the defense industry are now in very high demand. Investment is flowing into software development from state and private interests. Software and AI development is far less risky to develop than hardware. However, there is a catch: attracting the best minds in software development to your startup is no easy task. With the market so stacked with software developers, you have to pitch hard and pitch intelligently to get the right team together.

Innovate in Information Defense

We live, sadly, in an age of information warfare. The truth matters and the objectivity of the truth are less and less easy to define. From ‘fake news’ to the ‘St Petersburg troll factory’, the control of information has dominated discourse on security in the last few years.

Of course, the control of the truth has always been a part of warfare, but the Department of Defense is scrambling to deal with the proliferation of information threats from potential adversaries. Existing corporations are not in a position to develop information security solutions quickly enough to deal with threats. Startups specializing in information defense will more than likely catch the attention of military strategists.

How can I start my own business?

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Building a business|How can I start my own business?Tired of using your ideas to grow someone else’s organization? If this is what doesn’t let you sleep peacefully, you must plan to start your own business. You need three things to grow your business successfully: investment, idea, and of course, manpower. Building a business from zero is quite exciting as well as daunting for those who find it difficult to struggle. The best thing about business is that no magically difficult step is required to solve a brilliance. If you are convinced to start a business today, you must know the steps that can help you walk through all the hurdles and makes the process easy.

The idea: The question you need to ask yourself is why! Why do you choose a specific idea and take all the risks associated with it? Is it worth it? The businesses that succeed today are all meeting the needs of the customers in the market. Look for the needs of the customer which you can solve and grow. It is great if you know what makes you work on your idea. If your why is focused on a need in the market Z, your business will be larger than the business that is designed to meet a personal need. And if you get hold of that idea, start hiring a dedicated team of developers to give your idea a shape. Choose a niche that is attractive and in trend.

A blueprint: Sketch all that comes to your mind and pen down every minute detail that you will work on. A blueprint means you concisely draw your business plan to work it out in a perfect way. Who are you selling to? What are you selling? How much are you investing? What are your goals? Conduct a good study on each of the aspects and create a detailed blueprint so that you know how concrete and fruitful it will turn out to be.

Consider an exit strategy: A business that is built with passion and obsession does not come with an exit strategy. If in the beginning, you think of how to exit the plan, you will see a lot of negativity everywhere. However, to be practical while you invest hugely, you must consider an exit strategy that can help you from a further downfall. Do try to work it out, as success doesn’t come overnight. However, if at all it does not work out and things don’t fall in place, keep an exit strategy ready to let things off and manage what has been lost.

Your finances: Nothing works without investment. An idea is essential, but if you don’t invest, nothing can be fruitful. You need to manage your finances and be aware of all that you will have to invest in shortly. If you are investing, make sure you know where you are investing and how you will earn it back. For a smooth financial journey, consider a good plan in terms of financial management.

Watch out for expenses: A working capital and occasion expenses need to be considered before you hop on a new business plan. A business needs to be fuelled up with investment from time to time. You cannot start a business and in the middle run out of the fund. You must consider all that you will have to bear and how will you manage your expenses. The goal is, minimum investment when you are starting it small. Check on the unnecessary expenses which do not repay.

Manage legal matters: Manage all your legal matters and take all license and permits you will need to start your business. No matter what, you need to abide by the rules and legal acts. Don’t go for anything that is against legal and government standards. Consider a legal check and get your hands on your permits to start your business ethically.

Wrapping up

A big organization starts with a tiny idea. An idea that changes the lives of humankind can grow much bigger than expected. Little patience and these steps can help you start your business and make it a success. If you are having sleepless nights growing someone else’s business, it is time for you to start something new for yourself!

About the Author

Harikrishna Kundariya, a marketer, developer, IoT, ChatBot & Blockchain savvy, designer, co-founder, Director of eSparkBiz Technologies @Software Development Company. His 8+ experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and ChatBot.

How Do I Start Your Own Business?

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start your own business|How Do I Start Your Own Business?It requires a significant amount of your time and concentration to start a new business. To start this adventure, you need to know that you will eat and work with bread until you have a solid business and you can get it on track. There are various opinions about how to start a business. Read this article to find some basic ideas and guidelines for taking the initiative.

Part 1 Have an Idea

1.Come Up With an Idea

Before you can take bold action, you need an idea to start a business. A new business consumes a lot of time and money, so it should be an activity you are passionate about.

2. Consider Whether That is Possible

Before tackling the initiative head-on, think about the validity of your idea. Do people really pay for what you sell? Does your job generate enough profit for all the effort and time you spend on your business?

3. Make Sure your Idea is Unique

In any case, it should be as original as possible. This helps eliminate competition or fight significantly and improve business success. Usually, adding a little detail to an existing product (such as changing the colour of something) is not enough to start a business, so try more than you think you need.

Part 2 Create a Business Plan

1.Determine the Cost of the Operation

You need a solid business plan to present to potential investors. The best place to get started is to determine the base cost of the initiative. This gives you an overview of a particular model and helps you determine how much you need to manufacture a product or provide the service you are thinking of. This includes manufacturing costs, shipping charges, taxes, employee salaries, workplace rent, and more. Knowing the cost of a business is essential in determining whether a business is profitable. In fact, to stay active in the field, you need to earn more than you spend.

2. Determine your Potential Market

How many people actually use what you offer? Are they willing to pay to buy your product or use your service? If any of these numbers are insignificant compared to the cost of running your business, you need to revisit or change your plan.

3. Identify Obstacles

You need to plan ahead for issues that can interfere with your business.

4. Evaluate the Competition

If its market share or product offering is too strong and stable, it will be more difficult to enter the market. No one wants to buy a new version of an existing, proven product or service for an equal or better price.

You should also be aware of industry-related regulations and laws, especially when it comes to taxes and permits. Please check with your local authorities and read the laws in force.

Don’t incur exorbitant costs, such as the equipment being too expensive to monetize your business. For example, cars didn’t become popular until Ford found a way to make cars economical by building more efficient equipment.

Part 3 Creating a Marketing Plan

1. Make a Budget

Once you’ve roughly calculated the amount, you’ll need, create a promotional budget that shows how much you can spend on your ads.

2. Think of an Idea That Fits your Budget

Understand how much money is available, investigate the cost of different types of promotions, and think about the right ideas for these methods and how effective they are for the price range. For example, if your ad spends cap is reasonable, you can consider running your ad. If your uptime is close to zero, you need to consider how to use social media effectively. This is very convenient as it requires very little investment.

3. Plan the Time and Place of Your Ads

Once you know the type of marketing that suits you, think about the most effective places to promote yourself and the best time, day, month, or year to reach your target market. You need to ensure that you are using a marketing strategy that is tailored to the target audience you are thinking about your product or service. For example, using social media to promote a cruise line targeting people over the age of 55 is virtually pointless. Similarly, when promoting a new club, advertisements printed in newspapers are usually not the best way to inform yourself. It’s barren to promote a business that is only available in Rome to the locals in Venice, so consider the location itself. If your service is seasonal, you should ask yourself when it’s best to market yourself. Also, TV commercials need to be timed at the right time, as seen by the demographics you are thinking of at the time of the broadcast.

Part 4 Get Finance

1. Choose The Source of Finance

You have to arrange for finance at this stage. You can either take a loan from a commercial bank, or you can approach local investors or combination of both. You can also take finance from venture capitalist or angel investor.. Angel investors are high-value individuals, and venture capitalists are companies. The two individuals fund high-risk economic initiatives in exchange for participation (partnerships), often bringing experience, management expertise, and contact information. Usually, they work over a network or association.

2. Provide a Report

Be sure to provide investors with important investment, strategy, and accounting information on a regular basis (usually twice a year), regardless of the source of funding. We recommend that you hold a board meeting that everyone can attend directly. Otherwise, schedule a conference call.

Part 5 Building Infrastructure

1. Find an Office

You need space to run your business. If you don’t have a big need and you don’t have employees, you can design a home office. If not, you will need an actual workshop or warehouse. Instead of signing a lease in an upscale neighbourhood, prefer renting in a cheaper area or use a business incubator. In some places, universities and other organizations offer low-rent spaces designed for new business ventures, especially when accompanied by innovative scientific ideas. Make sure your space complies with relevant regulations and laws within your intended use and budget.

2. Buy Equipment

Buy all the equipments you need to get to work including power tools, computers, telephones, or crafts. This gives you a big discount, so try buying from a store that wholesales hardware for your business. If you run out of money, a rental solution or similar contract can help you start your business and avoid a deadlock.

3. For Recording Income and Expenses, Develop a System

You will notice that you are paying taxes. To do this smoothly, you need a good system to keep your business running smoothly and efficiently. Invest in binders, labels and digital ledger software to keep things organized and finds everything you need.

Part 6 Create a Customer Base

1. Use Marketing and Public Relations

You need to have a way to reach potential customers in order to get them to trust your business. This is especially important when you start before establishing a stable and regular customer base.

At the very least, advertise in a way that draws little customer attention. This is probably more than just advertising and intriguing. Be creative and harness the right needs of your customers who want to convince their business.

2. Provide a Sample Product or Service Free of Cost

That way, some people will like to comment on your offer. Word-of-mouth (like good public relations) is the best way to attract new customers. If you receive bad reviews or negative feedback, please be proactive in resolving the issue. People will be far less critical of your mistakes if you are willing to correct them.

3. Develop Excellent Customer Service Skills

You will be good at interacting with people. Practice reading what others say between the lines.

4. Open the Website

The world has changed online. Businesses that intend to survive for the next 10 years must definitely have a site. People will use it to contact you, find out where you are, find your attention time, ask you questions, offer you suggestions, and maybe buy your product or service. By making web pages and services available online, you can extend your network across regions and even reach the world.

Part 7 Receive Payment

Please make sure to get paid the unpaid amount. If someone pays you late, talk to them. By ignoring these issues in the hope that they will resolve themselves naturally, you will find yourself working for free, and your business will decline. Accepting credit and debit cards makes your business much easier to run, record updates and accounting management.

Organize your system on the web. You need to ensure that you have the right online payment system in place if you plan to sell your product online. Services like PayPal make things incredibly easy. Do some research to find the right way for you? In any case, you need to make sure that whatever your system is safe. You also need to prevent malicious individuals from hacking or stealing your information or your customers’ information.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Nishil PrasadNishil is a passionate writer, hungry for new innovation. New trends fill him with tons of enthusiasm to uncover hidden topics. Speakaudible covers a wide range of subjects related to audiobooks. You can Listen and start to transform your morning with these audiobooks at Speakaudible.

How to Start a Property Portfolio the Right Way

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Property Portfolio|How to Start a Property Portfolio the Right WayLearning how to properly build a portfolio is the first step in becoming a successful property investor. Many factors have to be considered when you’re an investor that the average property buyer doesn’t have to worry about.

Good investors will usually invest in a large number of properties that could have different purposes. Also, you will be faced with several challenges as your portfolio grows, so you will need to look at ways that you can streamline and monitor both your processes and assets. Let’s take a look at how to start a property portfolio the right way.

Find a Good Mortgage Broker

A good broker will play an essential role for any serious investor. Finding the right mortgage broker now will allow you to get better deals faster. Also, you’ll be able to build a relationship with them and the lenders you work with over the years. This will accelerate the process even more for future deals and could give you an edge when comes time to close.

If you were thinking of investing in high-value property, we suggest you book a consult on this website. This broker is a leader in the million-pound mortgage space and has closed deals for thousands of clients around the world. They have a pool of over 500 lenders you can choose from, so you’ll have the chance to get the best offer that you can find. Brokers often have exclusive deals with leaders that allow you to save even more.

Create a Business Plan

Since your ultimate goal should be to make money, you have to treat this as a business. Good investors plan a few moves ahead, and you should be thinking about your third, fourth, and fifth properties when buying your first one.

You have to identify investment goals. Do you want to be an active investor or earn passive income? What model will you be using? Will you be buying properties and trying to flip them, or will you go for the long term and rent? These are all questions you have to answer so you can focus your efforts on the right type of property.

Buy Your First Property

Your first property is the most important, as it will be the one that will give you the leverage to build the rest of your portfolio. Some people decide to go for a rental property first, while others will prefer looking at single-family lots. These could be easier to manage and will be easier to finance. Rental properties, on the other hand, will also give you cash flow. This is something you’ll have to consider and see which ones would be the best for you.

The most important thing is making sure that you buy in an area that is on the up and up. You want to go somewhere where the trends are heading in the right direction. Talks of revitalisation are also good.

This is how you should be starting your portfolio. If you follow these few pieces of advice, you’ll have the basic tools needed to build and manage your assets and add new ones.