How Can I Start My Own Business?

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start my own business|How Can I Start My Own Business?While many ideas for businesses never fully come to fruition, some entrepreneurs dream big enough to actually put pencil to paper. Though starting a business amidst the current pandemic might feel impossible, over 69% of American entrepreneurs begin their businesses right from the comfort of their own homes. If you’re wondering how to go about making your own entrepreneurial dreams a reality, consider the steps below on how you can start your own business even during these uncertain times.

Have a Concrete Idea

It’s no secret that many business ideas seem good in theory but become much more complex in practice. Whether your idea for your small business is one you have fleshed out on your own, or one you’ve developed with the help of family and friends, make sure it’s a solid one. A good rule of thumb is to start simple. For example, should your dream be to develop an entire clothing line, it’s probably in your best interest to begin with one category of garment at a time, such as blouses and shirts. Focussing your creative energy on one portion of your idea will likely save you money at the beginning of your business venture, and it will also keep you from feeling overwhelmed as you work to get your business off the ground.

Conduct the Proper Research

The nature of the business world is a competitive one and thus requires the right amount of research if you plan on entering it. Conducting market research along with taking the time to do a full competitive analysis as it pertains to your business is vital to the success of your company. As you do your research, use the questions below as your guide:

  • Is there a demand for the product or service your company offers?
  • Who is your target consumer?
  • What is the population size of the consumers you plan to market to?
  • Does your target audience live in your area or are they elsewhere?
  • What do you plan on charging for your product or service?
  • Who else already offers your product/service and what can you do to set yourself apart?

Though your research isn’t required to be limited to the questions above, answering them will give you a starting point for where you stand amongst your competitors and what you’ll have to do to stand out as a business. For more information on market research and competitive analysis, utilize this guide from the SBA.

Develop a Clear Business Plan

It’s important to note that having a business idea is vastly different from having a business plan. There are numerous online resources available that outline the proper steps for developing such a plan. Block out some time in the coming weeks to sit down and write. A simple Google search on how to write a business plan should suffice for the information you’ll need to get things started. If you plan on presenting your finished plan to investors, be sure to keep it concise and to know your audience. However, if you’re composing your plan simply to keep yourself on track, make sure you’re using the future as your guide. Have an emergency fund should things go south, and look for ways your business can adapt should the pandemic continue for longer than expected. Business plans are essential to the overall success of your company and are a perfect guide for you to stay on track and organized.

Know Your Funding Options

Once you have a plan in place for your company and you’ve done the proper research, the final piece to the puzzle is locking down your funding. While there are plenty of options to choose from, make sure you consider non-traditional funding methods such as:

Crowdfunding: As the name suggests, this funding alternative is all about who you know. If you’re a big networker, this may be a great option for you aside from a regular business loan. Take to your social media outlets or even create a GoFundMe page and get the word out. Though those who fund your business are not guaranteed a return, you can always offer them perks when you do get your business off the ground.

Home Equity Loans: While most individuals use home equity loans for affording a college education or for funding a home renovation, they can also be used to cover business expenses. The appeal of a home equity loan comes from it’s low interest rates, making them a stable option long term. If you are unfamiliar with how these loans work, use this home equity loan resource as your guide should you be interested in using one to fund your business.

Microfinancing: This option of funding was developed specifically for entrepreneurs who may not even have the option to go traditional with their funding. Microfinance organizations provide small loans in order to help entrepreneurs get their business off the ground in the beginning. Microfinancing is an option for those who want to achieve their dreams but have no collateral to do so. For more information on microfinancing, consider this article on: what is microfinance?

While traditional business loans are still an option, the unique choices listed above may be more viable funding alternatives during these uncertain times.

As you put the steps above into action, remember to stay focussed on your goals. Starting a business can be overwhelming and discouraging at times, so be sure to maintain a strict budget and use your business plan as your guide when you feel lost. With the right research, a clear plan, and the proper funding, any business dream can be made possible.

Advice for Building a Remote-Working Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Remote Working|Advice for Building a Remote-Working BusinessIn light of COVID-19, many businesses are making the switch to remote working. Or if you are just starting up a new business, then this could be how you need to work from the get-go. Remote working is the way of the future, with ever-increasing advancements in technology, it seems that everything is going online.

There are lots of advantages to remote working. For one, you will have fewer overheads. Secondly, you and your staff should have a better work-life balance, and thirdly, you can employ the best possible people regardless of their location.

However, there are also some risks to consider. How can you be sure that your staff are doing what they said they would? And how can you foster a supportive working environment if you never see each other in person?

Here is some advice for building a remote company that runs smoothly:

Use the Right Tools

Your employees are going to need access to all the important documents required to perform their job effectively, from home. There are many software options available to you in order to implement this.

You may need to consider remote conferencing software, such as Zoom, and project management software that allows you to assign tasks and create workspaces, such as Notion. You may also need a password manager and encryption. If you share logins, then this could be particularly important.

Choosing the right software, to begin with, is important so that everyone only has to learn one system. So do your research and figure out what’s right for you.

Determine Your Communication Plan

The biggest thing a remote business is missing is in-person communication, which is why a communication plan is so important. When will you communicate and how? Perhaps have a catch-up skype call every Friday, or messaging tools. Keeping a line of communication is essential.

You may decide to meet in person every so often, especially when hiring new employees. For some businesses and people, this is important. If you do, just make sure that you adhere to social distancing measures and that you keep the space clean with disinfecting sprays, hand gel, sanitizing wipes and more. It would be effective to have sanitizers and sprays across each workspace in the office, and you can order in bulk from Brooklyn Equipment’s line of sprays if you want to keep them stocked up. That way, everyone can feel safe and secure.

Choose the right remote workers

For remote working to be successful, you need the right workers. You will probably have a lot to choose from and need to be stringent in your decisions. Read CVs thoroughly and speak to people on a video call to get to know them better. Ask for references too if necessary. It is not just about having the experience and skills, they need the right mindset, be self-motivated, and they need to be a good fit for your company.

Find creative ways to connect

Remote working makes it difficult for people to feel part of the team, which can be important for retention of good employees. Hold group video calls, have a cloud collaboration, and get creative. Consider remote challenges and activities for them to participate in such as fancy dress over video call or a Friday quiz or shared lunch.

Set Clear Goals

Goal setting is always important, but especially for remote workers. Determine what your expectations are, and when deadlines should be met so that you can keep people accountable. You should also have frequent performance reviews and set tangible, clear and achievable goals. This will also help keep your staff happy as they can see themselves progressing.

How To Start Your Own Online Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start Your Online Business|How To Start Your Own Online BusinessStarting your own online business does come with a lot of benefits. It allows you to make money remotely while setting the time that you work by yourself. You can also choose to face that particular niche that you are interested in, and it is cheap, so you do not need to have a very high startup cost.

While it may appear like a rave or following what’s a trend already. It can be both easy and challenging to start your own online business. You just have to make sure that you do the right things and take the right steps. That’s the way for you to be successful at it. So, how do you do this? What are the steps that you will take? This article contains tips from australian assignment help on how to start your own online business.

1. Find a business that can meet people’s needs

The most typical mistake that people make when they are starting an online business is to decide on the product first before they start looking for a market to sell to. But this is counterproductive.
For you to have a high possibility of success, you need to get a market first. That’s where you start. What you need to do is look for people in search of a solution to a particular problem but are not getting much success from it.

These are the kinds of research that you do first. And it is very easy to carry out this research on the internet.
You can find these people through different means. One of those is online forums. It is now becoming a usual practice for other people to go to online forums to ask questions disturbing them.

You can also use keyword research to find those things that people search for very frequently. However, you must be careful not to get into already stiff competition with other people.

Look out for your business’ potential competitors, go through their website. You can learn something from their site as well. This will include things like how they fill their demand. Afterward, you can use your knowledge to create the ideal product for the market needs that you’re trying to accomplish.

2. Write a marketable sales copy

There are a number of proven formulas for sales copy that allows your visitors to go through the process from when they first arrived to when they make that first purchase. A proven method that you can use is one from authors at research paper writing service and here are some tips for it:

  • Include a compelling headline that will arouse their interest.
  • Talk about the problem that you or your product are going to solve.
  • Show that you are credible enough and able to solve this problem.
  • Once you get people to buy and use your products, include testimonials for them.
  • Explain the uses of the product and how the user will benefit from it.
  • Make an offer.
  • Include a reliable guarantee.
  • Create a sense of urgency
  • Ask them to make a purchase.

Your sales copy has to focus on showing them the unique way your service or product solves their problems or helps them live a better life. The real question to answer is the “what do I gain from it” question.

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start Your Online Business|How To Start Your Own Online Business3. Design your website

Once you have completed the most critical steps in determining your market and the product that solves their major problem(s), you have completed the hard part of starting your own online business. The next step is for you to create or design a website.

The thing with your website is that you have to make your web design as simple as possible. You also do not have all the time in the world to catch people’s attention. You only have about five seconds or even less. Some few tips are:

  • Use a white background with a plain font or two.
  • Make sure that your navigation is very simple and clear and is available on all pages.
  • Make use of video, audio, or other graphics that might help you strengthen your message or boost your content marketing.
  • Include an offer for website visitors to opt-in so that you will be able to get their email addresses.
  • Make sure that the buying process is as simple as ever and straightforward too. Potential customers should not get over the clicks during the checkout process.
  • Make sure that your website is user-friendly.

4. Drive potential customers to your website with search engine

One of the easiest ways to bring traffic to your new website is through pay per click advertising. There are some advantages that it has in driving traffic to your site.

Firstly, pay per click ads come up immediately on search pages, and secondly, you can test different keywords, headlines, selling approaches, and prices with PPC ads. It does not just bring you immediate traffic; you also use this advertising medium to find the keywords that can give you the best chances of conversion. Then you use them throughout the different content and webpages of your website. This will also help to increase your organic search engine ranking.

5. Establish a reputation for yourself as an expert

The internet is used to seek information. That’s what people do with it. So, give them that information for free and watch how you will get increased traffic and a better ranking on the search engines. What you need to do is to add your website’s link with every little information.

Give away your expert content for free. Create videos and articles and other forms of content that is useful to people. Then distribute this content through social media sites and online article directories. Also, include links to “send to a friend” on these critical content from your website. This will help you draw more traffic.

Make yourself into an active expert on social networking sites and other industry platforms where you can reach out to your target market. This will open you to new readers, and all the sites that make a post on your content or posts directly will add links to your website. Getting these links from the relevant websites is very important for search engines, and it will increase your ranking afterward.

6. Convert visitors to buyers by leveraging email marketing

By building an opt-in list, you are building an asset that is valuable to your online business. For every subscriber on that list, you already have their permission to send emails to them. This implies that:

  • You are sending something that they asked of you to them.
  • You are creating a relationship of a lifetime with them.
  • You can measure the response 100 percent.
  • You can enjoy a highly targeted marketing that is more effective and cheaper than radio, TV, or print.

Every of your website visitors that opt-in for your emails is a lead. And one of the most effective tools to follow them up is email marketing.

Conclusion

The internet world is always changing with trends coming and going. But the basic principles for starting and growing a successful business online have not changed and will not change anytime soon. So, if you are looking to start your own online business, these are the sequences that you should stick to. You can also carry out a quick review and check for steps that you might be neglecting or aren’t doing well.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Tiffany HarperTiffany Harper is a training guru who has been working in the corporate sector for over a decade now. She is a management graduate and loves to share her experience through blogs and articles. For her love of writing, she also provides freelance help to the cheap assignment help in Adelaide as a paper writing services review writer while working with top essay writing service.

How to Get Started Flipping Houses: 10 Pieces of Expert Advice

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |how to get started flipping houses|How to Get Started Flipping Houses: 10 Pieces of Expert AdviceDo you want to get into house flipping?

If done right, house flipping can be a great source of income. But if you’re new to the industry, you might now know how to go about it.

Don’t worry! Read on for 10 expert tips on how to get started flipping houses.

1. Hire a Quality Agent

For the best chance of getting a profit, you’ll need to team up with a quality local real estate agent. Don’t go for any old agent though, you need one with house flipping experience.

Bear in mind, when you’re flipping a house you’ve both bought and sold it in a short period of time. An agent with experience can help you determine the right price to pay for a house. They’ll also help determine the likely profit margin for when it’s done up and ready to sell on.

There are other financial aspects your agent can help with. When you start as a house flipper, you’re starting a self-employed business.

There are financial implications to understand that these agents will know about. Things like tax laws, and how you track any business expenses. Experienced agents are a wealth of industry knowledge you can’t afford to miss out on.

2. Do Thorough Research

If you want to get into house flipping, you’ll need a very quick education on the local market. Where you flip can have a bigger impact on success than your experience level.

To make a significant profit, housing market conditions need to be right. It won’t matter how good of a bargain you got on the property, or how well you remodel it. If the profit margins aren’t there, you could end up losing money instead.

House flipping is more successful in areas that have a low number of homes that are available to buy. Also, look for these areas where the home values are climbing. If you choose an area where these two things aren’t happening, it’ll be harder to make money.

3. Make Accurate Cost Estimates

When deciding if a house is a good candidate for flipping, you need to estimate how much money you’ll have to put into it. How much will the repairs and renovations cost? How much will it cost to market and hold onto it until it sells?

You’ll need to come up with an accurate timetable for the entire process. From purchasing the house to selling it on and everything between. This is where your local market knowledge will come in handy. Your hard money lender can also help put an estimate together.

When putting your cost estimate together, you can’t focus on item price tags. You need to factor in labor, tools, and other materials/equipment you’ll need. Add in taxes, insurance, mortgage payments, and marketing costs. It costs a lot to flip a house, so you need to factor in everything to find the realistic budget amount.

4. Keep Capital to Cover Unexpected Costs

When financing your flipping project, you need to ask yourself these 3 questions:

  1. Am I buying at the correct price?
  2. Are the needed repairs within my budget?
  3. Am I likely to get the expected profit desired when selling?

The answers will be key to planning your first flipping venture’s financing. But, don’t get fooled into thinking it’s all the money you’ll need.

You should always account for Murphy’s Law in any flipping project. “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”

The HVAC system might have conked out right before you purchased the house. A flash flood might have ruined downstairs appliances. Things happen that are out of your control, and you’ll have to fund the fixes.

Every unexpected cost will eat into your expected project and your current budget. If you become strapped for cash, you’ll be more likely to cut corners to make ends meet and reduce the quality of the job.

If this happens to you, you won’t be selling a superior house that will attract buyers. You also won’t have a secure financial position to sit and wait for the highest offer. Instead, you’ll be desperate to sell to break even with an inferior remodel.

When you’ve made your expected financial plan for the project, bump the numbers up to cover any extras. This way, if you run into complications, you’ll handle it and still bring in a tidy profit.

5. ROI-Savvy Interior Design and Repairs

Make sure to pick the best renovations that bring in the best return on investment (ROI). This is what can make or break your house flipping success. And a lot of first-time flippers forget about ROI.

A lot of beginners, inspired by glossy magazines unrealistic TV shows, treat it like a house dress up game. They make decisions based on their own tastes and what they think looks nicest. For example, these experts at victoria plum know the best tiling for your bathroom.

The experts know that to get the big dollars, it’s about designing what the market wants, not what they like. This is where your agent can help you. They’ll have knowledge of what their current market is looking for.

6. Hire a Reliable Contractor

You might have seen reports of cowboy builders ripping people off on their home repairs. It’s even a trope in movie and TV storylines, and for a good reason.

Thanks to these opportunistic cowboys, the industry now has a bit of a bad rep. They’re thought to spend more time and money than they promise to get a job done. Some even ask for the money upfront then shut down, skip town and you’ll never hear from them again.

If this happens to you on your first house flip, it’s unlikely you’ll even break even. It’s important you know how to avoid hiring cowboy builders. Never pay upfront, and look for someone local to the area with a good set of reviews.

7. Plan a Set of Different Exit Strategies

The goal of any flip and sell project is to sell fast and make a substantial profit. But there are circumstances out of your control that could move these goalposts.

The market might shift, or the economy takes a dip. This means you might not be able to sell for the price you wanted. You might go over budget, overestimated the sale price, or the project took longer to finish.

In most cases, holding onto the property and renting rather than taking a loss is a better choice. So, when looking to buy, make sure the property can cash flow and bring in money.

Ask, if you end up having to keep the house, will you still make money in the long-term? If yes, you know it’s a good property to buy. The aim here is to plan for the long-term so any losses become gains.

8. Buy the Worst House in the Best Neighborhood in Your Budget

By the worst, we mean something with the worst designed and out of date cosmetic shape and layout. Think of things like:

  • worn-out hardwoods that need refinishing
  • bold, wacky paint colors
  • old, stinky carpets
  • weird smells
  • outdated builder grade kitchen cabinets with a poor layout
  • tile or laminate countertops
  • grimey old toilets and sinks

What you must make sure is the foundations are good and there are no structural issues. Cosmetics are easy to fix, structural remedies not so much.

If you play your cards right, you can get a real bargain because of a house’s ugliness. So, look for houses that you get much lower than other, prettier houses in the same neighborhood.

Work out a list of the fixes and changes you need to make, and how much it should cost in total. Take this off the asking price, and that is the number you shouldn’t go over.

9. Always Have an Inspection

Never buy a property without first inspecting it. Visiting the property lets you see how much work you’ll need to put into it. It’s a vital part of the research you need to do when deciding if a property is worth flipping or not.

If you’re new, it’s also a good idea to get a professional property inspection done. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, this will help prevent any nasty structural surprises.

Online packs and pictures can only show so much. And getting a first-hand look at the rest of the neighborhood is a good idea. Speak to the neighbors and find out if there are any unresolved neighborhood issues. You don’t want any cropping up that might make the property harder to sell or reduce value.

10. Price Your Property Right

If you’re faced with a seller’s market, this might tempt you into taking advantage of it and raise the price. If this price goes above the typical asking price of the area, this isn’t a good idea. It’ll likely put off potential buyers from the start and delay the sale.

The longer you have the property, the more you have to spend on upkeep and maintenance. Not to mention marketing fees.

To get the right price, find a balance between selling for a profit you want, and being so greedy you drive people off. Greed never helped anyone, and it will lose you sales.

How to Get Started Flipping Houses Made Easy

So there you have it! Follow these expert tips on how to get started flipping houses and you’ll be soon on your way.

Knowledge and preparation are key, so partner with an experienced agent as the first thing you do. Be realistic through the entire process and have a disaster/exit plan. And remember, it’s not what you want, it’s what the market wants.

If you found this article useful, check out our other blog posts today.

Launching A Building Business This Year

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StrategyDriven Business Startup Article |building business|Launching A Building Business This YearIf you are handy with a trade or two and you are looking for a new career move this year, one thing you could consider is starting your own building business. When it comes to small businesses a building business can be a great choice because everyone in the world needs building services now and again. Today we are taking a look at some simple tips for launching a building business this year.

Word of mouth

When you are trying to build a local business rather than an online business there are different things to consider such as how you will build a reputation for yourself in the area. Whereas with an online business you will want to use social media and a website to spread the word, it is different for a local company. The best way to get through to people in your area is to post flyers through doors, speak to people in person and encourage customers to talk to their family and friends. Word of mouth is powerful and it can be exactly what you need this year.

Compile your customers

As you grow as a small business you will end up with a database of people who you work for and this can become difficult for you to manage after a while. The best thing you can do is get a roof estimating software where you’ll be able to keep a database of all of your customers as well as your materials and costs for each job. This can be a huge help and it will allow you to calculate labour costs and keep on top of your budgets.

Haggle

When you are working as a building firm you will need to buy your own supplies to bring to a job and use on the house. The cost of buying things such as bricks and tiles and cement can be heavy as this is why haggling can be super helpful for you. If you can learn to haggle for your supplies you will end up saving a lot of money and this will make things much easier for you when calculating your costs and your profit margins.

Take your time

It is important for the integrity of your job as well as your ability to gain more customers that you never rush a job. Just because it might feel easier to rush your job so that you can move onto the next one, it’s not worth it in the long run. Take your time and take pride in your work and in turn you will get better reviews, more customers and you will be able to charge more due to the quality of your work.

Be friendly

A friendly builder is one who will gain a good reputation! Make sure when you work on a house you talk to the owners and have a laugh. People like to work with people and the impression you give off can make all the difference to your success.