Startup Ideas: 5 Sectors Unaffected By COVID-19

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Startup Ideas|Startup Ideas: 5 Sectors Unaffected By COVID-19The COVID-19 novel coronavirus has changed life as we once knew it for virtually everyone across the planet. Billions of people globally have had their lives turned upside-down, with COVID-19 failing to spare individuals from any background, location, or class in society.

Businesses have also been hard-hit by COVID-19, with small independent and large multinational firms alike having to close their doors for good. But, some firms have escaped relatively unscathed from the devastation brought by this global pandemic.

If you’re looking to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit from within you, it’s likely you want to start a business that is most likely to survive such global pandemics like COVID-19. With that in mind, here are five examples of startup business sectors you need to consider:

1. Vehicle Maintenance

When countries impose strong lockdown curfews on their citizens, only businesses deemed “essential” are allowed to operate as normal. Vehicle maintenance garages are one such example and have seen no decline in trade despite the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Vehicles used by key workers and emergency services still need to function as intended. Those repair workshops are crucial at keeping a nation’s network of supplies and essential services working as it should.

2. IT Services

Technology is another necessity in today’s modern world. It has proven a welcome boon when coordinating COVID-19 care and support for communities across the globe. And it’s still going to be around long after the coronavirus pandemic becomes a distant memory.

IT consulting and support services companies offer a variety of solutions for residential and corporate users alike. They are one of the few sectors virtually unaffected by COVID-19. IT services encompass sectors ranging from cloud computing through to content streaming.

3. Delivery Services

Logistics play a vital role in the functioning and development of any nation’s infrastructure. Without delivery services in place, businesses wouldn’t have the resources they need to provide their products and services.

During the peak of COVID-19 in many countries, particular attention got focused on delivery services. Especially ones that could transport much-needed items such as medicine to healthcare centers, and groceries to individuals self-isolating due to COVID-19 symptoms.

4. Insurance

It might surprise you to learn that the insurance industry as a whole is least affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the economic chaos that the coronavirus has brought most nations, it’s still “business as usual” for insurers.

For a start, workers at insurance companies can mostly continue providing services remotely from home. That’s thanks, in part, to the digitization of insurance products. Another reason is due to the continued requirement for consumer and corporate protection against risks.

5. Pharmaceuticals

One sector to consider that is both unaffected by COVID-19 and economic recessions is the pharmaceutical industry. Irrespective of what’s going on in the world, people (and animals) still need medicine to treat illnesses and diseases.

When talking about the pharmaceutical industry, there’s not just the production of medicine. Related sectors such as research and development are also largely unaffected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Choosing Your First Business Premises as an Entrepreneur: 4 Top Tips

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | Choosing Your First Business Premises as an Entrepreneur: 4 Top TipsMany entrepreneurs are used to working from home or working remotely, but if you’ve developed your brand and built your business substantially enough to move into the property market, you’ll want to find the perfect premises that work for you.

Finding your first physical building or office space to contain your business can be a daunting (and costly) step, but it should also be an exciting time that allows you to concentrate on moving your business forward.

Here are four tips for finding the right premises.

1. Choose to Buy or Lease

This is going to be an important first step, as it’s going to impact you financially. There are pros and cons to both options, and a lot of it is going to depend on your initial budget. As an entrepreneur, it might be that you simply don’t have an upfront deposit to buy a property, however much you would like to. Renting can be a much more flexible option for entrepreneurs, as you don’t need as much money upfront and you have the flexibility to leave the contract and find alternative premises when your business grows or changes in the future.

Of course, buying can be a great investment if you’re looking to make money from a property, and it also allows you more freedom to make any desired changes to the building.

2. Think Carefully About Your Location

For certain businesses, location is everything. If you are a physical store or if you are going to have consumers or clients visiting your property on a regular basis, being stationed in a location that is easily accessible will be a must. You should think about being close to public transport links, busy towns, and city centers.
If your business doesn’t depend on external visitors, you still need to think about commutability for your employees. If your property is quite remote and some of your employees do not drive, it is going to be difficult for them.

3. Consider Any Renovation Work

You may find the perfect property, but it may take a little extra to make it the most suitable for your budget. Renovation work can be factored in, if you have the means and budget for it.

With buying, you have more freedom for renovation, but renting may also be flexible if the landlord is happy for you to take care of the renovations yourself. Always remember to get professional guidance on large jobs, such as reroofing from Lidoran.

4. Stick to Your Requirements

Know in advance what you require from a building and stick to it. Don’t compromise on requirements, as the daily workings of your business will suffer in the long run. You need to think about:

  • General office space
  • Warehousing space, if necessary
  • Parking facilities
  • Other facilities, such as a cafeteria
  • A reception or lobby

Conclusion

Finding a property is all about preparation and budgeting in advance. Knowing what you need ahead of time will ensure that you can then price-match your requirements with what you have, and make a more informed decision regarding affordable properties and whether you buy or lease them.

A Guide to Building a Long-Lasting Ecommerce Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Ecommerce Business|A Guide to Building a Long-Lasting Ecommerce BusinessLaunching an e-commerce business will allow you to take charge of your future and become your own boss. Consider that, in 2018, mobile ecommerce revenue accounted for 50% of total U.S. e-commerce revenue. However, with many online stores available, you will need to develop a site that will set you apart from your rivals and generate a large revenue.

To meet your demographic’s needs, attract many customers, and enjoy many years in your chosen industry, read this informative guide to building a long-lasting e-commerce business.

Find the Right Products

For your e-commerce business to be a success, you need to find the right products. As Amazon is one of the most popular e-commerce websites on the planet, many people will turn to the brand to find a product they are looking for.

For this reason, you must aim to sell unique items that your target market can’t find elsewhere. Identify a gap in the market by considering the products your loved ones or colleagues would like to buy online.

Choose a Product Source

There are different ways you can source a product, as you could:

  • Sell homemade products
  • Manufacture items
  • Buy products in bulk from a wholesaler
  • Invest in dropshipping services

The option you choose can determine your profit margin, warehousing, and branding. For instance, homemade products will help you to create an authentic brand, while dropshipping can reduce your warehousing and shipping overheads.

Build an Impressive Website

Encourage trust in your business by building an impressive website. For example, you must aim to provide easy navigation, an attractive layout, fast page speed, and strong calls-to-action. By doing so, you can wow visitors, decrease your bounce rate, and increase your company’s revenue.

To build a credible e-commerce site with a superb user experience, invest in forward-thinking web design services. It will allow you to work alongside e-commerce specialists who have extensive experience in developing robust sites.

Research Your Rivals

Research your rivals to learn more about their products, services, and pricing. You can identify where you fit in the market, the products your customers are looking for, and the best marketing tactics to grow your brand. Understanding your competitors’ weaknesses and strengths could also help you to discover your business’s USP.

Don’t Lose Customers

Many visitors might fail to place an order when visiting your site. Rather than allowing a customer to slip through your fingers, you must find ways to lock-in a sale. For instance, you could promote limited time offers, launch a remarketing campaign, or send cart abandonment emails straight into your subscribers’ inbox.

Conclusion

According to a 2019 poll, 76% of adults in the United States choose to shop online, with 25% doing so at least once per month. An e-commerce business can, therefore, be an ideal avenue to venture down.

To secure many customers and generate a healthy revenue, you must look for ways to build a long-lasting business. For instance, you’ll need to find the right products, design an aesthetically pleasing, easy-to-use website, and you must thoroughly know your rivals to find a gap in the market.

What Your Startup Needs To Do To Create Strong Business Relationships

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Strong Business Relationships|What Your Startup Needs To Do To Create Strong Business RelationshipsThe phrase ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ is very relevant to business. Your business partnerships can either make or break your business, so working on creating strong relationships is key. Whether you’re building relationships with your employees, suppliers, or business partners, you need to understand just how important it is to build and maintain strong relationships now and in the future.

What does your startup need to do to create strong business relationships? Read on…

Diversify Your Networks

You need to get out of your comfort zone and force yourself to build connections outside of your immediate circle. See if you can nurture a relationship with at least one customer, supplier, and a competitor. You should then seek out people from other organizations that could be relevant to your business.

Give What You Want To Get From Each of Your Relationships

Your relationships need to go both ways – you need to give what you want to get. Offer to go above and beyond in order to build your relationships. Help people, connect people with one another, and share information. Others will be more willing to respond this way when you need help yourself.

Spend Quality Time On Key Relationships

Make sure you identify your key relationships and aim to spend quality time nurturing them. For example, make an effort to spend more time personalizing interactions with your key customers, as well as leaders who could make a big difference to your organization. The relationships you spend the most time on will generate immediate returns for you in the long run.

Apply Your Time, Brand, And Resources To Social Issues

Ideally, the network of relationships you’re spending the most time on will be people with shared interests, beliefs, and ambitions. Collaborating with them on helping social issues will turn them into advocates for your brand.

Edit And Reshape Your Networks Regularly

You need to ensure you are nurturing the relationships that are critical to your business regularly. However, you also need to ensure you are editing and reshaping your networks, too. If a contact is no longer useful to you, you should push them into your inactive network. Regularly identifying new relationships that could be viable is crucial. You might find that an ac do power supply manufacturer is viable to your business and a supplier you once had a relationship with is not. Keeping your network current and useful will stop things from getting confusing for you.

There’s so much more to remember about building strong business relationships. Here are some further pointers you can use:

  • More relationships are not always better – be selective about the relationships you form.
  • Over investment in relationships could take time away from developing your business – find a balance.
  • Introducing new elements to your network will allow you to find new perspectives, new experiences, and positive change.

You need to look at your business as a community, not an island. Build strong business relationships and review regularly for the best results!

5 Steps for Starting a Successful Manufacturing Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | 5 Steps for Starting a Successful Manufacturing BusinessStarting a new manufacturing business can be a daunting prospect, but if you pull it off, there can be great rewards.

One of the most important things is that you don’t rush into it without being ready, and this means careful planning is needed. These five steps for starting a successful manufacturing business can help you on your way.

1. Planning

You can’t just go into business and hope things will fall into place, because they invariably won’t. Instead, you’ve got to plan your approach in as much detail as possible.

Some of the first things you need to think about are how you’re going to enter the market, where your competitive edge lies, and how you’re going to finance the venture. There are a lot of start-up costs associated with manufacturing, so you may have to come up with some innovative ways of financing your company.

2. Location

Where you locate your factory is going to play a big role in your business’s success.

Logistics play a huge part in manufacturing, and you’re going to want to minimize these costs as much as possible. One of the ways you can do this is by finding a factory in a location with excellent transport links.

Great transport links also make it easier for customers to get to you and your staff to get to and from work.

3. Personnel

When you’re starting a new venture, it’s vital you get the right people in to help you out. This is a critical time for your company, so you want to be able to rely on competent staff to help carry out your vision.

If you hire well and build a good, solid team, you start to breed a culture that will define your business for the years to come, but if you get your hiring wrong, it can lead to bad habits and poor-quality work.

The hiring process is crucial, and you need to be getting the right people in, something that has served this dowel pin manufacturer well.

4. Technology

You can only get the best out of people if you give them the right tools to do their job.

Investing in technology is expensive, but if you’re investing in the right technology, it’s going to make a huge difference to your efficiency and make your company more profitable.

It might mean a big upfront investment, but technology can make all the difference in your manufacturing business’s success.

5. Suppliers

We’re always talking about customers and rightly so: they’re the ones that help pay the bills. That said, suppliers play a big role as well.

If you can start to build good relationships with your suppliers right from the very start, they can stand you in good stead for many years. Your suppliers are one of the very first cogs in the entire manufacturing process, so it’s vital you can rely on them.

Really do your research and due diligence on suppliers and try to cultivate strong relationships.