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4 Considerations Before Starting a Business

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Starting a business|4 Considerations Before Starting a BusinessBeing the boss is a fantasy a lot of people have because it’s nice to feel in control and like you’re in a position of importance. The idea of developing a business is also very impressive and satisfying, knowing that your hard work paid off and has given you that independence, allowing you to break free from working under someone else. However, although starting a business is an incredible feat and very rewarding, it is also very challenging and can be risky. If you have been contemplating whether or not you should start a business, here are four considerations you need to make before you do it.

1. Is Your Idea Any Good?

Firstly, is your idea any good? To answer this question properly, you will need to do some market research to get a better idea of how your business will meet consumers’ demands and how it will stand out from other companies offering the same as you. Your idea might be reasonably good, but if the market is already saturated with businesses doing the same thing, you might not have much luck getting noticed unless you have excellent branding and a plan to bring something new to the table. Additionally, if your idea is not that common, are you sure this is something consumers want? Research! Research! Research! That is the only way you’ll know whether your idea is bankable.

2. How Much Help Do You Need?

Running a business is a lot of work, and although you might think you can do everything yourself, the reality is that you are going to need a bit of help somewhere along the way. How much help you need will depend on your business’s nature, but it’s important to think this through and whether you have someone who is willing to help you out voluntarily, like a friend or relative, or if you need to hire some staff. The latter is better if you can afford this, as you’ll get more out of people if you can pay them for their time.

3. How Will You Keep Your Business Safe?

It’s easy to get carried away with your idea and start thinking about marketing strategies, branding, renting office or retail space, designing a website – all of which is important. However, one of the most essential things you need to worry about is how you will keep your business safe? You must get business insurance as soon as you incorporate your company to make sure you have the right cover to protect you from accidents, lawsuits, damage, etc. You should also make sure your Cyber Security is impeccable, as protecting your company’s data and customer data is a top priority.

4. Why Are You Doing it?

Finally, why do you want to start this business? As this venture will demand your attention and commitment, you need to be doing it for the right reasons. Are you passionate about your business idea? Is this something you have always wanted to do? Don’t try and start a business just because you’re bored with your current job or think it will be an easier way to make money. You will need to have the passion and ambition to drive your motivation and get you through the tough times.
Starting a business can be very exciting, but before you do, ask yourself these questions to make sure you’re thinking it through.

Here are Some of the Biggest Reasons why your Start-up Could Fail

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start-up|Here are Some of the Biggest Reasons why your Start-up Could FailA lot of entrepreneurs often get swept up with their own ideas and they forget about some of the most common mistakes out there. If you are going to be going out on your own, then you may find that you underestimate the main mistakes that most people make. If you do this then you may find that you experience serious cash flow issues later down the line. This is the last thing that you need, but if you educate yourself now, then you may be able to come out on top.

You Don’t Start with the End in Mind

Entrepreneurs often start out with optimism and excitement. They think that they will do whatever is in their power to succeed, but at the end of the day, they don’t think about the future. You need to take the time to plan out your values, your mission and your vision. You also need to think about how your service is going to differ from the rest as this will help you to maintain your focus and your overall effectiveness. If you adopt a bigger picture approach right from the get-go, then this will help you to ask some tough questions now rather than later and this will give you a roadmap when things get tough.

You Don’t Research your Competition

Although this may seem somewhat counterintuitive, at the end of the day, you do want competition. You don’t want so much that the market becomes saturated, but you do want enough that you are able to keep on pushing forward and improving your services overall. Competitors validate the market for you and if there aren’t any, then you need to ask yourself a few key questions. You need to ask yourself if the problem that you are trying to solve is actually there, or if the problem is widespread enough to actually warrant a business being created.

You Fall in Love with a Difficult Idea

Founders of a company often fall in love with their ideas and they don’t do the hard work that is required to find out who else actually loves what they are selling. Sure, you need to be passionate about your company but if you are far too emotionally involved or invested, then you may find that you end up missing the mark. This is the last thing that you need, so make sure that your customers love what you are doing as much as you do.

You Don’t Evolve

You have to stay objective and you also need to make sure that you read the market as well. Never be afraid to change things up if you find that your original idea is not taking off as well as you had hoped. Instead, respond to what the market is asking from you as opposed to what you want to offer. YouTube started out as a dating website, but the founders soon came to the conclusion that the market didn’t want to see dating videos. They simply wanted the option of being able to upload their own videos whenever they wanted and now the rest is history.

You Don’t Seek Legal Protection

Start-up founders have to make sure that they make a special effort to try and prioritise any legal procedures. When you start a business with a college friend, you may well have written your plan on the back of a napkin and then sealed the deal with a “cheers” or a clink of a glass. This is great, and this is often how the best ideas are formed. The problem is that people are often so excited about getting their business up and running that they forget to do important things, which can include founders’ agreements or even early employee arrangements. If you do not address these steps at the beginning, then you may find that they come and bite you later down the line. Sometimes, it won’t be until years later when you feel the impact but at the end of the day, you have to make sure that you do everything you can to try and avoid this.

Not Raising Enough Capital

Entrepreneurs often think that they need to raise enough money, before they start their business. Ultimately it comes down to the fact that you are better off earning money on a much smaller scale if possible. At the end of the day, there is always a way for you to validate your concept on a small scale whether it’s by having a digital campaign or investing in Kickstarter. Until you have 100 users who are passionate about your company, you are truly not ready to grow. When you have been able to prove that there is some degree of market demand for your product, only then will investors see your company as being valuable and it is at this moment when you can begin to raise some serious money. If you want some help with raising capital, then make sure that you check out this capital raise toolbox so you can find out more.

If you are sure that your start-up is doomed to fail but you feel as though your idea is solid, then it may be worth trying to hire a mentor. When you do this, you can count on them to give you all of the advice you need to feel confident in your idea and you can also trust in them to help you to avoid some of the many mistakes that many people make when beginning their business too. Other options include freelancing and gaining as much experience in the industry as you can before you go ahead with your full idea. The great thing about doing this is that you can then push the boundaries to your career, and you can also network with others too. Any contacts you make can then be taken with you when you go to start your own company as well so make sure that you keep this in mind as it may end up serving you well.

Growth Strategies For Your Online Business

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Growth Strategies|Growth Strategies For Your Online BusinessCountless people are starting online businesses, and even though it might seem easy, it is hard work. There are 582 million entrepreneurs globally; however, 22.5% of companies don’t make it past the first year. To develop a successful business, you will need to connect with the right audience using the proper strategies such as the following listed here.

1. Conducting market research

You need to understand your market when venturing into a business. Research should be conducted directly with potential customers, allowing your business to recognize its target market and get feedback about interest in the product or service you are offering. Having a fair idea about your market will also help you know if you will be successful. Additionally, it enables you to refine your ideas and strategize ways to help your business stand out from the rest.

2. Getting a website

Developing your website is vital to getting your business online as most people looking for information on your business will check the internet. Having a website is essential whether you will be selling goods online or providing some information about your business and your contact particulars. It should not be a complicated or expensive process. Note, however, that customers usually expect your domain name to be related to your business name. Therefore, choose a domain name that reflects your products or services so that customers can find your business quickly through a search engine. To register your domain name, discover an accredited registrar, and go along with their registration demands. Services, charges, terms, and conditions may differ from registrar to registrar, so be meticulous in checking differences.

3. Leveraging social media

Social media should be a choice in enhancing your presence in the online market. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media platforms have highly engaged audiences. If you want to be successful, it’s best to begin by determining what social networks work best for your business. Also, cross-promote your social media accounts on your website to raise brand awareness and engage with customers to gain valuable insights, share content, get feedback, and build brand loyalty. And by keeping your profiles active, you can grow your following and drive more traffic back to your website.

4. Email marketing

Messaging platforms are escalating, but emailing has stood its ground, and you can use it to grow your online business. Start by looking through your old contact book for email addresses that might come in handy. If you don’t have any, don’t fret; start building an email marketing list. Compiling one will require time and effort, but with patience, you will see its fruits. Once you’ve amassed a sizable list, start reaching out to the people to promote your business. You can work with an online data broker for a faster yet reliable process at a reasonable price. Data brokers already have an extensive email list and the necessary information for a more targeted advertisement.

If you’ve been discerning ways to start your online business, be patient; you can establish a formidable business online once you enhance your presence in that space. With these steps, you can develop something for your target audience and grow your business successfully.

How to Turn Your Hobby into a Business

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Turn Your Hobby into a Business|How to Turn Your Hobby into a BusinessTurning something you truly love and enjoy into a flourishing business that generates a constant flow of revenue can be an exciting and fulfilling experience. Perhaps you’re currently unemployed, you’re looking for a side hustle to increase your earnings, or you just want to leave your job and become the CEO of your life by building a thriving empire that generates Millions like the famous Dan Peña did. The good news is that you can turn something you do for fun into a thriving and sustainable business. But that will require thoughtful planning, commitment, skillful management, and a business mindset. Here are 6 practical tips to help you get started.

1. Set a Clear Goal

Choosing to build a business out of your hobby isn’t a goal. You’re looking forward to working on something you truly treasure, but do you want anything else from that business? Are you planning to run it part-time or full-time? Do you want to create an extra source of revenue? Or do you just want to challenge yourself?
Answer these questions and set expectations for your business. Clearly outlining your goals can help you remain committed to turning your hobby into a profitable business empire.

2. Do Thorough Research and Pick your niche

When you’re building a business out of something that you’re truly passionate about, it’s easy to get carried away and skip the research part. It happens all the time with entrepreneurs who are in love with a business idea. Don’t fall into that trap. Instead, do thorough market research to ensure your business idea isn’t making sense to you alone.

Market research involves you collecting as much information as possible regarding your target customers, asking the right questions, analyzing potential competitors, and discovering your target market. It also involves knowing how to monetize your products and/or services. Corona forced the would to go online and you could ride that wave and create a business line Dan Peña but with live events and video streaming on zoom leveraging new platforms like stream.club.

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3. Examine Your Priorities and Look at the Big Picture

How will you integrate your business into your everyday life? Being able to perceive the big picture will help you spot and tap into new opportunities. Here are the questions you need to ask yourself:
Would turning something you do for fun into a revenue generator be exciting, fun, and fulfilling?
Would the business generate revenue that can sustain your current lifestyle?

Would this business be a key to your financial freedom?

What other benefits will you gain from this venture apart from the cash flow? Perhaps you want to create awareness and build an identity for your online business. If that’s the case, many online business coaches out there will help you reach a global audience and position yourself as an authority in your specific niche.
Does it have the potential for capital growth?

4. Come up with a Business Model

Developing a business model is an important part of building a successful revenue generator. It’s easy to identify a problem, get an idea, and embark on product or brand development right away. But if you don’t have a clear way to monetize your product and/or service, you’ll never turn your hobby into a long-term, sustainable business.

You must strive to know the amount of money that will go into developing your product or service, the appropriate pricing, and the amount your target consumer is willing to pay. You’ll also need to know how you’ll sell your product or service. You may opt for a one-time purchase or adopt a subscription model. Other options for selling your product include leasing, crowdsourcing, franchising, and ad-revenue. Next, choose a platform that suits your target customers, products/services, and pricing strategies. As an example: if you’re a podcast enthusiast, Supercast is the go-to platform for monetizing your podcast.

5. Develop a Business Strategy

You might be great at your hobby, but without a well thought out strategy, you’ll never turn it into a profitable business. Having a good strategy in place will help set your new business for success.

What do you want your business to achieve in the long-term? Your answer to this question must be captured in your business strategy. Other things worth incorporating in your strategy include your offerings, your long-term and short-term goals, your business values, your value propositions, your financial projections, and your marketing strategies.

6. Implement Your Strategy

Now that you have a business strategy, the next step is to put it into action. To implement your strategies, you must accompany each of the strategies laid down with specific action plans and the relevant steps to help you reach the intended destination on time.

You must come up with the right action plans and be ready to act in order to implement your business strategy successfully. And if the strategy isn’t bringing the desired results, be prepared to adjust it, or adopt a whole new strategy altogether. Be sure to take advantage of the latest technology to make your business strategy implementation a bit easy. For instance, if you’re building an online fitness business, incorporating Sutra software into your site will help you stay on top of your schedule, sell courses, and earn money from your fitness videos. What’s more, you can use sites like reach.live to host live fitness events. In fact, Sutrafit like McKenzie started teaching yoga on Reach.live during a crisis.

Conclusion

Turning something you do for fun into a profitable business is a fantastic way to make your life more exciting and satisfying. But you must follow the above steps to successfully turn your hobby into a reliable revenue generator.

How to Start Your Small Business Online

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start your small business|How to Start Your Small Business OnlineIn this article, we’re going to discuss why you should place your business in the online world, even if you’re just starting up. Also, you’ll find a list below of helpful pointers that are important considerations when readying your business to go online.

Why you should venture into online business

If you prefer to operate a traditional business in brick-and-mortar, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But, you’ll be well served to take into account that the world is changing, and people’s buying patterns are changing as well.

With over four billion users as of July 2020, diving into an online business venture is not a bad idea. This might even be your business’ salvation during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Aside from working remotely, an online business is cost-effective and competitive (based on your marketing strategy). This gives your company, no matter how small, a fighting chance against mammoth industries in your niche.

This is one reason why we recommend starting your online business sooner, rather than later. And here are the five easy steps that you’ll need to do to kick-start your online business:

Five easy steps when starting a small online business

1. Create a business plan

Identify what problem you are solving

Your business is a solution to your potential customers’ problems. But first, you need to define the problem at hand. What problem does your business want to solve? What need do you seek to fulfill?

Take some time to think about whether your skillset solves real-world problems. If it does, check if your competitors offer the same strategies. And if they do, what makes your solutions unique?

This will be your leverage against your competitors. Analyze these factors to see whether your market is thriving or nonexistent.

Manage your startup budget

When you’re starting a small business online, you will need startup capital to cover a range of necessary expenses. For beginners, you need to estimate the budget by having a good guess of your operating expenses.

Pay attention to the expenses that must be covered and make sure they are budgeted. The more cost-effective your startup, the more income you will have to work with.

2. Choose your business structure

When you’re starting your business online, you should define your business structure. You can operate solo (sole proprietorship), or with partners (LLC or corporation).

Sole proprietorship

This is the simplest type of business structure. You can operate this on your own even without filing a lot of paperwork. However, there are risks to this business structure.

Your business won’t have protection from liabilities of debts and business obligations. You will be personally responsible for all of these. That’s why you only choose sole proprietorship when you can handle your business on your own with little need for liability protection.

Limited liability company (LLC)

This business structure allows you to share your business liabilities and obligations with other individuals. If things go south, a LLC protects your personal assets from the liability of business debts.

Through a LLC, you share your liabilities with other individuals. The business is owned by you and these individuals share in profits and liabilities.

Corporation

You’d want to use this business structure if you choose to gain investors for your business. Corporations are like LLCs, but with outside funding possibilities and more personal protection.

In order to interest possible investors in purchasing your stock, you’ll need to arrive at a business arrangement. They will need to trust that your business will deliver. You can close more deals with investors if you know how to write a winning RFP response.

3. Market research and analysis

By the time you write your business plan, you’ve already done your market research. You know what is missing from the puzzle, and how your business can provide this missing piece. But you’ll need to dig deeper in order for your business to succeed.

You need to understand how your target market works. Do market research and analyze their buying patterns, market needs, etc. Know your market’s queries on search engines, what keywords they use, and other competitive advantages that you can use as leverage.

4. Poise yourself as an expert in your field

Contribute to your niche by providing expert ideas and solutions that come from trusted sources. Build your profile in your community. This builds trust between you and your potential consumers.

5. Design and optimize your website

Your website will be your online storefront. This is where you will communicate and exchange products/services online with your consumers. Thus, your website should be customer-friendly in order to give users a good experience. Some tips that you’ll need to keep in mind when designing a website:

  • Keep your website clean and simple
  • Make your website easily navigable
  • Every element on your website should contribute to converting your visitors to sales.

Final word

When you’re starting a small online business, you want to begin with your best foot forward. Get a step ahead of your competitors when you start your online business using these five easy steps!