Table of Contents
Starting a Business
There are many aspects for starting a business. You will need to consider the product, service, marketing, fulfillment, sales, human resources, software, legal, accounting and more. There will be different problems that arise.
There are a lot of things to consider. As you start the process, you will come to different conclusions on how to build up your business.
Read: The Ultimate Guide: Build Multiple Streams of Income
Thinking about Niches
Do you have a particular niche that interests you?
You are able to make money in all kinds of niches. It’s important to be able to find a niche that is important to you and important to other people.
You can look at your books and where you like to spend your time. Track your money, and you can find the things that interest you.
Read: 200 Different Niches You Can Build a Business Around
Thinking About Problems
You need to consider problems. Without problems, there isn’t a need or want to buy anything. Some businesses have found major success by solving their own personal problems.
Create a list of different problems that people face. You can also list some of your own personal problems. If you have a way to solve those problems, you can generate revenue.
Your Resources
You will need to consider your own resources. Do you have more time or more money? Having both of these resources will expand your business rapidly.
In the beginning, you will have to spend some time on your business. Overtime, you will want to spend money for your advertising and outsourcing more of your work.
You will need to consider if you are working in your business or on your business. Overtime, you will want to have someone else doing your work.
Physical Location or a Digital Presence
Having a Physical Location
Consider if you want to have a physical location or a digital presence. Some businesses will require you to have a physical presence. Usually this will cost you additional money or time.
Developing a Digital Business
If your business idea can be digital, it will be highly advantageous. You can leverage the internet and you have a larger pool of potential customers.
Read: Digital Marketing For Beginners: The New Way to Get Clients
How to Find Traffic For Your Business
If you don’t have traffic for your business, you don’t have a business. This is why some businesses require physical locations in high traffic areas. Even though rent may be high, it is offset by the number of customers that will see their shop.
Paid Advertising
If you are able to make sales online, you can look at advertising on different platforms like Google, YouTube, and Facebook.
There are different advertising platforms that you can join. You can look at Udimi if you want to share to an email campaign.
Influencer Marketing
If you are familiar with social media and influencers, you can look at getting involved with influencers. This is a huge untapped market. Influencers are increasingly becoming important traffic sources.
Read: Influencer Strategy For Brands: How to Sell More of Your Products
Organic Traffic Sources
You may way to consider organic traffic. The benefit of building organic traffic is that you can get a steady stream of people looking at your content.
Building a Marketing Plan
It’s important to build a marketing plan that works for You. In general, it’s important to look at a blend of paid and free options.
Each marketing plan has different benefits and limitations.
Considering Free Options
Free options are building out a platform on YouTube, a blog, or a podcast. This can take a lot of time. If you start outsourcing some of the creation process, you will have to pay for those services.
Other free options are going on to social media and sending people a direct message. This can be a way to generate sales, but it’ll be time intensive.
Considering Paid Options
Paid options like Google or Facebook Ads are popular ways to generate traffic. A lot of local and digital businesses use these platforms. If you costs are less than the revenue, you win.
Sales Team
In the beginning, you will be selling yourself. There won’t be another person that will be selling your products and services.
Over time, you might consider hiring people and giving them commissions. This can be a good way to expand your team and sell more of your products and services.
Creating a Sales Process
Who are the people that will ultimately sell your product? If you sell high ticket items, you will want to look at having a webinar or selling on the phone.
If you use a webinar you can scale much easier than if you needed to get on the phone. You only need to show them the presentation and present your offer.
A phone call can be much more personable. You can tune into how someone is feeling by being on the call. You can see if they are a good fit for your business.
Legal Stuff
One of the things you will want to consider is your name. Will you have a DBA or an LLC?
A DBA is a fictitious business name. You can register one at your local county. They will usually have a database of names that you can’t take from.
An LLC has more legal protections. You can hire an attorney to draft up an LLC or create one through a legal service like Rocket Lawyer.
Read: Getting an LLC with RocketLawyer
Check your business name and make sure it isn’t trademarked. It’s important that you don’t build up your business and need to change it.
Accounting Stuff
As a business, it’s important to know your numbers. You will want to know your revenue and expenses.
If possible, look into bookkeeping. They will categorize your numbers and give you insight into how your business is growing.
Usually they will prepare it for tax season. These numbers can have tax implications that you want to be aware of. There are a multitude of savings if you set up your business and taxes correctly.
Outsourcing Work
Are you working on your business or working in your business? Most businesses really have freelancers. They are self-employed. They don’t have systems in place for them to get out of their work.
Overtime, you will want to start outsourcing your work. You want to be able to replace yourself, so your business keeps on growing. It’s important to build a platform that you can expand and scale into bigger business.
What Software Do You Use?
You should have platforms for your business. It’s highly dependent on the way you market and conduct your business.
Looking at Building Organic Traffic
Create social media profiles on all the major platforms. This should include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms.
YouTube as a Traffic Source
You should have a YouTube channel. YouTube is becoming a huge platform for businesses. They have a robust search engine and use algorithms to recommend different videos.
Read: Ultimate Guide on Making Money on YouTube
Blogging as a Traffic Source
You should also have a blog. Preferable, it’s self hosted on WordPress.org. If you don’t want to deal with ownership, consider Medium.
Read: Blogging as a Side Hustle
Podcasting as a Traffic Source
If you want to do a podcast, you can look into Libsyn or Anchor. These platforms are helpful in broadcasting your products and services. It’s important to build up a following.
Read: Best Podcast Platform: Which is the Best Platform For You?
Having an Email Service Provider (ESP)
Consider having an email service provider. Some of the major players are Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and Constant Contact.
Some of the automation and tagging features require a paid subscription. You can get started with MailChimp and ConvertKit for free.
Having Marketing Sales Funnels
Consider the different marketing sales funnels that you can use. If you get into advertising, you will want a website that allows you to sell your product and then do potential up-sells or down-sells.
There are different platforms for building up your business. Some of these funnel platforms have an all in one platform. You can email right from their platform.
Read: Marketing Funnels Made Easy
Business Loans
Depending on your business, you may not be able to get a business loan right away. They will usually fund your business once you have been in business for at least a year or two. They want to see how much revenue you generated.
Getting a Personal Line of Credit
Instead consider getting a personal loan. You can get a line of credit from your local credit union. They will usually grant you a line that you can use. You can do cash advances and help fund your business.
Crowdfunding and Private Funds
If you have family and friends, they may be willing to invest in your business. It’s a good way to generate funds. You can look into crowdfunding platforms to build up your business.
Franchising a Business
Most franchises want a local presence. If you have some funds, you can look at franchising. They usually have all the systems and training for you set up.
If you want that support consider getting a franchise. You will want to make sure that it’s scalable. You don’t want to be put in a situation that you are working in your business and you’ve created a job for yourself.
Utilizing Social Media
Social Media is a big business. You can look into getting a following right on these platforms. It’s a good way to build up your brand and business.
Consider creating a Facebook Group. There have been businesses that have done really well by creating an engaging platform.
Look at leveraging the different social media platforms. This can be a good way to showcase your brand especially when people start searching for you.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the most important part of starting a business?
The most important part of starting a business is finding traffic. If you don’t have people coming to check out your product and service, you don’t have a business.
Should I start a local business or an online business?
I recommend you look at an online business. An online business gives you the flexibility to scale and move if you wanted to.
Should I advertise or build organic traffic?
Look at building organic traffic. If you plan to be in business for the long term, it will be a great asset for you. Advertising is a great way to accelerate your business if you have additional funds.
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