Starting a business is often an exciting but daunting endeavor. The better prepared you are, the less likely your business will disintegrate before it even gets a chance to begin. In this guide, you’ll find six essential steps to heighten your chances of succeeding with your new business idea.
1. Create a Solid Business Plan
The first step in making your dream business come to fruition is solidifying its roadmap. Every nuanced detail doesn’t need ironing out yet, but theorizing about potential obstacles and progress milestones is a good start. These are the first actions among a long list of tasks to help organize your idea into a plan.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel with how you go about structuring your idea. Get ahead of the game by modeling your plan from a business plan template. These templates can get your creative and administrative juices flowing. They are also flexible, allowing you to deviate from prescribed decision points and add elements of your own. If you’re unsure where to start, using a template may prove helpful in the early stages of your planning process.
2. Conduct Market Research
Many entrepreneurs dive headlong into their dream too quickly, trying to check off as many necessities as possible. But it’s a pretty reckless pursuit if they haven’t first determined whether their idea is even viable. Researching the market you aim to enter is a key part of any new business plan.
You may have an awesome idea you feel is innovative — like something no one else has ever done. However, it’s worth diddly-squat if you don’t measure your TAM (total addressable market) and likeliness to turn a profit. Stop to ponder if there’s a reason no one has previously attempted it. Is there a demand for the product or service, and if not, can you successfully generate that demand? Will your target audience be local, national, or global, and how do you plan to reach them?
It’s crucial to consider these questions to avoid pouring time and effort into an idea that’s doomed from the start. Look into what your would-be competitors are doing. Assess the way their customers are interacting with the product or service. At the same time, take note of any weaknesses your competitors possess, determining if your business could fill those gaps.
3. Determine Your Financial Needs
Starting a business comes with many expenses. It’s important to be realistic about your financial needs from the beginning. Common startup costs include product development, marketing, and operational expenses like rent or employee salaries. Using accounting software can help you organize your budget and track these costs more efficiently.
Once you’ve calculated your estimated expenses, consider your funding options. Getting your business off the ground may require a mix of personal savings, small business loans, or venture capital. A detailed financial plan — backed by your business plan — will make securing funding and managing your money much easier.
Always anticipate that things will cost more than your initial estimates. If you do, you’ll never be surprised by unexpected alterations to arrangements with suppliers, properties, government fees, or other expenses.
4. Register Your Business
Now that you’ve built a plan and done all of the research, you’re feeling confident you can make this work. Before moving forward, you must register your business with the appropriate government agencies. This includes applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), registering your business name, and obtaining any necessary licenses or permits.
If you neglect to register your business, your government will most certainly notice and you’ll be subject to hefty fines. It could even spell the end of your business before it takes off. So it’s important to do your due diligence and get bonafide with the state.
5. Build an Online Presence
Once your business is registered, you’re ready to begin marketing your business. This can happen at practically any stage of a brand-new company, but don’t let it take all of your time. In the early stages of starting a business, many issues may arise threatening to snuff out your plan. If something goes awry and you’ve already spent hundreds of hours on marketing, you have wasted your time.
To begin marketing your business, you can build a presence online by creating company pages on social media. Here’s a list of popular platforms to get you started:
- X (Twitter)
- Yelp
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Snapchat
It’s best to start small, selecting one or two platforms and expanding as necessary or when you have additional time. Your ideal social platforms will depend on your location, target market, and industry. Use your company page to showcase your products and services to your earliest followers before you even begin selling anything. If your budget allows, you can also run advertisements on platforms where your target audience is most likely to engage.
6. Develop a Marketing Strategy
While cultivating your following online is an integral first step, it’s not all there is to marketing. Evaluate your product or service offering, assess where your audience is hanging out, and then present them with your offer. You should do this in as many different places as possible.
In today’s world, this most often translates to digital marketing strategies, including paid and organic marketing. But, depending on your industry, it could also mean magazine ads, billboards, direct mail, and other traditional modes of marketing. Analyze how your competitors are marketing to their audience and determine which strategies you want to implement for yourself. To gain an advantage, consider where else you want to experiment with placing your message.
Be aware that marketing success for each channel varies from brand to brand. What works for one company may not work for another, even if they are virtually the same type of business. If your competitors aren’t using Google Ads, this could suggest it’s not ideal for your business. However, it might be an untapped marketing channel you can use to get a leg up on the competition. Every potential marketing platform should be scrutinized this way, but not necessarily discarded immediately.
Now Go For It
Starting a business is, no doubt, a huge undertaking. But, as evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of companies that have existed, it’s not impossible. It takes a level-headed, responsible, and pragmatic mindset. And with help from one or more partners, the process becomes even easier.
Take things one step at a time, and don’t let hiccups ruin your momentum. Stay determined to make your dream come true, and in time, it likely will.
