Running a business can be incredibly difficult, running a successful business is even harder! You need to have an understanding of what you are doing and where you want your business to go. You may already know that many businesses will close down before they reach their fifth birthday, some even sooner than this. This is typically due to either running out of money or not having the customer levels needed to turn a profit. If you don’t want this to be you then you will need to get your business up and running ready to stand the test of time. Check out the article below for 13 steps on how to build and create an amazing business.
An Idea
One of the first things you need to do before you open any business is know what you want to do and which type of business you want to run. Every business you see around you today, be it in person or online all started with an idea. Without this, you won’t know how to get it started as each one will be different. Write down everything you think of, no matter how small or insignificant you think it might be. You never know, something you write down could be the award winning idea you need.
Funding
Once you have your idea you will need to work out how much funding you need for your new start up. You may have heard that you can start a business with no money at all, while this is true it tends to be just online based businesses and those handed down that don’t require any money. You should make a note of everything that you and your new business will need in the beginning until you have profits coming in. You may be totally surprised with the final figure that you create, this may be slightly more than you ever imagined.
You will possibly need money for rent, if you are having a shop or office space. You will also need funding for tech, employee salaries, and stock. There are so many things that will eat into that budget. When you have your final figure, if you don’t have this money to hand then you will need to successfully apply for a small business loans. The bank needs to know you are a safe lending option, so making the repayments each month is paramount.
Market Research
One thing you will need to do before you start a business is carry out market research with your business idea. The last thing you want is for your business to crumble as nobody is shopping with you or buying anything. Market research is an easy way to gauge interest levels before spending massive amounts of money. You could send out polls on social media asking whether your potential customers would buy your new products or invest in your services. You could also look into your closest competitors, carrying out research on them will provide a greater understanding about how they do each year.
Employees
Something else to consider when it comes to your business is whether or not you are going to hire employees. This might not be on the cards in the very beginning due to money and locations. However, as you succeed and gain more customers and clients then it might be time to face the hiring process. Knowing who you want to hire and what job roles you have will go a long way in finding the right people.
Getting the right employees is something you need to get right the first time as otherwise you can end up with a high employee churn rate. This happens when people come and go in quick succession and can be detrimental for your company. Meet your potential employees, check their resumes, and be sure to call previous employers to find out what they were like to work with. A lot of people can exaggerate the truth on their resumes so checking and double checking is vital. The last thing you want is to hire someone with a certain skill set and then not be able to carry out simple tasks.
Locations
Is your business going to be online based or are you going to have certain locations dotted around? This is something you need to think about when working out the logistics of your business. If you do decide to have a set location then you need to head out and find it. If you work with a commercial realtor then they will be able to help you find land or a building for your business.
One thing to remember is that if you are in the middle of all the hustle and bustle then your customers and clients will be able to easily find you. They could also see your company while out for a walk and decide to pop in, this is a great way to make new and repeat customers. If you are wanting to save some money and rent is cheaper being set back then make sure you invest in some good quality marketing and signage.
Storage
You will need to make sure that your business location has enough storage space for all your goods. If there is nowhere to put stock ready to go out for delivery then you will need to head back to the drawing board. Sometimes it is much cheaper to get a separate storage locker and go there whenever you need to post items to customers. Work out your costs and see which one works best for you and your budget. You don’t really want to have to move to a new location once you are settled so try and find a storage solution that works for you from the start.
If you are running your business from home then you will need to find somewhere there to store your goods. Maybe you have a spare room or you are planning to use the garden shed, make sure it is damp proof before you do this.
Suppliers
Find the best suppliers for everything you need within your business. You will notice that different suppliers have different offers and prices on their sites or what they have quoted you. Shop around and don’t be afraid to move to a new supplier when it is time to put in another order. A lot of businesses are spending extra money due to loyalties to their suppliers. You can go and come back, it really is no big deal. If you can save some money within your business then you absolutely should move suppliers. They will often send you discount codes to use if you return to them as well, so bear this in mind.
Website
Now, your website needs to be strong, stable, easy to navigate, and free from pop ups. If your customers and clients have to spend endless hours scrolling to find what they need then they are likely to take their custom elsewhere. You need to remember that not everyone who is using your website is tech savvy, so make it as simple as possible for everyone. You could design it with a search bar so your customers can simply enter what they are looking for.
Do you want your customers and clients to get answers to questions as soon as they ask them? Well, this can be solved by adding a chatbot to your site. Chatbot software for businesses is becoming extremely common as business owners don’t want to leave their customers without answers for days on end.
Marketing
This is one area that will take a huge chunk of your budget, and rightly so. If you don’t spend enough on marketing then your customers and clients will struggle to know you exist. Marketing strategies that you use will need to be helpful, for instance you won’t use leafleting if you are based online only. You could use social media, this is always the first and most popular choice. Social media is mostly free to post and you can create business pages for your customers and clients to visit.
Another great option is video marketing, this consists of adding a welcome video to your website explaining what you are about and what you offer. This provides your shoppers with a more personal approach and they love learning about who they are buying off.
If you have never run a business before then it might benefit you to invest in a marketing team. These are two or three people you hire to take over the running of your marketing, they will know exactly what your business needs to thrive and flourish. You could also work with a marketing agency if you are not ready to hire people just yet.
Customer Service
Finally, if you are wanting to have someone on hand at all times to reply to customers and answer any questions, queries, or complaints they have then why not look into customer services. They will be able to monitor the phone, email, and website for anything that crops up. Customers are far more likely to respond to a business that helps them solve a lot of their issues. It might be something as simple as finding the right product or they could be dealing with a complaint. Every day will be different and you need to hire people who know how to talk to people and handle them.
We hope you enjoyed this article and it gave you some useful tips and tricks on how to build a successful business.
