How To Get Your Business Off The Ground In The New Year
If you are thinking of starting up a business soon, then you are no doubt aware that there are many ways in which this is one of the most challenging times in recent history to be doing so. However, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t try to get your business off the ground now.
You have a lot to consider when you are getting your business off the ground. From the startup fundraising you have to do to finding a business manager to help you to do it, you can get your idea growing and moving. All you need to do is figure out whether you think it’ll be worth it first. Owning and running your own business is no easy feat and it should never be considered as such!
If you give it everything you’ve got, there is no reason why you won’t be able to get your business up and running and in a secure position in no time. Let’s take a look at some of the things you should keep in mind as you get your business off the ground in the new year.
Shape Your Business Idea
All businesses must start with an idea.
The most successful start with a very strong idea.
How do you know if your business idea is going to be a good one? In general, it needs to address a particular question in some way, providing a solution that is not currently there. Alternatively, you could be solving an old problem in a new way.
If you are unsure if you have a good business idea, it’s worth testing it out with a focus group first. This group can include people in your life whom you trust, general members of the public, or anyone in your industry who are willing to help. However, be careful not to share your idea around too widely before you build your business.
As you’re narrowing down your business idea, you’ll need a notebook to jot down all your amazing ideas. Buy a Moleskin notebook and get started!
Follow Marketing Trends
If you’re going to successfully get your business off the ground, you’ll need to know how to market yourself.
When there are big changes in the world (like a global pandemic), it affects marketing trends. Keep an eye out for how marketing changes over the next year or so to adapt to the new times we live in. Aligning yourself with the marketing trends can sink or swim your new business.
Of course, that means that you need to be fully aware of what those trends are. Consider hiring a marketing expert who can help you. That way, you are much more likely to be able to get that initial growth that your business needs.
When you hire someone to work for your business, you should post your job on ZipRecruiter. A cool feature of ZipRecruiter is that it has a section on its site reserved for small businesses to post their job openings. That means you don’t have to compete with large corporations for visibility. Learn more here.
Make Your Website Work For You
Few elements are quite as important for starting a business as the website. It is one of the central components of marketing, and it’s where people go to learn about your enterprise.
Remember: your website is your shop window. It is a repository of information and you need to make sure that you are doing everything you can to make it as useful as possible.
One of the things to focus on here is to drive traffic to your site. Generally, the way to do this is through SEO, or search engine optimization. Simple SEO tasks can get the ball rolling, including incorporating more keywords into the website, keeping a regularly updated blog, and ensuring that you are aiming for position 0 through the use of featured snippets.
As long as your website is performing well, you are much more likely to get your business off the ground, so this is one of the most important things to be thinking about.
Prepare For Remote Working
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the workplace. More people work remotely now than ever before. As long as you plan for it, it shouldn’t really make too much of a difference to your company, and you should be able to make it work out for you.
One of the first things to focus on in order to get this right is how to actually organize and arrange a remote team. Most of this comes down to using technology in the right way. For instance, you are going to want to make sure that you are giving your team members all of the necessary tech they need. It’s a good idea for you to test it out first so you can answer questions they have.
You can add a chat room to your website for your remote workers to use, you can use Google Hangouts, you can use Microsoft Team, or Whatsapp, or any other of the many solutions that exist. But the important thing is to make sure that you have something in place and planned for.
That’s not all you need to think about. It might be that you need to keep an eye on what your staff is doing, without them feeling like you’re micromanaging them. On the flip side, you are going to want to make sure that they know you are aware of what they are up to. This simply comes down to ensuring that you are checking up on them frequently.
As long as you bear all that in mind, you should find that you can pretty easily lead a remote team. Indeed, it has probably never been easier to do this than right now, and if you approach it with an open mind you should even be able to find some great ease in it, which you can carry forward for the sake of your business.
Navigate Office Work During Covid-19
As well as having remote workers, you might work in an office environment under strict COVID-19 rules. That means you might have to socially distance from one another, set sanitizing protocols, and ensure that you all wear masks at all times.
All of this can be a nuisance, though most of us are used to it by now. As the boss, you will be in charge of enforcing the rules, which might prove difficult at times.
Find Financial Support
Most businesses need a good deal of financial help to get going. Even if you are starting up a fairly small company, you are still probably going to need support.
There are many traditional sources that you can look to when you are seeking financial support for a new business. On top of that, there are some new options that have opened up as a response to COVID-19. Research what is available to entrepreneurs in your area.
The bottom line is, without the money, you are not going to get anywhere. Make sure you have your finances in order to get off the ground running.
Despite the challenges of the past year, it is absolutely possible to get your business off the ground. If you follow these steps and leverage all the resources you have, you’ll be off to a strong start!
