Editorial Team
Starting your own business can be exciting and inspiring, but it can also be overwhelming. You have to learn to wear many hats, and everything will fall on your shoulders for a while as you get off the ground. However, there are over 12 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., so despite the effort and time required to make it work, it’s possible to accomplish your dreams and start a successful business.
If you’re unsure of where to start, developing the right strategy and sharpening your skills and knowledge of the industry is key.
With that in mind, let this be your guide for starting your own business from the ground up. We’ll cover a few important skills you’ll need to have and how you can lean on your resources to ensure you can reach your goals.
Do Your Homework
If you’re passionate about your idea or you have a product or service you know people need, it can be tempting to jump into the business world right away and try to find success. However, that’s extremely risky and likely won’t work out the way you want it to.
Before officially launching your business, take the time to do your homework. Look at the industry you plan on stepping into and how it’s doing. What are your competitors doing? Who will your target audience be?
Doing this kind of research will help you to formulate a viable business plan, which should include things like:
- An executive summary
- Company description
- Market analysis
- Marketing strategies
Your business plan is something you can hand out to potential investors if you need to secure funding for your start-up. Having statistics and data to back up your projections will make it easier for people to say “yes” to investing in your idea, and you’ll get things off the ground much sooner.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
There’s no denying we’re living in a tech-forward world. While that has its pros and cons, you can use it to your advantage when it comes to launching your business. Taking part in networking opportunities, streamlining workloads through automation, and supporting a mobile work environment are all great ways to make life easier on yourself, grow your business, and even help you become a certified women-owned business.
With certification, you can take advantage of special resources and foster future growth with support from the government and specific organizations.
Using technology will also help your business stay relevant in this fast-paced world. It will allow you to hire the best possible candidates to fill positions because they’ll be able to work remotely from anywhere. It will also make your business more secure while improving your marketing techniques and helping you to reach a wider audience.
You don’t necessarily need to be tech-savvy to use it to your advantage. However, it can be helpful to hire individuals with some digital experience to help you make the most of what the tech world has to offer.
Engage With Your Community
Successful businesses are all about relationships. Now, more than ever, consumers are looking for brands they can connect with. Rather than simply advertising to your target audience, it’s important to form relationships with you. One of the best ways to do that is to stay engaged with your local community, as well as your digital audience.
If you’re a brick-and-mortar business or based out of a specific location, your community should be your top priority. You can stay engaged with your local audience in a variety of creative ways, including:
- Supporting other local businesses
- Hosting or participating in charity events
- Joining local events
- Sponsoring events and organizations
- Providing tours
- Holding contests
Anything you can do to cement your brand in people’s minds is a good idea. Your audience should know who you are, what you represent, and what to expect from your business. It’s also important that you establish yourself as the face and voice of your company. Be sure to show up to events. Speak openly and confidently about who you are as a person and what your business is all about. When you humanize your business, you’re more likely to foster lasting connections with consumers.
It’s just as important to foster those relationships with your digital audience, too. Stay active on social media, make sure your website is kept up-to-date, and let your audience in on some “behind-the-scenes” action, whether hosting live Q&A sessions or sharing photos of your employees at work.
Your business idea deserves to be shared with the world. Whether you want to stay local or expand your efforts globally, everyone has to start somewhere. Use this guide to hit the ground running, get the support you need, and you’ll have the best chance at a successful business from the start.
By: Amanda Winstead