So, you’re wanting startup business ideas to get you going? Whether it’s your first, or your fifteenth – either way, it’s important to get the basics right to help the business thrive in the future. There’s more to starting a successful company than just having a brilliant idea, so get going with these ten ideas.
Define your business
Getting the essentials clear in your mind is key. Ensure you know your product, service, or concept so well that you can deliver an elevator pitch to anyone in a minute. If you find this difficult initially, write it up on a board and ensure you keep developing it. To run a successful business, you need to know what you’re creating and selling, and that means defining your actual business idea. So, get this straight initially and you’ll set yourself up for a win.
Write a business plan
A business plan is essentially your guide for running your startup business, and it’s crucial. A business must have a comprehensive written plan, not just for you, but it can then be used to hand out to investors, management, and even financial institutions to understand your business and assess whether or not they will get involved. If you have some know-how (and you’re happy to do research online) then you can go ahead and do this yourself. If you could do with a little help, there are online tools that you can use.
Register your business
It’s all well and good having a business in theory, but you’ve got to make it official. To get everything in order, do your research on business registration and discover how to register your business’s name.
Know the market
Even if you have an awesome startup business idea, a great product, or a groundbreaking concept, it’s nothing if you don’t know what else is going on in the market. There are so many great businesses out there, you want to know if there’s anything similar to yours on the market, what you can do to set your business apart, and whether or not you need to take a slightly different route to succeed in your specific area.
Network, network, network
With a startup business, it’s important that you network with other business owners and professionals that could help you and be part of your network. Those connections you make could be the difference between success and failure, as you can learn from them, swap favors, and more importantly, they can tell other people about you. As you’re just starting out, you’ll need to be your own publicity and gather momentum for your business by getting out there. You can find potential new business, and maybe even a mentor.
Depending on your business, you can join online groups on social media such as LinkedIn, networks, trade shows, conferences, or meet-ups. First thing’s first, you’ve got to get yourself out there!
Plan funding for startup business idea
Will, you self-fund your business startup? Will you require investment? If so, will you go to a financial institution, find investors, or look for potential grants that could be available to you? These are just some of the questions that you need to ask yourself when you think of funding.
There are lots of different ways to fund your business. You could do so yourself, through your own money, credit or using money from family or friends. Implicating your own money and that of your family is high-risk, so you could consider alternative options such as:
- Crowdfunding
- Investors (angel and venture)
- Grants
- Loans
You can use a combination of the above to get to the right level of funding to offer your business the chance to flourish.
Get marketing
While you’re nurturing your startup business idea, it’s important to get the basics right. That doesn’t mean planning a huge media spend and rushing something out before it’s ready. Instead, take stock and write a considered media plan (tools such as Media Tool can help) and then focus your efforts on creating a solid website or online space (such as an online marketplace) where you can sell your products or service online. Having an online presence is key.
Secondly, you can enlist the power of social media to help launch your business. You can also consider SEO (search engine optimization) to push traffic towards your site.
Keep your finger on the pulse
While you may feel bogged down in the details of running a startup business, to stay ahead of the curve (and the competition) keep looking ahead at what’s to come. As a small business, you have the bonus of being agile. You can see future trends or challenges, and pivot your business to respond in the best possible way. Keep abreast of the news, keep your finger on the pulse of the business world, and stay engaged with networks relevant to your field.
Look after your work-life balance
Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of burning the candle at both ends, thinking they can do everything, and burning themselves out before they’ve even fully succeeded yet. Make sure that’s not you by building in good practices early.
You can’t pour from an empty cup, so make sure you’re getting enough rest, enough time away from work. You need to continue to see loved ones, and eating well and exercising will keep you more mentally and physically healthy, which is crucial.
Keep the dream alive
Starting your own business can be hard, so keep focused through awareness. It could be a mood board stuck up in your house, or it could be a simple screen-saver or monthly progress report to remind yourself how far you’ve come, and how much further you’ve got left to go.
Hopefully, our top ten startup business ideas tips have provided you with some inspiration for when you’re starting out your business. It’s one hell of a ride – good luck and remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
