Rocking a business startup from day 1 (or day 5,000)
Whether you’re just starting your business idea, or have been in business for years, these tips can prove super helpful and can always be improved upon later.
1. Focus on your idea:
What was your initial dream when opening a business? Don’t lose sight of what made you want to do this in the first place. If you love creating custom apparel, focus on designs that sell before branching out to creating the actual apparel by hand. You can easily get lost in the small details and offshoots of your business, then quickly become burnt out. Choosing a niche is an important part of business ownership. This is your ideal customer, your perfect product, or your “Why”. In this same thought, however, be open to new ideas that may come up during your adventure. Maybe your success comes from a place you never thought of initially. This is where your business begins to take on a personality of its own.
2. Research the competition:
This is HUGE, and very often left out. Check into who you are competing with. Is there someone already doing what you are doing? How can you stand out from them, or better yet, how can you BEFRIEND them? Competition so often has a negative connotation when really this could be an amazing opportunity to partner with a like-minded individual. Not that you must give them all your clients but look to see what they do differently and how you can learn from their business. Don’t feel like you need to reinvent the wheel. This is also where people feel the most pressure from something called “Imposter Syndrome”. They investigate their competition and immediately feel their idea is not worth the time, or it’s already been done. I’m here to tell you, it’s never been done by YOU!
3. Simplify your business plan:
Lists are life. Write down you’re A to B plan. How do you get from where you are now to your business success story. Step one through three hundred and two. Then spend every day checking one thing off at a time.
4. Train your new employees properly:
This includes YOU! Investing in your employees and yourself is an investment into the future of your company. Spending time and money to learn how to successfully do your job can help everything run smoother in the long run. Buy yourself a journal (which you can purchase here) and start writing notes to help you. With every new topic you learn, find a way to integrate and practice for your new business.
5. Ask your peers feedback:
Always being open to opinions or criticism can seriously help you in the beginning. Learn from your mistakes and genuinely ask how you can make it a better experience next time. In the end, people can be quite harsh sometimes, but it’s best to let the harshness roll off and look into what you can learn instead of thinking of quitting. Keep on keeping on!
Whether you’re just starting your business idea, or have been in business for years, these tips can prove super helpful and can always be improved upon later. I’d like to add one last tip:
Don’t be afraid to hire a professional:
Sometimes new business owners feel in order to succeed they have to do it all themselves. This is simply not true. Delegating is the best way to allow yourself to focus on the parts of business ownership you are good at and leave the other pieces to professionals that are good at those things. Overall if you delegate to a few people who you really trust and do really nice work, you’ll end up looking more professional to new clients than if you do everything just ok.
If you liked this blog make sure to check out my other blogs and follow me @staniferdesigns for more tips, tricks, designs, and the occasional cute animal picture. I’d love to chat with you about how I can best help your business also! Feel free to contact me here for a free consultation.