Rocking a business startup from day 1 (or day 5,000)

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.

3 Tips for Starting Your Business with Success: From a Graphic Designer

When starting a business it’s best to start with your best foot forward. Looking professional from the start will engage your potential clients and show how serious you are about gaining their business.

Hiring a graphic designer is the best option to make your new entrepreneurial journey as successful as possible. However, when you have limited funds and are trying to start a company, it can be frustrating if you work with someone who doesn’t seem to “get” your vision. Avoid spending too much money and not getting anything to show for it by reading through these tips to find and work with a graphic designer successfully.

#1: Ask for references:

Asking a designer for references from previous clients is the best way to ensure your money and time is being well spent with them. If the designer gets offended or does not provide them, that is a clear red flag. Designers should have a slew of happy customers behind us that can attest to our products and the way in which we conduct ourselves professionally.

#2: Be transparent:

Be totally upfront with your designer. Tell them your favorite color, style of drawing you enjoy looking at, any pertinent information you want incorporated in your design, EVERYTHING. No detail is too small. When designing, I take into account all these details so that I can fully understand the business story and personality of the owner.

#3: Pencil yourself in:

This is YOUR business. No one is going to care more about it than you. As a designer I can only be as excited about a brand as its owner is. Setting aside time to go through your design options, content creating for your website, and posting on social media is crucial to your success in the beginning and long term. If you’d like this business to be your only job one day, you need to treat it like that and schedule time for it so it will grow.

I hope these tips help your business startup succeed and if you have any questions feel free to contact me. I’m passionate about starting businesses and would love to help your new chapter begin.