Starting your own business is hard, whether it be a retail business, services business or manufacturing business, the struggle to become profitable is consistent throughout industries. Often you find that you’re experienced in the activities that your company performs but the nitty gritty of running a business is completely new to you and can sometimes indeed be rocket science, contrary to the myths people try to convince you of. It can be overwhelming and even frightening as it’s no longer just a pay cheque. There are rules and regulations you must ensure you honour as not doing so has serious legal and financial consequences. Then, there’s also the job of sales. Every business owner is also a salesperson, as they must sell their product or services to the public. Selling also requires brand awareness and online access. But how do you ensure you meet all these incredibly diverse demands?
Your online presence
Firstly, being easy to find online is of paramount importance in today’s digital and internet-based era. Everybody is searching online, you must be there too. But not only be there but be top of the search results when people are looking. While you are in the process of building your website, find SEO experts that know how to build the search engine optimisation into your site. Your website is only as valuable as the quality of your SEO. If you can’t be found online, your website really is serving you no purpose.
Making sure you meet all the legal requirements
Take time to find the right people to help advise you on your business actions and strategies. You will need a team of people who can ensure you are making the most effective and efficient decisions while also ticking all the legal requirements and best practice. They will need to be experienced in the kind of business that you have, and if not, experienced in the level of business that you run. You will find that this will be your team for several years to come, which is why you need to also be able to get along too. While you don’t have to be besties, having a similar work ethic and culture is important. It must be people you can trust and rely on and who you know will get the job done and not overcharge you. The key people in this team will be your tax advisor, lawyer, an accountant.
Keep evolving
You will hear repeatedly that it takes any business, including a digital one, on average three years to break even and start becoming profitable. However, be careful not to get caught in driving your business product or service so much that you don’t take time to survey market trends. Rather have your business model that is consistent and a strategy that is agile and flexible which can continue to shape and adapt to the ever-changing demands of the target customer or consumer. The contrasting statement that follows the three-years-to-breakeven statement is that consumer interests and demands are changing every six months, you need to do marketing to know it.