Succeed or Fail? - Crucial Points You Need to Consider When Starting Up a Business

Starting up a business in this day and age is probably one of the most challenging journeys one can take on. It all starts with one idea, and then the excitement kicks in. However before you start throwing money away to get it off the ground you need to be realistic and have a clear strategy in place. We’ve covered some basic pointers to keep you focused and motivated in helping you on your journey!DEFINE YOUR NICHEBefore you even get to the manifestation stages, you really need to make sure your pre-development market research is thorough! With the industry so saturated with similar products and services you have to ask yourself how your product/service will differ from the next. Look for the gaps in the market. Does your product or service offer something completely unique, and if not how do you intend to set it apart from the competition? Once you have outlined your niche, ensure that it’s reiterated throughout the whole of the development process to keep you on track towards success. Your “uniqueness” can be your market differentiator and disruptor.DEFINE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICEMore often than not people come up with a great idea that might have one singular concept, yet once the development process starts to evolve, we have seen many entrepreneurs evolve their original concept again before it goes to market. Whilst it should be the ultimate goal in the future to expand the customer base, be careful not stray too far from the original idea. In some scenarios entrepreneurs have combined too many products or services together and wonder why their business is not creating a surge of customer interest.BE BUDGET REALISTICThis is an essential pointer as this is the factor that can make or break start-ups. You need to consider how you are going to fund your business to get it off the ground. Research companies, such as Angel Investors, that you feel can give you the right support at the right price. If the budget is small, start with a product or service that reflects your vision, but is simplistic to develop & market. Once up and running in a simpler form you will need to figure out what revenue you require to allow you to advance to the next stage. If you have a bigger budget then of course you can be more flexible, but don’t go all out on fancy features or design too early on, as you will end up going through the budget quicker than you might think.Try to start small and reserve other areas of the budget for further development or marketing. If budget is something you lack there is always the options of getting potential investors on board. Whilst this may seem over whelming, a lot of start-ups begin this way, and if you’re lucky enough you may find an investor that is also business savvy, and can help steer your business in the right direction. Remember sometimes you need to give a little to get a lot back.MARKETING When it comes to digital business it’s all about getting your brand seen and heard in the hustle and bustle of the digital world. It’s one thing to launch a new business/product/service, but if no one knows you exist how will you expect to achieve your ROI. If you don’t know where to start there are many experts in the field who can recommend a variety of services such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Social Media Optimisation (SMO), Newsletter Marketing, and several others. It’s wise to consult these experts so that they can advise which of these will benefit your business the most. The important thing to remember with marketing is that it can be a slow process, and with some services you don’t necessarily see results over night. The other clear point to make here is that once you start marketing your business, it’s a continual process so there is no quick fix. A successful start-up will have a marketing strategy in place, whether this be supported by a third party or something that you have planned yourself.IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT MONEYThese days there is a whole network of information on the do’s and don’ts when it comes to starting a business, and while it can be a little overwhelming it’s worth hearing the experiences of others, so you can avoid similar mistakes. More often than not a start-up that becomes a larger business, will often want to share their success stories, which in turn could be valuable information for you. There are also a whole host of free seminars, exhibitions, webinars etc. that might just be able to give you the information you need, and if not at least you haven’t spent lots of money doing this kind of research. You should also consider your peers, which surprisingly often gets forgotten. As life evolves we depend on the generation before us to the set the benchmark, and the generation behind us to continue to take our success to greater heights. With this in mind use those around you to give you support and guidance on the paths to take, to help you get that much closer to your goals.Hopefully by now you have a better guidance to what you need to consider starting out as a new business, to which if applied will help you stay on track to success.