Staring your own business can be an exciting time. You could start it as a part-time venture for just a few hours a week if you already have a job, and see how it grows before making it your full-time occupation. Having your own business can give you more freedom to choose the way your life goes, but you are going to have to be prepared for some hard work if you want it to succeed.
Research
Research into several different aspects of your business idea is crucial. You need to start off by researching the idea itself to ensure that it is workable and would be profitable. Then you need to research other businesses that are already doing the same thing. Look closely at how they operate and find things that you think you could do better. It is vital that your business stands out from the rest; you do not just want to be the same as everyone else.
Research your target audience and the best ways of connecting with them, as with no customers there is no business.
Branding
You need to establish a brand for yourself. This includes your business name, logo and domain name. Ideally, the business name and domain name should be the same, but try to avoid anything that is similar to another business. The same applies to your logo, it needs to be unique.
Keep them as simple as you can as the more complicated they are the harder it will be for potential customers to follow you.
Talk to Professionals
In the UK there are several different legal situations for businesses and which one you opt for can have tax implications for the future. You should talk to accountants or financial advisors before you start so that you choose the right option for you.
The same applies to other things that could be affected by which legal entity your business is. Insurance, for instance, needs careful consideration and the trade you are in can affect this too. In the motor trade, just as an example, there are people such as One Sure Insurance that can help, and many other trades have specialist insurers you can deal with. You need to do everything above board if you want to get anywhere.
Start Making People Aware
No everything is in place and you are ready to start, you need to make people aware of your business. Hopefully, your website is in place and reaching out to people should be the next aim. The cheapest way to do this is through social media. With more than 2 million active users logging into various platforms every day, it makes sense to try and capitalise on that. Open business pages on the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and then put good content onto them every day. Do not always be promotional, as users will eventually just bypass your posts. Make the content interesting instead, and comment on as many other people’s posts as you can. Always be positive, even if someone is having a moan, and then as your social media following starts to grow, so will your business.
Word of mouth is another way to get customers without spending much. Although you could offer an incentive to anyone that recommends you if it results in a new customer.