10 Things to Do Before You Start Your Start-Up

Introduction

A start-up is a small business that has been in operation for less than five years. A typical start-up may have less than 20 employees, but some can grow to hundreds of employees or more. Start-ups are often high risk, but they also have the potential for high returns and growth. If you're thinking about starting your own business as an entrepreneur, there are several things you should do before launching your product or service into the world. Here are 10 tips:

Pick An Idea You're Passionate About

Passion is the number one reason why people fail at starting their own business. If you're not passionate about your idea, you won't be able to work on it full time, and if you can't work on it full time, then there's no way the business will succeed.

You need to always keep in mind that when people start a business they're doing so because of some form of passion—whether it be financial, personal or both—and this passion fuels them through their journey as an entrepreneur. Without this fuel, your idea might not make sense and will likely flop in the long run.

Do Your Research

While you may have a good idea, it’s important to make sure there is a market for it before you invest any time or money into developing it. For example, if you want to start an online store selling gourmet cookie cutters, make sure that people actually want these items and will pay money for them. Try searching Google Trends to see what terms are trending up and down over time—this can give you some insight into whether customers actually care about what you’re offering.

Identify The Problems You'll Solve

No matter what kind of business you're going to start, it's important to identify the problems that your idea is going to solve. You don't want to waste time and money building a business around an idea that doesn't really help anyone or solve any problems.

Make sure your start-up is solving an actual problem for people—not just something that sounds cool or fun. If you're thinking about starting a new business, ask yourself: Why are people spending money on this? What do they want more than anything else? And then look at the products available on the market right now; what could be done better?

Assess The Market To Find A Competitive Advantage

Do your research and understand the market. Identify an unmet need or opportunity in your chosen niche, then find a way to differentiate yourself from competitors by doing whatever you can be unique—be it through product/service innovation or customer experience!

Once you’ve identified a need or opportunity, you can create a product or service to fill it. This is your competitive advantage. If you choose to compete on price, make sure that your cost structure is low enough to allow for sustainable profit margins in the long run.

Develop A Plan With Actionable Steps Toward Achieving Your Goal

It’s important to first define the problem you are trying to solve. Ask yourself why you want to start your own business and what problem you are going to solve for your customers. Once this is clear in your mind, develop a plan with actionable steps toward achieving your goal.

You don't have to worry about what other people's goals are—just focus on yours! For example, if one of your fitness goals is losing weight or getting stronger, how much weight do you want to lose or how many reps can you do? These types of tangible fitness goals are easier than vague ones like “being healthier” or “getting fit.”

Define Your Brand Identity And Image

To start a business, develop a statement that defines the purpose of your company. Research potential customers to determine who might be interested in your product and then figure out how best to reach them. Decide how you want your organization—its structure and hierarchy—to look before moving on from planning mode into action

Incorporate Your Business And Acquire The Necessary Permit

As a start-up founder, you're likely to find yourself in situations where you have to make decisions about whether you should incorporate your business or not. What exactly is a corporation? How do I incorporate my business? What are the benefits of incorporating? What are the costs of incorporating?

The answers to these questions can be daunting and sometimes confusing, but don't worry; we've got you covered. First off, let's go over what it means for a business to be incorporated.

Get Personal With Your Target Audience

Before you develop a product or business, it’s critical to understand the demographics that are most likely to be interested in what you’re offering. Find out who they are and what their needs and wants are as well as their aspirations and fears. Most importantly, learn about their pain points—the things that frustrate them about their current experiences with the products or services of other companies in your industry (i.e., what are the barriers preventing these people from being happy?).

In order to get this information, you can use surveys or focus groups, interview potential customers on social media channels like Facebook or Twitter, conduct phone interviews with key influencers within an industry (e.g., if my start-up was selling bed sheets for college dorm rooms—a totally random example—I would ask someone who leads a group at my university’s student housing office).

Establish A Marketing Strategy

You're not alone in your desire to start a business. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 500,000 new businesses are created each year in the United States. However, many of these new businesses don't survive for long—the average lifespan of a business is only five years. One factor that affects whether your business will succeed or fail is whether you have a marketing strategy in place from day one that aligns with who you are and what you do (your brand).

A strong marketing strategy can help get people talking about your product or service and generate interest among potential customers, but it’s important to know what makes for effective marketing so that you can adjust accordingly as needed along the way. Here are 10 tips for developing an effective marketing plan:

Build A Team Of Reliable People To Help You Launch

Hire people who are good at what they do and people with a passion for your business and its growth. Hire trustworthy employees, but also ones willing to learn from you as much as you're learning from them. Hire someone who is a good communicator and knows how to listen. Make sure they have at least one skill that complements yours, like design or customer service. Create a brand story and stick with it. This will help people understand your product or service and why they should buy it from you instead of someone else.

Start-Ups Can Succeed When You Prepare Them Well

Success is a journey, not a destination. You can't just have one goal and expect to achieve it without other things happening first. Sure, you may develop a great product or service that people love; but if you don't also have the right team behind it (and then stay together long enough), then even the best idea won't go far. And vice versa: building an amazing team doesn't automatically mean your start-up will be successful—you need to define what success looks like for each member of your team as well as yourself before starting any business venture.

Conclusion

It's also important to remember that success isn't just about the end result; it's also about how we get there. As entrepreneurs we often focus on reaching those big milestones—like getting funding or landing an important client—but they're not necessarily what makes us feel successful every day along our journey toward those big goals; instead of focusing on these events as markers by which we measure ourselves against others.