5 Things to Do Before You Start Your Start-up

Well, there’s no way to know until you try. It often feels like there are 100 things to work on all at the same time. Starting a business can be stressful. First-time business owners have to be prepared for the bumpy road ahead. Before doing this, however, there are five things every first-time business owner needs to know before getting started.

1. Do you have a formal business plan? If not, you need one.

One of the most common mistakes that we make before doing business is not creating a business plan. It is necessary for many things when starting a business such as identifying issues with your idea, developing strategies, securing funding, and attracting investors.

Before you start on a new venture, draft a simple business plan that identifies your proposed product or service, the costs involved, your funding needs, your competitors, potential customers, and market opportunity.

2. Think about funding.

It costs money to start a business. Every business has different needs, and no financial solution is one-size-fits-all. Searching for investors, loans, grants, and other forms of funding is a big step toward business growth.

Startups use these funds to cover marketing, growth, and operating expenses to launch the business. Do your best to estimate the actual costs of funding your venture through launch and the first year. Then, find ways to secure the capital you’ll need.

3. Identify the right partners.

Make sure that the person whom you are considering as a business partner has business goals that are aligned with yours. The research shows that there is high-potential startups that fail as a result of conflict among co-founders.

In every case, a partner can be an asset, bringing new skills and perspectives to the business; or a burden, making every decision more difficult, and taxing your lifestyle satisfaction. Your business plan will hopefully have considered this issue, but think further about who should really be involved, and what impact it’ll have on your venture.

4. Get to know your customer before you start.

However good your product or service is, the simple truth is that no one will buy it if they don't want it or believe they don't need it. Get to know your customers and market.

Knowing and understanding customer needs is at the center of every successful business. And when you’re ready to expand, don’t assume new customers in different areas will have the same tastes and priorities — get to know them, too.

5. Get a grasp on marketing strategies.

If you run a startup, marketing your business is a key to your growth. A startup must adopt intelligent marketing strategies to stand out from the rest of the pack and attract new customers.

Too many entrepreneurs have good products or services but do a lousy job of marketing. You can market to them based on their habits and lifestyle. This could be in the form of articles, blogs, images, videos, podcasts, or any other type of media. Don’t assume traditional advertising is dead, either.

By Ujjwal Poudel

Co-founder, Jobs Sniper Pvt. Ltd.?