Don’t sandbag your business
Many new business owners and even some of the seasoned entrepreneurs like to hit the ground running without proper planning. This could be a detriment to your business and make things harder on you than necessary.
I’ve recently had the pleasure to work with a great business woman who had an amazing vision for her product and brand. Of course I ran with it but as time passed I realized that there really wasn’t much concrete thought put into specifics.
Here are 3 major points to consider when you’re starting a new business or project and why they are important.
A solid business plan
This is important in defining your business, your goals and your intent. It allows you to project your budgets, investments into your business and any tangible accomplishments that you may deem necessary for success.
When you put together a strong business plan it allows you to forecast your sales based on market research, and where you see your business ending up in the next x-amount of years. If you don’t take the time to sit down and plan, there is a strong chance you will hit a point where you feel you need help or that you have no clear destination.
Things to remember to include in your business plan: an executive summary, a description of the business, details of products and services, a market analysis, your strategy and how you will implement it, your team if any, and financial plans and projections.
A strong business plan can also help you acquire funding for your business so be thorough.
A brand identity and strategy
Your business needs a brand. It’s the first thing people will see when find your business. It will convey the type of business, atmosphere and what people can expect from your services and products.
Many people cut corners on their branding because they fail to see the necessity of a strong brand and they pay thousands in the end to rebrand. Not to mention the loss of potential business from having an unattractive brand to attract new sales.
Take into consideration colours, shape, font and any sort of textural and secondary colours that may be carried through your marketing materials as well.
Branding can go deeper than you may know.
A marketing plan
This is an absolute necessity when you own a business. Every business owner must have a marketing plan designed to reach their target audience.
Take the time to review your business plan and determine your target audience before planning on how to reach them. From there, you’ll need to decide which forms of marketing are best suited for that demographic and how best reach them.
What is your business’ positioning? If your business sells fruit are you known for the best place in town to get fresh organic apples? You need to find your position to be able to present yourself to your target audience in the most effective way possible.
Make sure to set aside a strong budget for marketing. Be sure to include a website, pay per click (PPC) advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) and other print and social related campaigns as well. I know it can all sound a little daunting, and you don’t need to start with everything all at once. But be sure to invest in a professional website to drive your traffic to, to educate and funnel your audience. There is nothing worse than lost potential clients and customers by cutting corners. In the end, your business will suffer.
Conclusion
Make sure you cover your bases. It’s important to come at this with a clear mind, don’t stress out. Just because it sounds complicated doesn’t mean there aren’t solutions to the problems. Many towns and cities have business development offices that can help guide you, and there are dozens of business coaches that are more than willing to help you build your business the right way.
But the most important piece of advice: have fun don’t over think, and trust your instincts!
