Starting a small business can be an exciting adventure, but it’s important to make sure you’re crossing all the important steps off of your list as you go. It’s easy to miss something crucial in all the excitement, so check in with yourself and your team regularly as you begin the process. Here are some tips and tricks to help you start this new journey on the right foot.
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1. Get Insured
The legal requirements of running a business differ depending on location, but insurance is one of the most important steps to getting started, especially if you have a physical location and you’re not running your business online. The right commercial insurance can cover a whole range of potential setbacks. If you experience theft, interruption to your business, or property damage, this policy can keep things running smoothly. You’ll want to note when the policy actually kicks in so you’re not operating while uninsured.
2. Find an Organizational System
If you’re the creative type, you might resist organizational efforts for as long as possible, but you’ll thank yourself for giving it a shot when keeping track of basic operations gets more complex. Tax season in particular will be easier if you’ve been organized all year, but so will ordering more products or supplies. Plus, if you plan on expanding and adding more people to your team, you’ll likely have to train them. This will be easiest if you already have a manual of best practices. Even if you don’t plan on making a bunch of new hires, it’s a good idea to have everything written down and easily accessed in case you need to send your spouse to take care of an important task when you’re out of town.
3. Know Your Competition
Your natural reaction to the competition may be to stay far away, but have you considered networking instead? If you have nearly identical target audiences or marketing strategies, you can take notes on the things the other companies excel at. Why was their sale event so crowded? How many new followers did they get after running a giveaway? Did they maintain those new followers, or did people unfollow once they realized they weren’t getting free stuff? How can you make your own social media so appealing that people stick around after the giveaway ends? Plus, you never know when you can trade tips or even work together on a promotion.
4. Consider Automation
One of the most precious resources to a new small business owner is time. Some small business owners are even able to calculate exactly how much an hour of their time is worth. If you’re looking to free up more hours in your day, automating some of your tasks is a great place to start. New automated software systems can automatically welcome new customers to your email list or alert customers of upcoming sales. You can set up systems to automatically order supplies when you’re running low, and accounting software can keep track of daily sales.
5. Manage Time Wisely
Because time is such a valuable resource, it is crucial that you spend it wisely like any other asset. You wouldn’t sink your entire marketing budget into your first marketing campaign without proper testing and research, so why would you likewise sink hours of your time into something that isn’t going to have beneficial returns? Creating systems that keep you from dedicating too much time to one area can help redirect your focus, but delegating tasks is also useful. If you need to finish up a new product design but your hours after closing are dedicated to cleaning and setting up for the next day, consider bringing in a janitor or someone else who can complete closing tasks.
Starting a new business is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. By utilizing these tips, you can make sure nothing important slips through the cracks and keep your operations running smoothly.
