How to Start a Business – 6 Tips to Help You Get Started
The decision to start a business is perhaps the best decision you’ll ever make, but getting it off the ground is no easy task. Well, wouldn’t be nice if there were a handful of tips to help you make the whole process effortlessly easy? Lucky for you, others have been down this road.
Stick to these six proven tips on how to start a business and save yourself lots of headaches and countless hours. They are hard-won pieces of business advice that we’ve learned from successful entrepreneurs over the years.
#1. Experience Matters More than You Think
In the business world, when all goes wrong (and it happens!), it is only those individuals who have ‘been there and done that’ who will be able to withstand the heat. If you have sufficient experience in the field, you will have no problem staying calm and leading the way for others.
The bottom line is: don’t start a business until you are certain that you’ve got the necessary experience and tools to steer it in the right direction from day 1. Perhaps you can work for another company in the niche so that you can gain hands-on experience on their dollars.
#2. Create a Strong Support Network
We cannot emphasize the need for networking enough when it comes to starting a business. Prior to forming your business, it is best to attend business seminars, conference, and perhaps join a local chamber of commerce. And that isn’t all; you may also want to reach out to entrepreneurs and people with proven experience in the industry.
How to build a healthy support network? Offer value to others so you can get value in return. In fact, it is best to offer favors without expecting something in return. Most importantly, ask as many questions as possible, and listen carefully when you’re receiving business advice.
#3. Stay On Top of Compliance, Law, and Regulations from Day One
Before you start a business, it is wise to understand what licenses, regulations, and taxes you will have to obtain and meet. Once you’ve done your own research, you might want to reach out to a CPA and a legal counsel to help you get to the bottom of compliance issues. The last thing you want is for a trivial tax or regulatory detail to derail your business in its formative months.
#4. A Responsive Website is a Must-Have
In the digital era, online presence has become indispensable. That’s why you must have a well-designed, easy-to-navigate, and industry-focused website.
#5. Consider Franchising
Opening a franchise offers many advantages over a start-up business. For starters, franchise businesses have a higher success rate, and give you unfettered access to franchisor support. More importantly, choosing a franchise when starting a business is a great way to accelerate your timeline towards profitability. It’s all about taking advantage of the experience and demonstrated success of the franchisor in the market. Franchises have already “seen that, done that,” and they allow you to piggy-back onto their collective experience, proven systems, and road map to success.
#6. Lastly, But Not Least: Don’t Quit Your Full-Time Job Yet
If you keep a tab on most successful tech startups, you will notice that most of them were started by people who weren’t quick to quit their jobs. Steve Wozniak, for instance, didn’t quit his job at HP in the nascent days of Microsoft. Another great example is Google co-founder, Larry Page.