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5 Steps to Starting Your New Business

Friday Five: 5 Steps to Starting Your New Business

Alisha Shibli
Feb 13, 2020
Does your 9-5 job make you feel like you’re stuck in a rut? Do you often wonder if you’re meant for something bigger? Do you aspire to live life on your own terms?

Starting your own business can be the most rewarding milestone of your life. Not only does it make your life more fulfilling it is also a great way to channel your passion and interests into something you can earn from.

It allows you to be your own boss but also ensures that you are more invested in what you do, which leads to the improvement of skills, better decision-making and a greater appetite for risk. All of these traits will hold you in good stead in all aspects of your life.

If you think it’s time to make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality, here are five steps you can take to give your company the lift-off it needs.

1. Find a business idea

Most people find it daunting to come up with a business idea because they put too much pressure on themselves to come up with something unique. A good business idea doesn’t necessarily have to be something that hasn’t been done before. Its success depends on how well you do what you do and how you promote your business.

Your starting point should be to analyze yourself and the world around you. Ask yourself these questions:

  • What is it that you can confidently say you do better than others?
  • What are your innate strengths and what are some of the skills you have acquired so far?
  • What are the personality traits that set you apart from others?
  • What are your hobbies and passions?
  • What are some of the industries that truly excite you?
  • Can you list out a few times when you used a product or availed a service and were disappointed by it? This could be a gap that you can convert into a business opportunity.

These questions can help you combine your interests, abilities and market opportunities into a unique and scalable business idea. Discuss them with friends, family, and coworkers. They may be able to help you see things from a different perspective, which might be what you need to have that ‘Eureka!’ moment.

2. Do market research

Now that you have one or a few great ideas, it’s time to find your business’ value proposition. Value proposition is the value that you aspire to deliver to your customers through your business.

This could be an innovative product or service, but it could also be something like impeccable and personalized customer service or a unique story behind the product/service (for instance, a social cause that you are passionate about or a personal experience that made a strong impact on you).

To come up with a great value proposition, you need to be thorough with your market research.

  • What is the demand like for your product?
  • Which customer segment is most likely to buy it?
  • What are the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your ideal customer?
  • Who is your competition?
  • Where are your target customers most active?
  • Which marketing channels can you use to reach them?
  • What are the tasks involved, from creation to delivery?
  • Do you need to hire people in different functions to successfully deliver and market the products?

Answering these questions will give your idea an initial direction and help you come up with an effective and realistic business plan.

3. Register a domain name

If you’re running a business, you must absolutely have an online presence. Your website is where people will come to learn more about you and your company. Being online also allows you to target more customers, generate awareness and just be more popular.

However, with the increasing competition, how do you stand out? The key is taking care of the details. Since you’re a new business, you should adopt the new trends and products that are out there to make your unique presence online. For example, your domain name.

A good domain name is short, simple, unique, and memorable. With hundreds and thousands of domain names already registered, the chances for you to have a domain name with all these qualities are thin. Unless you’re willing to pay a premium price for it.

Fortunately, there are over 1,200 new domain extensions available today to choose from which can help you create a unique online presence without having to compromise on your name of choice. For instance, if you’re a tech company, you can opt for the .tech extension. For stores, a simple yet impactful choice is the .store extension. You could also go for .online or .site, a short and sweet way of letting people know that you’re online.

4. Get the word out

Social media is the easiest way to create a buzz around your new business, but your choice of marketing channels should depend upon your buyer persona. Find out which channels are more commonly consumed by your target customers and allocate your marketing money accordingly.

For instance, if your product caters to millennials, it might be useful to look at specific social media platforms.

Promotion isn’t just about beating your own trumpet though. You also need some influential or authority figures vouching for you. Reach out to the media and to bloggers with press releases and interesting story ideas. You can also invite family and friends to review your offerings and spread the word if they’re satisfied. Don’t underestimate the power of word of mouth!

5. Start selling

Explore all the opportunities that you can utilize to sell your product. From standalone stores to online selling to having other retail outlets stock your products, the possibilities are endless. Initially, however, you need to narrow down on one or two ideas that offer you maximum market penetration which, again, depends upon your consumers’ buying behavior.

For instance, if you’re catering to young working professionals, you absolutely must sell your products online as most people in that group are often too busy to go out and shop.

Whatever sales channels you choose, do consider the logistical aspect. For instance, if you have a physical store, you will need salespersons. If you are selling online, you need to have a robust shipping and delivery system.

Conclusion

The last step towards realizing your business dream is to go out and start doing! If you incubate your business idea for too long without putting in into action, it might just fizzle out or become outdated. Remember, you might not be the only person with that brilliant idea and if you don’t spin your wheels on it soon, someone else might. There will always be uncertainties as you venture into new territory, but the trick is to trust your instincts, gather up all your courage and get down to business, quite literally!




Alisha is a Senior Content Marketing & Communication Specialist at Radix, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .STORE and .TECH. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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