Sharing 365 life lessons, tips, or hacks; the things that make life easier, happier, and more productive. I hope you’ll follow along and find them helpful too.
#28
Start a Business
Many of us are entrepreneurial from the time we are small. Maybe we built a lemonade stand in our front yard, sold Girl Scout cookies, or joined Junior Achievement. If you have a great idea or make a great product, think about starting a small business. It’s never been less expensive to bring your thoughts or wares to market.
Create a Plan
As with anywhere you want to go, the first time it’s easier to get there with a road map. A business plan is a road map for your business and it’s the first place to start. There are probably thousands of blogs, websites, and organizations online that will teach you about a business plan and guide you in designing one. Business.com is one of the free and useful websites offering information about how to do this.
Go Online
The most obvious opportunity is to go online. There are dozens of easy to use avenues from Etsy and Shopify to building your own website quickly on Squarespace or GoDaddy. Getting your services or products on the web can be accomplished with less than $100 and some of your time.
Market Yourself Relentlessly
This is the make-it-or-break-it key to becoming successful. The world wide web is a massive place and your business is a grain of sand there. As a newcomer to the market, you’ll need to grab some attention in any way that you can – professionally speaking of course. Once again, there are dozens of places that you can go online to learn how to market your product. Some of those places are free of charge if you are a good self study. If you want to dive right into the heart of the matter, it may be better to spend some of your working capital money in this arena and take a marketing class that can highlight the most important aspects of promotion. And then, don’t stop… market your business relentlessly to everyone who will listen and give them a reason to tell someone else about you. Light a fire everywhere you go and it will organically spread if there is a wind.
Reinvest in Yourself
If you are one of the fortunate ones, you’ll begin to make money and the best thing you can do with in the beginning is to reinvest it in your business. So many of us are tempted to spend it on those extra things we want – after all, we’re working extra hard – but it’s important to grow your business while it has some momentum and that generally takes capital investment. Even if you’ve only made a few hundred dollars, think of how that money can be spent to market more widely, improve your packaging, or build your inventory. Is there a trade show or a conference that will offer education or networking opportunities? Go to that.
Perseverance
Yes, many small businesses never make it but some would tell you it’s because the business owner wasn’t persistent enough. Remember The Little Engine That Could and go that extra mile… pushing past where most people back down. Don’t stop – not at least until you’ve reached the capacity of your investment in time, money, or resources. There is a time to call Uncle. But, until that time has come – work hard and smart.
If you’ve been wondering about your ability to market a product or talent… this may be your year. Right now may be your time… so why not…
Start a Business
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