7 Top Tips for New Business Entrepreneurs

The idea of starting a new business is likely to be at least a bit intimidating. But when you do it well, it will be one of the most exciting experiences of your life!
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But first off, knowing where to begin can be a struggle because there’s so much to do before you actually get going.

And although the excitement of starting a business will inspire most budding entrepreneurs, there are a few essential steps to take to be sure that your new company is in the right place. After all, it’s much easier to plan ahead and avoid mistakes than to spend a whole lot of unplanned time clearing up avoidable mistakes later on.



There’s little room for guesswork here, so to improve your chances of success, consider following the seven tips below:

1: Decide on the Right Business Structure

Take time to research the right kind of structure for your new business.
There are many options out there. Do you want to be a sole proprietor, or a partner with one or more others? Or would you prefer the relative safety of limited liability? In the US this would be a limited liability company (LLC); in the UK it would be a limited company (Ltd) or a limited liability partnership (LLP).

Each business structure has pros and cons, and we’re not going to get into what’s best for you, but you really should make this decision early on – and consult with a professional if you need to – so you can figure out which option is best suited to what you need to do.

2: Develop Effective Marketing Strategies

Now more than ever, new businesses absolutely must have effective marketing strategies in place to succeed. You may have the best product or service in the market, but if no-one is going to hear about it, you’re beaten before you start.

Your own marketing strategies should target a well-defined audience with messages that help your business stand out in ways that are important to them. Do your social media posts about your new chrome-plated widget “push the buttons” of your target market of auto enthusiasts? If not, find a new message – or a new target…

And remember that the most effective marketing strategies utilize a number of channels. Think of your own, but we’d advise you to strongly consider social media, email, SEO, PPC ads and digital content as primary options. (Not all: just those that your potential customers will respond to.)
Promote your brand with engaging content that’s consistent with your brand’s marketing message.

3: Evaluate the Best Third-Party Suppliers

When starting a business, your choice of suppliers is an essential element to consider.  For example, if you run an online retailer, the courier partner you choose will significantly contribute to your success (or failure, if you don’t choose carefully…) If you’re distributing goods or exchanging documents, the same applies. The choice can be pretty daunting, but Florida Couriers is a great example of the kind of thing you should look for.

This applies across the board: whether it’s providers of the goods you sell, components you use, printed brochures or (especially) virtual office services, every one is a link that’s not under your direct control and can therefore easily be broken.

4: Create a Solid Business Plan

One of the most important parts of starting a business is a comprehensive business plan. It’s easy to do some back-of-the envelope stuff that works out your expected sales, the profit that creates, and see that it covers your fixed costs. Everyone does it: with that initial adrenaline-fueled rush of excitement, it’s inevitable. But how much of a sales drop can you take, or - looking at it the other way - can you physically handle a big increase in sales?



This means that your plan must cover everything! Start with your business goals, then define your target audience, what your products or services are and how they appeal to your potential customers. Outline how you intend to market your business: this should have been covered in setting up your marketing strategies, but now, assign costs to your options. And incorporate detailed revenue and cost projections into your model.

If you want to get it right (and we strongly recommend that you should) apply some form of flexibility analysis (it’s called, predictably, “flexing”). Nothing elaborate, but you should have some idea of key metric like break even points and options to increase margins.

Business plans help you understand your potential strengths and weaknesses and form a solid foundation for the future.

5: Provide Impeccable Customer Service

Impeccable customer service is pretty well non-negotiable! Modern customers expect, at a minimum, service that extends beyond a simple strapline, standard messages and gushing statements about your “mission”, your “passion”, your “dedication”. Everyone says it.
Your business needs to go above and beyond all that. In short, you need to deliver.  And if it incurs a bit of extra (controlled) cost, ask yourself, “Who’s the customer that costs least to attract?” The answer? “A repeat customer.”

6: Stay Flexible

Modern businesses must be able to pivot in response to changing market conditions as quickly as possible. Agility and flexibility are vital characteristics of successful businesses: owners (that’s you…) must be willing to change course as the market demands. Listen to feedback from your customers and if there’s a pattern, adjust your product or service to match what they want. It takes a bit of effort to do this, but much less effort than you’ll need to catch up if you fall behind.

Never cling to business ideas if they're not working or outdated. Be willing to change (in a controlled manner!) what you do if your current approach isn’t achieving what you expected.

7: Get the Website Essentials Right

Your website is likely to be the first point of contact for many, if not all, your new customers. As with any first impression, you must excel here! Your website is the mean by which you will draw many new leads, and unless you have a physical store, it will be your only method of selling.



Above all, keep the design of your website attractive, clean and easy to use. Keep it simple, too: limit the colors and pop-ups – which people find distracting and often irritating. Make sure that what you say (and how you say it!) is consistent with your messages in other media (and when speaking, too…)
If you lack the necessary design skills, hire an external designer. You’re a startup, so look for a freelancer and inspect their portfolio. Remember, this is a one-off cost, and your website is likely to be online for some years to come. So $1,000 over five years works out at something like $4 a week. Isn’t that worth it?

And, of course, invest in SEO. Even a little thought and expertise will pay off in the long term. If your budgets are tight, allocate maybe $500 for an SEO specialist (freelancer again) to look over your site and make a few key amendments.

And Remember...

Starting a business is a great way for any entrepreneurial person to do something they love … and earn money from it over time.

But it's not all milk and honey! New business owners feed off their adrenaline and motivation at first, but it's easy to get despondent if obstacles are hit and results don’t flow through. If this happens, don’t be afraid to check and tweak you plans. Try to come up with creative ways to improve results – and maintain your enthusiasm – throughout your journey.

By following the seven steps we’ve given you here, your new business will be ready to go before you know it. So take a deep breath and let the planning process begin!