Running a business is a challenging prospect, but when you’re a startup, the odds are stacked against you even more. Often, this is what causes a lot of issues for business owners. You rush in, without proper planning and fully understanding what’s available to you. If you do this, your startup can falter, this is why utilizing services/tools is so important.
Creative Financing
Businesses can’t survive without capital, which is why it’s best to have adequate financing in place before you launch your startup. Some people can get by using small pockets of money here and there, however, it’s hardly a proactive way to conduct business. Therefore, it’s best to explore financing routes sooner rather than later. Besides the traditional route of bank loans and government grants, there’s also more unique services, such as crowdfunding. These arguably come with more risk, as they’re not guaranteed to succeed. However, they also emphasize the modernity of your business, and allow your target audience to get to know you from the beginning.
Professional Web Hosting
Also important to your startup’s success is the prominence of branding, e.g. your web presence. Consequently, it’s worth investing in a website hosting service. Although such services can prove slightly more expensive, they give you the freedom to tailor your website and your brand to your needs, meaning you have the option of shared hosting, unlimited data storage, SEO assistance, etc. These types of companies are especially useful to the more inexperienced startup owner, as a lot of the hosting is designed to be easy to use and fast acting. In short, it won’t take you long to create a website you can be proud of.
Customer/Business Relations
Regardless of what your startup is “selling”, the customer/business relationship will prove vital to your success. Therefore, it’s best to have a clear, detailed overview of all your customers, as well as a means to organise and maintain your workforce and projects. The beauty of using such a service is that you don’t accidentally overlook a piece of information which could have benefited your business. Monitoring everything on your own, by hand, is doomed to failure; it’s too chaotic. When everything is in one place, you and your employees can better analyse and thus create an efficient plan.
Create a Workspace Environment
Even if you’re a digital only business, you need a space dedicated to your work, and not just in the sense of having your office separate from your other living areas. A workspace environment is a good way to keep work and personal lives separate, and to give you and your employees that sense of community no matter where you work. Implementing this when you’re a sole trader can be hard, but there’s communities both online and offline that can make you feel included. This is why options like Slack and Asana prove so useful at creating that office vibe.
Being a startup can be tough, but these pointers show that you can make your transition to business owner a smooth one.
