Starting a business is tough, especially in this current climate. In this article we will give you some of the top tips for running a startup business so you can be more profitable and run a successful business.
Tip 1 – Make sure there is a need for your business
Many entrepreneurs will launch their business without knowing if there is a need for their product or service. Don’t make this mistake. Research the market and see if there is a fit for your business. Talk to potential customers and see what they think too.
You also need to make sure that if there is a problem your service or product can fix it. Being over ambitious can be a huge problem as a startup as you often find yourself being pulled in multiple directions and not fixing any.
Focus on one problem and make sure your service is the best way of solving it.
Tip 2 – Stay lean and don’t waste your money.
Keeping costs down is a great way to allow you to keep working on your startup business even if you aren’t making much money. Even when you do, keeping costs down and running a lean business is always useful because you never know what is going to happen further down the line. Afterall, how many of us saw this pandemic coming.
With a business there are many ways of keeping costs down. You could cut back on your saas subscriptions or you could get a smaller office.
Some businesses will start out with a much larger office than is needed and then be stuck in a contract paying huge sums of money away every month. A huge seating area may look cool but condensing down your furniture may leave you with more money in the bank.
The same can be said with training materials, converting old VHS tapes into digital versions can cut down on the space needed in your storage rooms. Infact converting any traditional media into digital can save you a tonne of space.
You can convert your media yourself but you may as well use an online service as it’s much quicker.
Tip 3 – Don’t rush into spending your marketing budget on paid advertising
As a startup your product or service isn’t going to be in its final form yet so spending money advertising a half finished product isn’t going to do your reputation any good and it may even make it harder to sell your product.
Using traditional methods of cold calling and cold emailing can be a much cheaper option and sometimes more effective way of selling your service while you perfect the final version.
Startups are keen to show the world their product but sitting back and getting feedback while not spending much on gaining clients will do your business well in the long run. I get it that the startup lifestyle is fast paced and you want to keep up with others but finding what works early on will only improve your offer when it comes to spending your marketing budget.
If you don’t fancy cold emailing or cold calling you can try other methods of marketing such as social media or search engine marketing but just know that these methods take time to implement. If you don’t have months to wait for a sale then you’re going to need to get on the phones or emails and sell.
Conclusion
Creating a startup business is difficult and many startups will fail within the first year. In this current pandemic the situation is even more complicated and staying lean is going to help your business navigate through the tough times. Holding back on your marketing budget by holding off on advertising may also create a tougher you.
Cold emailing and cold calling isn’t for the weak and if you stick at it not only will you build your character but often you will find you will build up a constant way of filling your sales pipeline.
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Author: Guest Contributor
