Starting a business is a rollercoaster of a task. Sure, you’re finally your own boss and get to have the full say over your future career, but that’s a lot of responsibility to shoulder! Some people can find themselves not ready for it, and can struggle to adjust to the needs of their newly sprouting business.
That’s why it’s absolutely imperative to know what to focus on right now. You’re a business owner, and that means you’ve got to have some key goals in mind to reach for. But what should those goals look like? And how can you even begin to work towards them? Well, here are a few tips you should know about that’ll help you to align your priorities and slowly work your way up to being a thriving company.
You’ve started a business - great! But now what? What do you really want out of becoming a business owner? What does this endeavour mean to you? Because if you don’t know why you even got into this position in the first place, it’ll be hard to set goals and follow them. And that’ll slow down your entire process and make it difficult to see success past your first year.
So take some time now to figure out what you want, if you haven’t had the chance to really consider this yet. Think on questions like: Where do you want to see yourself in 5 years? What profit do you want to make? What gap in the market have you identified and think you’ve got an idea for filling? A little thought on matters like these go a long way.
The first rule of business is to understand who your customers are and what they need. If you don’t know either of these things, you’re not going to sell anything very successfully! Your products won’t have any intrinsic value to them, and you’ll find it hard to develop something that the market is willing to take to heart. But how do you find out this information? With a bit of market research.
This can be as simple as digging up surveys done by competitor companies, or paying for research to be done by marketing firms. But you could also test this out yourself; you could design your own surveys and send them out to people who have bought similar products to the one you want to make in the past. Find these people on social media, or even just host a focus group and invite people to get involved.
Top quality talent can be hard to secure when you’re a small business. You might not have the funds or the prestige on hand to lock down an employment contract with someone who has years of experience. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. There’s a lot of talent out there, you just need to know what you’re looking for.
And to do that, you need to be specific about what you want. You can only offer an entry level salary, so you’ll only be able to attract entry level employees, but that’s fine! You’ll find bags of applicants at your door, and the more you interview them in person, the more you’ll discover what your dream candidate looks like. And the hiring process should take you at least a couple of months, so don’t try to rush here.
Worthy product development is when you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to sell, and you’re not just throwing ideas at a wall and seeing what sticks. And while the latter prices can work in very specific scenarios, it’s not going to work here. You’re just starting out, so you can’t afford to make too many mistakes when it comes to your R&D and the limits of your budget.
Product development can be an intuitive process, but if you’re not sure where to start, it might be worth it to work with a product sourcing agent. Someone who has access to resources you don’t, but is still within your budget lines. Indeed, a word from an expert can go a long way, so even just get online and talk to product development influencers on websites like LinkedIn. They’ll help you to find your focus here without losing your way.
The culture your company brings to the table is just as important as all the other items on this list. In fact, it might even be more so! Because no one wants to work in a toxic environment that doesn’t value the person. If it’s all about numbers, you can forget that people need to live, breathe, and eat in the meantime. Don’t become that kind of employer!
Instead, focus on the human side of things. For example, where would you like to work? You’v started this company, yes, but what would have been your dream workspace back when you worked for someone else? Bring that energy to the table here - it’ll help you to craft a hardy ruleset and help you to be flexible when it comes to employee demands.
It will also ensure you’ve got a loyal team of people behind you, and that’s one of the best possible uses of your business focus. Take your own needs into account, but don’t forget that your team isn’t you. They need encouragement, support, and a lot of motivation - you’ll need that in spades to succeed here!
Starting a business takes a lot of energy, but it can be hard to channel that when you don’t know what to do. So let your top priorities take focus. Elements like those above are more important than anything else, and you can tackle them in any order you wish - as long as you tackle them first. A laser sharp focus will take you a long way, but only if you use it wisely.