When I was 7, I wanted to be a vet. This is the first real memory I have of thinking about what I would be when I was older. By the time I had reached age 14, that vision had changed a number of times and I had started thinking seriously of training to be a midwife, yet when I left school at 16 I was stuck, left with no idea of what I actually wanted to pursue as a career. I left school without applying to colleges and decided to just start handing CVs in anywhere. It took me a year to secure myself a job at a restaurant: Brandy Hole. This is where I met Debbie who is now my partner in both life and business.
Over the next few years, Debbie and I worked together on Brandy Hole, constantly re-thinking new concepts and ideas and working within our own strengths to build the business.
We soon realised our ideas were beginning to outgrow our venue and decided to start a new company so we could run with our new found plans.
We've occurred many hiccups, made countless mistakes and had plenty of mixed feedback but we're human, and sometimes errors do occur. I thought it might be nice to write a little about starting up a brand new company in hopes that someone may come across this one day and it might help them to side steps mistakes made by many business owners.
Here are my top tips for starting a new business.
1. Marketing is everything.
Many people start a new business without even considering the impact marketing can have on your business. Marketing plays a part in every area of your business. Be consistent. Do your research. Test out different platforms and note what works for your. RECORD EVERYTHING. Many people make the mistake of putting money into marketing without even recording the statistics of how it is working. If you don't do this how will you ever know what works?
2. Employ people who are better than you.
We're all human which means we are not perfect, we are not the best at everything. I've known a few business owners who believe that they are the best person for every job and refuse to employ someone who they know is better than them, due to their big ego or are apparently oblivious to it. Find what your strengths are and use them, and employ people who have different strengths to compliment your business.
3. Legally cover yourself in every way.
Make sure you get yourself clued up on the legalities of staff employment, copywriting, insurance, and all the other laws that could come back to bite you on the backside.
4. Plan Plan Plan, and plan some more.
Plan everything, from where your cash flow, when you want to hit your goals, where you want to be in 5, 10, 20 years time both in business and personally. Use planning as way to self motivate. As an employee, you are held accountable to reach your goals and targets, however as a business owner, there is no one to hold you accountable, so self motivation is really important, and planning is the best way to do that. Monthly targets will help keep your business growing in the right direction.
5. Do not underestimate the difficulty of owning your own business.
I have known many people, especially recently, who have ideas about starting their own business. They are caught up in a fantasy of earning hundreds of thousands to millions almost immediately, which unless you're lucky, is unrealistic. You will be over worked, underpaid and burnt out for the first few stages of launching your own company. You learn that putting money back into your business will become more important than putting that money into your bank account. It is not as luxurious as you think it will be, but eventually, after all the hard work, pay cuts and mistakes, you'll get to that alternate reality you've been dreaming of. There's nothing quite like starting from just an idea and developing and watching it blossom into the business you want.
So there you have it, my top 5 tips of starting your own business. Of course, there is so much more that actually goes into a new company launch, and if you're seriously considering taking this huge step and aren't totally sure what you're doing, I would highly recommend finding yourself a business consultant or coach to help you through the first stages of this new venture.
Infinite Consultancy offer help for any new or existing businesses that are struggling with aspects of their company. Get in touch for more information or advice!
07578 582682 | hello@infinitemanagementco.com