Congratulations on starting your new business! There are always a million things for you to think about when starting out which is why we have put together this list of top things we believe you should consider.
DO YOU HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN?
It may sound scary to plan out your business when you have only just started but it is a useful tool to summarise your business. You can plan out what the future of your business will look like and how you are going to get there. It is a good document to look back on when you perhaps wake up feeling less motivated or feel lost as to where you should be heading. There are a large range of free business templates out there but sometimes the best place to start can be your financial backer, like the bank.
HIRING A TEAM
This can be a daunting task, especially if you probably have a vision in your head of who you want on your side. Writing a job description, advertising a role, shortlisting and interviewing can be time consuming tasks however they are imperative in ensuring you have the right types of people supporting your new business venture.
DO YOU KNOW YOUR USP?
Depending on the type of business, your Unique Selling Point may be obvious, perhaps you already have it in mind! Every business needs something that defines it, makes it unique and makes it stand out from the competition. Once you find it, keep hold of it, memorise it and write it into your business’s foundations. If you live and breathe your USP it’ll come in use when talking to future investors and potential customers/clients.
MONEY AND FINANCES
Perhaps one of the most frightening parts of starting a business. You want to ensure that your business will be profitable from the start! Things that should be on your to do list are: setting up a business bank account, arranging business insurance and registering for taxes, VAT and PAYE (if you have staff members).
REGISTERING YOUR BUSINESS
We recommend you speak to someone with legal experience about registering your business name before you fully commit to a particular name. You don’t want to find out that your desired business name already exists after you have printed it all over marketing materials!
AND FINALLY, PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESS
When you have completed all the above tasks you are most likely to be in the advance stages of launching your business. Consider setting aside a budget specifically for marketing materials like a website, logo, paid promotions etc.
At activ, we aim to help small business and business start-ups in whatever way we can. Take a look at how we can help you here.
