The prospect of starting a business can be overwhelming and intimidating. There is a lot of territory (read: aspects) that need good research and scrutiny. There can be moments when you feel a little scared of taking off out of fear of losing.
However, it doesn’t have to feel this way. If all the steps needed to have a secure launch of your venture are looked into and broken into small steps, you could well be on the highway to unprecedented success.
On that note, here is a ready reckoner for those first-time entrepreneurs who’d like to get going, albeit with more clarity.
How to launch your first business idea
Here are the exact steps we recommend following:
Step 1: Validate Your Idea
Identify a problem you solve
Now, this isn’t as simple as it looks. It takes sharp scrutiny to hone down to that one thing that you do consistently better than the rest of what’s on your plate. Once you know what you excel at, you have found your niche. Here on, it’s about building a narrative around it.
Research your target audience and demand
Do surveys and research on what the masses demand. Find out what the audience you are targeting is seeking, and then plan your business strategies as per that. Businesses run on demand and supply much the same way, but better for those who bring in some ingenuity in how they deliver the deliverables.
Analyze competitors
A good strategist would have factored in the competitors as well, and not just the chosen audience. Understand what they are doing well and how. It’s the best way for self-improvement and to learn from those who’ve been in the fray before you.
Step 2: Define Your Business Model
What product or service are you offering?
Through your social media platforms and the more professional LinkedIn – or better still, if you have your own website – mention clearly the services you offer. This will get you the right traffic, and there’d be no ambiguity with regard to what you can do. Speak about your tool or product, and ask for testimonials from some who can vouch for it.
Revenue model: one-time, subscription, consulting
Mention clearly what your revenue model looks like – one-time, subscription, or consulting. State your preferred model clearly and the benefits thereof for the users.
Pricing strategy and positioning
This needs to be planned well. You don’t want to be running into losses, and at the same time blow up the chances to build your business by not being competitively priced. See how services are priced, and position yourself better in the market.
Step 3: Set Up the Legal and Financial Basics
Choose a business structure (sole proprietorship, LLC, etc.)
Choose a business structure that suits you. It could be sole proprietorship, partnerships, Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), One Person Companies (OPCs), Private Limited Companies, and/or Public Limited Companies.
The choice of structure will depend on factors like the number of owners, the level of personal liability the owner is willing to accept, and the need for raising capital.
Register your business name
This is important for legal recognition, brand protection, and adding credibility to your business venture. It is also a way to prevent others from using the same name. A registered name shields your personal assets from business liabilities.
Set up a business bank account
This step is crucial because it enhances your professionalism, builds business credit, and simplifies tax preparation, accounting, and compliance. It is also the best way to separate personal and business finances.
Understand tax basics
It is important to understand tax basics. This can help you file your taxes correctly. Keeping abreast of the basic rules to follow will save your business from penalties and help to reduce your tax liability.
Step 4: Build Your Online Presence
Buy a domain and set up a simple website
Make smart moves and secure yourself an exclusive domain. Once that is done, set up a simple website that speaks about your venture and enlists all the services you can offer. Mention with complete transparency everything that a client would like to know about your business.
Choose a template that’s easy to comprehend, pleasing to the eye, and brings exceptional clarity to your business ethos and outcomes.
Create basic brand elements (logo, brand colors, tagline)
Seek experts who can translate your vision into a logo, give it the colors that resonate with the name and the mission/purpose. Think of a witty tagline that gives your business its unique identity.
Set up social media profiles relevant to your audience
Think of populating your social media profile with adequate and appropriate media to drive traffic to your business. Collaborate and follow other businesses to grow into a community and build support.
Step 5: Create a Marketing Launch Plan
Define your launch goals and timeline
Dreams don’t turn into reality unless you give them a timeline. Work out the blueprint of your business, and set down tentative launch dates. Always make sure that the goals are well spoken about, and the same is given maximum traction.
Create pre-launch content (emails, social media posts, offers)
It’s a digital world we live in. It’s but natural that you’d first be seen on one or the other social media platform through offers or informative carousels that break down your business ideologies.
Regular emails to potential clients or businesses to bump up your presence in their mailboxes are ways to announce your arrival in the business arena.
Plan initial outreach: friends, family, community, or waitlist
Join groups and start communities, broadcast and spread the word around. This will give your business the initial leverage it needs.
Word of mouth is a good way to start too, although news travels faster through the various digital tools that seek opinions through polls and votes, lists, and groups.
Step 6: Go Live and Promote
Launch your offer (soft or hard launch)
A soft or hard launch is a choice that lies with you. Roll it out with some sneak peeks through subtle posts or announce it with all fanfare. Some like to build up customer curiosity and opt for a slow, soft launch through a limited release of a product or service to a small group to gather their feedback.
It is the best way to check functionality too before a wider release. Hard launches are more like main events – large marketing campaigns, higher risks due to larger investments, and broad public release.
Ask for feedback from early users
After a soft launch, always ask for customer feedback. This gives you a better understanding of the efficacy of your business strategy because it is limited to a group (a specific user segment or a certain geographic region).
Track early performance and adjust as needed
The feedback and the hits you get on social media and/or your website will give you some idea of how your product, tool, or service is doing with customers or potential customers. A study of the same will help to make adjustments and changes right at the start.
Conclusion
Your first business won’t be perfect – but action beats perfection.
Research, plan and strategize, and execute. There will be slowdowns, there will be setbacks, there will be criticism, there will be applause, and most of all, there will be the satisfaction of having worked your way through it all.
Follow the steps and your instincts, stay malleable, adapt, and learn.
You are all set to be the fairy who can sparkle stardust on her own business.
Subscribe to our blog for more!
