It’s an exciting time when you first start a business or an entrepreneurial venture. There’s almost electricity – a feeling of energy going through you as you dream of what your creation can be. You imagine it soaring to the height of success and feel that your hard work and belief in yourself is going to pay off. The excitement and anticipation are a welcome change from the mundane and repetitive life you had in the corporate world.
When you are launching a new business as a solo owner you quickly learn how many things you have to do, almost all of them time-critical it seems. You are responsible for strategy and marketing and will probably find that for now you are also the salesperson and the admin all in one. It’s important to take control of your time and focus on the things that will truly make the business a success.
Get the Tools You Need to Save Time and Money
As a startup, you are going to need some tools that can help you get things done quickly. First of all, you’ll need to create a professional website that showcases the products and services you have to offer. The design, graphics and perhaps most importantly the copy on the site must be excellent so potential customers are impressed when they visit your domain.
You can create a top-notch website using WordPress, key plug-ins and great looking WordPress themes. You can also put other tools to use in your new business. There are some excellent choices for creating automated sales funnel campaigns that provide valuable content and marketing information to prospects that visit your site.
Tools like Zoom can be used for videoconferencing and will let you meet with customers and suppliers whenever you need to. It’s also helpful to use a transcription service to transcribe your Zoom meeting in seconds. You’ll save time and automate your workflow while being able to reference the file when you use a transcription service.
Make Marketing and Sales Your Priority
Once you have your framework of tools in place and your website created, you need to focus the majority of your energy on marketing and sales. When you are starting a venture, it’s tempting to get the office perfectly set up and buy all the supplies you need. Those give you a comfort level that you are getting something done but they do not launch your venture.
By focusing your creative energy on marketing and sales, you will be helping drive business and customers your way. As you try to write copy or give prospects a sales pitch, you’ll quickly learn what the hot buttons are and what makes potential customers respond. You’ll want to leverage that learning so that you get new customers and revenue as quickly as possible.
Finance Your New Venture in Creative Ways
There are a lot of expenses when you first start up a business. Sooner or later, you’ll likely need an infusion of cash to help assure that the venture has the time to thrive and grow. Banks typically only lend to corporations with cash in the bank and a proven track record, so that’s not the way to go for initial financing.
Instead, it’s wise to tap into your own assets and trim your monthly expenses to the bone. If your house has significant equity, consider getting an equity line of credit in place before you leave your corporate job. Also, before giving notice at work, pay down your credit cards and try to get a new card with a substantial credit limit and zero percent interest for at least a year. You could also get creative and put a couple of your extra bedrooms on Airbnb and see if you can bring in enough money to pay your monthly mortgage payment that way.
