Getting a new business up and running can be difficult to do. You need to be sure that you plan properly in order to have the success you need and want. It can be hard to know what steps to take if you have never opened a business before. The following guide has a few useful tips you can use to properly prepare for your business opening and better your chances of overall success in the future.
Do You Want to be an Online Retailer or a Brick and Mortar Store?
Before you can start a business, you need to decide how you want to sell your merchandise or service. Many small businesses start off as online retailers because it requires less start up costs and can often be easier to manage than a brick and mortar business, depending on what is being sold. If you plan to open a business that specializes in services, such as a salon or restaurant, you will need to open a brick and mortar location.
Take the time to determine what your startup costs will be for all potential options to be sure you can afford the costs for at least a few months while the business is being established. It’s possible to become both an online retailer and a brick and mortar business in the future, but wait until you have one of the options well established before trying to start on another option.
Determine How You Want to Market the Business
Marketing your business is essential for success. While you can choose to market the business through social media, radio and television, it’s important to hire people to help you focus on the marketing aspect of the business, which allows you to focus on the supply and preparation of the business. You can also create a network marketing team to help your business succeed. Knowing that they will get a portion of the profits they bring in often motivate people to work harder to promote your business and improve your chances of overall success. Be sure to interview anyone you are planning to add to the team to make sure that they don’t have a criminal history, have a proven track record of excellent work ethic and have the dedication needed to help your business grow as quickly as possible.
Determine What Your Inventory Will Be
A huge mistake that many first-time businesses make is investing in too much inventory before they even open their shop. Have enough inventory for people to be able to buy the things that they want to buy, but not so much that you have items sitting on the shelf for months at a time. It’s best to start off with a smaller inventory at first so that you can see what is popular and what isn’t. This allows you to restock items that are in high demand and avoid buying any items that don’t sell as well.
Establish a Price Point for Items You Plan to Sell
Another common mistake for new businesses is that items are priced improperly. You don’t want to price items too high or people won’t buy them and may avoid coming back into your shop in the future because they feel that the prices you charge are too high. You also don’t want to charge too little for the items or you won’t be able to make a profit when they sell. Determine how much you need to mark the items up so that you can make a profit while also ensuring they are not so costly that people can’t or won’t pay for them.
Hire an Accountant to Establish Your Business’ Financial Foundation
You need to know what the true cost to open your business will be before you open it. Hiring a business accountant to help you with your business’ finances can help ensure that you know what you’re getting into from the start. A business accountant will know what unforeseen costs you need to expect when you start your business so that you’re not surprised by the costs you have to pay.
You need to pay for business insurance, lease payments – if you are leasing a space, or shipping costs if you plan to have an online business and intend to ship items to your customers. The accountant can also help you determine what possible deductions are available to you and what you need to do to properly document them so that you can claim them when you file taxes for the business. This step can save you a lot of money in the long run when it comes to how much you have to pay for your business.
Make Changes to the Business Model as Needed
The final thing you need to do is consider hiring a business consultant. If things don’t take off as quickly as you would like, you may need to make changes to your business model in order to have success. A business consultant can help you learn what factors are affecting your business and what changes you can make to have overall success in the future. Small tweaks to a business model can make a huge impact on the overall success of a business.
It can take months before you start seeing a profit when opening a business so it’s essential to make sure that you can afford to pay the bills the business may incur for at least three to four months before you open the doors. This is to make sure that you can focus on creating a successful business without having to scramble to get money to pay your bills. Businesses that aren’t able to pay their bills without making a profit often end up closing because they collapse under the financial stress that comes with not being able to make ends meet.
