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Welcome to the Small Business Blog Series. I am here to walk you through some of the pit falls that I encountered along my way in starting my Small Business. I am still building and not even close where I want this business to be after 7 years of operating it. I was not adverse to risk and was able to take a lot of risks and chances. Some worked and some didn't.
The Idea for Starting a Small Business
You want to go out on your own and you have your idea. My first piece of advice is, you better make certain that you have an overly high passion for this idea of yours. Because you are going to be living in it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Your mind won't stop until you get it exactly where you want it, or, you can pass it off to someone else to manage it for you. Pro Tip, talk to someone who hates your ideas and tell them. If they like the idea your on to something. If they don't like the idea, screw them they are never positive towards your ideas anyway.
The Road Map for Your Small Business
Once you have the idea that you are uber passionate about, you need to map it out. Not just name and business cards and all the stuff you enjoy. There are hard decisions like web platforms, hosting, email, accounting system, CRM's ATS's to consider and plan for in terms of pricing and monthly % costs. Make certain that you do your homework.
Some may think that I'll just click in the first web host I find in google and use them and their website builder. That could be a mistake. Things to think about here are:
What is their site security like?
How fast will their servers deliver my data to potential customers?
Should I pay yearly or monthly?
How difficult is the SEO?
How strong is the SEO out of the box?
Am I going to change my content a lot or is it going to be more static?
How much technical skill and design do I have to use?
Should I just hire someone to do it for me?
Do I actually have time to build a website?
Using the answers to those questions will definitely help you find the best web host/builder. Sometimes the answer is pay for a freelancer to do it and pay for it by the year. It is your brand so you want it to be stable. Having spent too much money in month 3 where you can't pay the monthly fee for your site can be embarrassing and cost you a lot of money.
Scaling Up Your Small Business
As a Small Business Owner hiring staff can either be a luxury or a necessity. Make sure you have a year of that person's salary ready to go. An unstable environment or a missed payroll will destroy your dream of scaling up. Having more person power to help sell more or delegate too can be appealing. Just a gentle reminder that, that is a person who is depending on you to pay them for the services that they are providing you. Treat them like a partner and make certain you can pay them for at least a year with no concern.
Patience
You will need to exercise a massive amount of patience. It can take time for marketing and social media to move in a positive way. It can take time to make your first sale, or sign your first client. But remember you are building something from the ground up and betting on yourself so exercise patience and make sure you have fun while exercising that patience. The ability to smile in the face of adversity will make your stronger and you will celebrate the smallest of victories and learn from the smallest of mistakes.
Best Advice
Make certain that while you are building this business, that you remember why you are building it. Whether it's financial security, to build something to leave your kids or what ever your motivation is. The best piece of advice is to make certain that your time with family is reserved and never interrupted. You don't get the time back and you can rebuild a business.
In conclusion, have fun, building something that is yours is addictive. The Freedom is unmatched, betting on yourself is intoxicating. I will never look back and keep moving forward.
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