Do I need a business plan? How do I advertise my business? Can I just start up? Anyone who wants to start a business has many questions. And that’s a good thing, because starting a business unprepared usually ends in frustration and financial losses. That’s why it’s important to think about the most important points in advance. We have compiled five that will bring your business forward.
1. the sparkling idea
It goes without saying that you can’t do it without an idea. But we dig deeper and ask: Can you describe what you have in mind in three sentences? If not, practise it. The clearer you formulate your idea, the more convincing you will come across in conversations with business partners and potential donors. But that is not all. A very important point is that you really live your idea, that you stand behind it, that it is really your thing and not something that has been offered to you. A start-up is sometimes like a rollercoaster ride, and it’s precisely when things aren’t going so well that you draw motivation from the connection with your idea. You need a clear WHY. When you have that, you are better able to develop HOW.
2. Business Type? Who are you?
Not everyone is born to be an entrepreneur. Providing oneself with work, structuring oneself, managing the business and possibly taking responsibility for others is something that not everyone is born with. That’s not a bad thing, but before you start a business, you should know what makes you tick. Some people are their own obstacles to success by putting themselves through a start-up that they may not be able to cope with in the end. That’s why it’s important to do a personal check and see where your own stumbling blocks are. Many things can be delegated in a company, but the boss should remain the boss. No one can take that away from you.
3. name your target group
Who are the people who should buy your product or service? Where do they spend their time? What do they read? What are the best channels to find them? What are their buying needs? The answers to these questions can be used to develop strategies that determine both your advertising measures and your sales channels. The more precisely you know your target group, the better.
4. find your marketing strategy
Many entrepreneurs start their business highly motivated, but fail to continuously observe the market, to determine their own position within the market, to derive strategies from this and, above all, to invest in them. Those who cut corners at this point, however, are in for a rude awakening. This applies not only to the position in the market, but also to visibility. Because if you want to reach customers, you have to be visible. Here we come full circle to the target groups, because if I don’t know them or don’t reach them at all through misguided marketing campaigns, then the crisis is pre-programmed. The goal must be to build one’s own business into a brand that is remembered. Price, product, product placement and advertising are levers that pave the way to this goal. You can read more about this HERE.
5. checking, correcting, regulating
Just get started and then let it run? That doesn’t even work for a website. If you want to build a successful business, you also have to set parameters and parameters that you can use to check when you have reached success or where you need to improve. Perhaps the product range is not fully developed, perhaps you are not reaching your desired customers with your approach, or you are being signalled that the price-performance ratio is not right. Being open to criticism or to reflecting on failures instead of ignoring them is the basis for any business development. Surveys confirm that, for example, critical reflection on business weaknesses are often the biggest growth boosters.
