Not gonna lie, starting a business is an incredibly challenging thing to do. Some people succeed, but most people dont. It is a high-risk, time-consuming, nerve-wracking and unpredictable endeavor and not a lot of people are born or equipped to tackle the business world. With the ever-changing dynamic of business, e-commerce and everything in between, it is so much harder to keep up or even stay afloat. Distractions are everywhere and the amount of information can be overwhelming.
There is really no definite recipe for successfully launching a business. But that doesnt mean that you should not listen to what the experts have to say nor ignore what your co-founders have experienced. Here are five tips that will guide you into starting a new business and hopefully, by following them, you can beat the odds.
- Find a Problem-Solution Fit
Before thinking about financing, where to set up shop, how to advertise and anything else, find your problem-solution fit. Define what the problem is or the pain you are trying to solve. Learn everything you can about the people with this problem and find all the solutions (or the lack thereof) that are currently in the market. Knowing the problem right away will help you decide on what to build for the product or service. When you know a certain feature does not solve the problem, it is a lot easier to experiment and iterate. The more you experiment, the closer you get to finding the best solution and the product for your business.
- Plan but Focus More on the Effort
If you have a business degree, you must have written a solid business plan one too many times. However, having a plan does not always guarantee a successful business. It doesnt matter if your business plan is complete if you are not exerting 100% of effort in implementing it. Sometimes, it is better to have an unfinished plan if you are exerting every bit of effort which will lead you to the right course.
- Define the Soul of the Business
The soul of the business is not the set of features you see in a product. It is not about the celebrity advertising the product and it is not how one company is better at pricing or customer service over another. It is the real and human reason why people believe in you and the products that you sell. It is how people feel about what your product does that make their lives a little bit better. If you define the soul of the business first, you build a unique trust and connection with your customers and that bond is very difficult to break.
- Build a Tribe
A tribe is a group of people sharing similar likes, dislikes, truths and, hopes for the future. They attract one another having similar goals usually to better themselves. You want this in your new business. Forget about massive marketing and advertising strategies if you are not reaching or communicating what your product does to those people who truly matter. In this digital world, proximity to your audience is key which is why you need the help of a local SEO company that knows how to sift through vast information and to deliver only the relevant and actionable results.
- Dont Stop Creating
Change happens and will continue to happen in the future. You cannot deny it, you just have to embrace it. One thing that you can do to keep up or even lead the industry is to embody innovation and creativity in every aspect of the business. Teach the people around you the importance of ideation and collaboration.