Sage Advice for Startups Launching in 2019

by Startacus Admin

When you announce that you are starting up your own company, you also take autonomy over your life. You won’t have a boss to answer to, though you might have investors who will hold you accountable. Startup business owners don’t have to wake up early in the morning and they don’t need to put in for time off, but it is generally best to get to work ahead of staff.

Yes, becoming the head of a startup company does spell freedom for most, but that shouldn’t be confused with ‘easy’. You will actually be working harder and longer as the stakes will be higher. On the other hand, the rewards and potential benefits are also much bigger. Here is some solid advice for every single person planning to launch a startup company in the coming year.

You Can’t Do Anything Without a Business Plan

Many startup companies start with ideas so ingenious that their founders cannot wait to get started. They might run out and register domains, sign up for hosting packages, pay for mentoring services, and start buying business equipment before their companies even formally have a name. Don’t do this. The first thing you have to do is toil away for hours and hours until you have a clear, well written, and sensible business plan. If proper grammar and formatting isn’t your strong suit, the first investment you must make in your business should be hiring a business plan writer. The reason you need a business plan is that it will literally contain the blueprint of your startup company. Banks won’t want to lend you money without one, and you can all but forget about getting a business bank account. In short, there is literally no one in the business world who is going to take you seriously until you pull out and discuss your business plan.

Business Capital Has to Come from Somewhere

Some startup companies remain solely as ideas in the back of people’s minds for decades due to financial constraints. There are still folks who believe that they have to save up all the cash needed in order to open up a new restaurant or buy the land they need to run a farm. While there isn’t anything wrong with investing your own money in a company and ideas that you believe in, it isn’t the most ideal way to start a business. Instead, consider using your home or car as collateral and getting financing elsewhere. There are tons of banks issuing business loans on a daily basis.

Plan the Launch Day

Ensure that everyone knows when your new business is going to be launching and invite them along to the opening day. If you’re just going to be based in an office, you can still host an event in the space with family, friends and potential clients. If you’re opening a shop or restaurant however, then you should promote it heavily on social media and make it known to the local area. You should always prepare for a crowd and ensure you have enough of everything to go around. For example, in the event that things get too busy, this website has a good selection of retractable barriers that can be purchased quite inexpensively. Get prepared with items like this and you should be in for a successful launch day.

Personal and Business Credit Is of Critical Importance

In addition to planning for and organising what will eventually become your business structure, entrepreneurs have to build both personal and business credit. In a case of the chicken and the egg, you need to maintain a balance between both kinds of credit. Personal credit serves as a sort of guarantor, especially when new startup business owners are seeking business credit for the first time. This means that if you have poor personal credit, it will be very challenging getting a business credit card or even a small business loan. Do everything possible in the months before you start a new business to work on your personal credit and establish a business credit file.

Keep Your Friends and Family Out of It

For the most part, you should not be planning to employ all of your family, friends, or neighbourhood at your startup. If finances are a concern, do as much as you can yourself. Yes, there are successful family-run businesses, but they aren’t created overnight. Unless you want to open a restaurant where your mother is to serve as the head cook, you should avoid putting relatives and loved ones on the payroll. The reason for this is that, unfortunately, family members may not be as motivated to work hard as a stranger. Bringing on people that you know could cause your business to suffer, as they will likely believe that you won’t fire or reprimand them for lazy behaviour. Customer service can suffer as a result of hiring nieces and nephews to answer the phone. Moreover, your loved ones may expect and even demand to be compensated for more than what their positions normally pay. So, until you are flush with money and know that your loved ones are going to do their jobs well, it can be better to hire a stranger instead.

Pay Yourself Last

On the surface, a startup business that pulls in £5,000 a week would appear to be not only successful but also highly profitable. If you are new to the business, you might start deducting £1,000 a week for yourself, thinking that everything is well and good. Unknowingly, you might actually leave your company in the red by not calculating what the cost of doing business actually is. As a startup company owner, you will have business equipment costs, bank fees, payroll expenses, supplies, and inventory to pay for. Prior to taking any money for yourself, you should know what your exact expenses are. This is the main reason the business owner should always, always be paid last.

Networking Isn’t Optional

Being acquainted with all of the key players in your industry is crucial if you are expecting your business to become a force to be reckoned with. You aren’t required to go to every single conference in your industry nor do you need to participate in every business dinner, but much of the time that you spend socialising with friends should be replaced with networking. You never know when you will need to ask a favour or when a business contact will want to tell you something that could help your startup. Therefore, you should keep your schedule open for last minute events. Networking isn’t something that startup companyowners just do in the beginning. It is a skill, a tool, and a necessity that has to be consistently nurtured and viewed as a priority.

Look Back on Things Periodically

Your first few months in business are likely to be challenging. Some things are going to work out exactly as expected. Other areas of your business are going to have to be revamped repeatedly. The only way to know if you are making headway is to look back on things as objectively as possible. Look at the profits your business made in the first 30 days of operation. What are your profit margins now? Compare how many workers you have working for you and see if that data is in line with the expenses your company has.

In 2019, more startup companies will be run by entrepreneurs who have used the web for vital information. There will be more companies funded by angel investors as well as more startups staffed by virtual workers. Your startup can begin on the right foot in 2019 by keeping technology and other critical changes and adaptations in the industry in mind.

 

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Published on: 22nd October 2018