The new year is here, and with it comes all of the ideas and fresh motivation to make some significant changes in your life. It is understandable, especially as this is the turn of a new decade. So many possibilities, so very little time to make them happen. Some people like to focus on self-improvement. Maybe changing their lifestyles such as eating healthier or exercising more frequently. It may be big significant life changes on the cards such as starting a family, moving home, or even emigrating abroad somewhere new. Travel, going out more, staying in more, changing your views and mindsets, and starting a business.
Yes would you believe that so many people start the new setting a goal to create new business and to finally work for themselves? Giving them the home and work life balance they crave. Working hard on a passion project and loving what they do each day. It is possible, and the new year is full of motivation and inspiration for you to do it. So if you are serious what significant steps can you take to make it happen? With that in mind, here are some of the ways that you can create your business from nothing and turn it into the success you imagine it to be.
One of the first things that you need to think about is creating a business plan. This can often be one of the most important things you do in those early days. A business plan allows you to create structure and steps that your business plans on taking. You can have someone create one for you or follow the many online tutorials and guides to help you create your own. This can also help guide your mind to decide on the direction that you want to take, and also what your long term plans may be. A business plan can also help you to be in a strong position to apply for investment, whether that is from a bank or investor. Which brings us to the next step that you may need to think about.
Many businesses cannot start off with nothing. They need some form of investment, be that time from you or your savings, or whether you need a bigger cash lump sum to start creating products, market your business and bring it to life. Investment can be obtained in different ways. You can look at fundraising your own investment with crowdfunding options that could be available to you. It might be that you want something more structured, such as a business loan. Where you will agree to paying back in certain terms over a set period of time. Investment may be from other investors who will take a percentage of the business or profits, or even things like family and friends invest in savings into your business idea. Research the best option for you so you know what to do.
Once you have your idea and plan, and may have even secured some investment, you now need to put your idea to work. For some people, that means that you are needing to work on the idea while still maintaining a full time job so that you can pay your bills. Others may be able to leave their employment and focus on this full time. One thing you all have in common is having a place to work. For many, that means that you need to work from home. Creating a space where you can easily segregate working and home life will be essential to your productivity levels. Whether that is an office dedicated to your business, or a desk in the corner of a room, find a space that you can call your own.
One the subject of productivity, it is also important for you to understand when you will be most productive to get as much work done as possible. This will be especially important if you still need to have a job to pay the bills. Many find that getting up earlier will allow them to have time to work. Some people are alert first thing in the morning and with a quiet house are able to get more work done. However, some people are night owls and prefer to work late into the evening. So you may find that once the family have gone to bed, you are awake and alert ready to put in a couple of hours of work. Understand the times of day where you are productive and can dedicate time for your business.
If you are bale to dedicate your day to the new business, then while knowing your most productive times to work is important, it is also essential that you make the most of your working time and your day. Time management is key, especially when you work from home. There can be a lot of distractions in your way. There are plenty of time management hacks that you can try online. It includes things like time blocking certain jobs, crews taking lists and working through them by priority. Or even micro managing the time at the last minute so that you can essentially get more done in a day.
It is important that you take advantage of tools, software and technology that can make your working life easier. This is essential when you are just starting out and relying on yourself to be responsible for every aspect of the business. Things like cloud services for holding documents and data such as sd-wan or even automated services for responses. Chatbots on your website and a decent automatic messaging service can also ensure that potential customers and clients are kept informed while giving you time to respond. You are only one person after all.
Another thing that you may not consider when you are just starting out, but one that can be beneficial, is placing a value on your time. We have already mentioned how software and tools can help to take the burden and responsibility off your shoulders, but as you are just starting out, every aspect of running the business will fall to you. It is important early on that you decide where your time is most valuable. Outsourcing aspects of your business may seem like a cost you can do without, but it can also be seen as a huge investment into your business. Whether you choose to outsource your IT services and website management, whether it is social media or even accounts, these things can then free up your time to focus on the areas where you can make the most difference.
Once all of these things are ironed out and decided upon the fun aspects of creating your business can start and one of them is creating your brand. This is the log for your business, your business name and strapline, the website design, color themes, what you stand for. There are so many aspects of creating a brand, that you can get consumed by it. The little details can make a big difference, but try not to focus too much on it. There are some excellent tips on creating a brand online that can help you get started with yours.
Getting started with all of the background elements of the business is a good idea, but that doesn’t mean that your social media and digital presence shouldn’t be on point. They often say that starting social media ahead of a business launch is a great way to build momentum. Also looking at things like your website can be a great way to help build up traction and traffic, which in turn will help with search engine optimization. Your digital presence will be important for things like content and keywords, to help you establish a digital footprint. With so much being done online these days, you can’t afford to not work on this area of your business from the get go.
Having all the groundwork done, you may be wondering what the next steps will be. It will be all about gaining customers and clients, attracting the right people to your business, making sales or generating orders and starting to see the profits and costs. You may be thinking about stock levels, where to store things and also the next steps in marketing. This might be focusing on your local area, or trying to globalize your business by thinking outside of the box. Your business plan can help you decide what steps you want to take with your business.
Finally, you may also be thinking about future expansion and what you might want to achieve with your business. There is no harm in thinking about this now. Knowing the end goal will help you to get where you need to be by making the right steps now.
Let’s hope these tips help you to make the most of new year motivation with a business of your own.
