Tips for starting a small business!

Some of these things you can still do if you haven’t

Solve a Problem

If you are trying to come up with a new business idea you need to think of the problems people are having first. Then you can find a way to solve the problems. If you come up with something that is awesome but doesn’t have much real use, it isn’t going to get you very far. Ask yourself the following questions:

Who do I want to target?

What is their everyday life like?

What problems do they run into?

What can I do to help them with those problems?

Which one is most realistic to solve?

Now you have the perfect product and you can start prototyping.

Keep it Realistic

Once you have your idea it is really easy to keep expanding and thinking of more and more you can do with it. Slow down! You need to get the basics working first. Perfect your basic solution and then start to sell it. Be sure that what you have created is actually wanted and then start to expand by continuing with the customer’s needs. As a small business, you don’t need all the extra bells and whistles, so cut costs down where you can and add them back as you find yourself in a better position.

Be a Sponge

This is something you should be doing all the time until you’re retired or dead. Absorb all the knowledge. Get to know people who have already done what you are doing in some way or another. You might not think what they have to say has anything to do with you and you might be right, but it also may come in handy days, months, or even years later.

When you tell people about your new business how do they respond? You should also be doing marketing research and you need to pay attention to what they are telling you about your idea. Does their body say they don’t care for it even if their mouth is saying otherwise? Make sure what you are offering is something that people actually want. And then sign, seal, deliver the goods!