startup

06/18/2019 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

First Steps in Starting Your Own Business

Starting your own business is a great concept. Conducting business while engaging in activities you are passionate about, flexible scheduling, being your own boss, and selecting your employees are all great perks to entrepreneurship. However, there are some essential steps to follow in order to launch your brilliant idea successfully.

Determine if you are able and ready to start a business

To successfully measure if starting a business is the right move for you at the moment, it may be a good idea to break down and analyze your finances. Depending on the type of business you are looking to start, there may be a good amount of capital involved. If you don't have the cash on hand to jump-start your business, it may be wise to begin shopping around for small business loans. Your credit score factors into banks' decision to give you the funding you may need to finance your dream. Given how crucial this score can be to your success, it's essential to understand how this process works. Before this step, it is necessary to determine if your credit is up to par to even obtain a loan. Once you pull your report, you may find it necessary to raise your score before applying for this loan. Paying more than your credit card limit, reducing card usage, or consolidating your loans will all lend a hand in helping you raise your score.

Assess your business idea

Conduct research in your market to see what your competitors are up to. Determine areas within your business where you can expand or differentiate your product or service. This is also a great time to begin determining your target market, which is a part of your market research. Use SEO tools to help you decide who is buying products or using the services you are looking to provide. SEO tools will also allow you to monitor your competitor's online behavior, which will better help you to establish an online presence in the near future.

Build your business plan

Your business plan will help you give direction and may be a requirement when seeking funding from a lender. Before putting together your business plan, it is essential to identify who you are creating the layout for and who is intended to view it, whether that be a third party, financial institution, or partner. Once your audience has been established, outline your plan. Most business plans contain the following subsections:

Executive Summary
Opportunity
Market Analysis Summary
Execution
Company and Management Summary
Financial Plan
Appendix

Note: If you need more help creating your business plan, check out this business plan template from Growthink.com

Choose your business structure

Once you have developed a business plan, it is crucial to plan out how you want to structure your business. Do you need employees? How many? Will you need a store-front for your business, or are you able to conduct business online? Your business structure can help you determine the following:

How much you will pay in taxes
The licenses you will have to acquire
Your personal liability
Ongoing costs
Legal obligations

Get a handle on your personal finances

Saving your money and managing your bills will be an ongoing task once your business is up and running. Not only will you have your past debts and current bills to pay, but you will have to keep up with monthly statements for your new business and repaying the loans you've acquired in relation to your business. Opening up a mobile banking account for your company is a great way to help you separate business from personal finances. It is also a convenient way to track your finances and manage your money on the go, which will complement your new entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Build your support team

As a new small-business owner, becoming a leader may a big step up from your previous work, which makes it essential to have advice from someone who has already seen what it takes to be successful.

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A mentor is a useful sounding board for any issues your company encounters. When you do start building your business advisory team, it's essential to also think about the specific needs of your company and the skills you need to maintain growth. It's also critical to make sure that everyone you seek advice from can provide you with constructive feedback that pushes you to succeed. The more people you have in your corner that are willing to support and advocate for you, the easier it will be to cultivate success in your business utilize your family and friends with accounting, finance, human resource, and legal backgrounds to assist you with any pertinent or concerning questions you may have as well.

08/21/2018 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

Pitching Your Business Idea? Top Tips for Visuals

If you fancy yourself as America’s next top entrepreneur, then it’s likely that you’ve got lots of ideas for businesses floating around in your head. Whether you’re thinking about starting a lucrative software development business or you’ve got a great plan for the next big manufacturing breakthrough, you’re probably going to need to pitch your idea to an investor of some kind at some stage. With that in mind, here are some ways to bring your business pitch to life through the use of top visuals.

Clear, Expressive Slides

Investors who are thinking about dishing out cash already have their criteria in mind. Profitability is usually one of them, while other important advantages of a business – such as a good staff skills base or sustainable income flows – are also in demand from investors. As a result, your slides should always contain answers to these questions and whatever other questions you’re likely to face, and they should be presented in as clear a way as possible. A very light background coupled with black, navy or dark gray text may seem predictable, but at least you’ll know that the message will get across. Learn more business tips on https://vplegacies.com/capabilities/custom-elearning-development/ where you can take a variety of courses to help you grow.

Video Animation

Animating the presentation on the screen is a good way to keep it feeling paced and punchy, and this in turn can help hold your viewers’ interest. Simple marketing videos can be created using internet-based tools, and it’s also possible to add text, info-graphics or even character avatar overlays to make yourself stand out. Remember not to go overboard with animation, though: old-fashioned Microsoft PowerPoint-style whirls and fade-outs don’t exactly scream professionalism, and this is not the vibe you want if you’re looking to secure investment.

Don’t Rely on the Screen

When watching a presentation, the ultimate judgement made will be on the quality of the presenter. As a result, the natural human response is to avoiding relying on the speaking skills of whoever is speaking – and to rely more heavily on the presentation and the screen instead. This might seem like there’s less opportunity for things to go wrong, but it’s a mistake: having too much text on the screen can lead to fatigue for the viewer, while technology can malfunction and leave you in the lurch if you’re an unprepared speaker.

It’s better, then, to be brave and simply practice over and over to make sure that you’re confident enough to deliver a great presentation no matter what’s happening on screen. Those who really want their business presentation to stand out, meanwhile, can opt for a screen-free show – though this may be too much, especially if lots of complex facts and figures (such as profit and loss sheets) are involved.

If you’re looking to make it big in business, then it’s almost inevitable that you’ll need to pitch your ideas at one stage or another. Pitching can be a nerve-wracking experience at the best of times, though, so don’t feel bad if you’re a bit intimidated. Instead, follow these top tips for integrating top visuals into your presentation – and then you’ll be well on your way to a successful meeting.

04/03/2016 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

Getting a New Business Off the Ground

One of the most difficult things to do is to get a new business off the ground. This is especially true if you are trying to start a business that is in an industry with a great deal of competition. The online world is an extremely hard place to compete. This is because it is so easy and inexpensive for people to start their own websites. This allows competitors to come out of the woodwork. Therefore, you must have a terrific business plan in order to keep your company afloat during those difficult early days when sales will be slow. It is also essential that you effectively promote your business to let the general public know what you have to offer. Here is how to get the most out of your website promotion.

Make a budget for advertising

You need to make wise financial decisions in the early days of your online business. Failure to do this will result in it going under. It would be wise for you to make a budget that lays out what you can afford to spend in all areas of your site. You can then refer to this budget on a regular basis to prevent you from going into the red in certain areas. It will be especially important for you to set aside some money for various advertising expenses. You will need to spend some money to make money. Paying for advertising is one of the best ways to set yourself apart from the competition. Most new businesses do not want to spend money before they get a steady revenue stream. You can get a leg up on all of your competitors if you are wise about where to place your ads. Placement is very crucial because you need to be sure that people in your target demographic are actually going to see the ads and respond to them. Make sure you never exceed your ad budget.

Use social media

There is nothing wrong with paying for advertising to give your online business the launch that it needs. However, there are currently plenty of free promotional methods that are available to you. For example, social media is everywhere these days. You cannot deny the power that social media has in the world today. One of the main reasons why businesses of all sizes have gravitated towards social media as a means of promotion is the fact that it is totally free. Using social media can allow your business to save money so you can afford to buy domain names and other necessary things. The reality is that companies need to have accounts on all of the major social media pages because that is how millions of people do their shopping. Not using social media will leave you out in the cold. This is one area that you need to teach yourself about if you have not previously been a social media user. Otherwise, your competition will pass you by at a rapid rate.