8 Things You Must Have When Starting a New Business

 

Salary is the worst addiction that makes you kill your dreams and work your whole life. We get up early in the morning and travel to work 9 to 5 for an income that only fulfills our basic needs. On top of that, we don't have the freedom of our own life. We can't travel, take days off, or rest if we like it. Jobs bound us to a strict routine of slaves and keeps our mouth shut with minimum wage. 

The world is starting to see how jobs take away our entire life. That's why people are more focused on starting their own business. But it's not as simple as most of us might think. Most startups usually fail within the first year, and very few of them manage to become a stable business with a decent income. The problem is our education system. They teach us how to be a good employee, but no one tells us how to start a business. They don't give us practical education or experience.

We discover new things by making mistakes and suffering terrible losses. We can only withstand a limited number of losses before we fall down. And not all of us have the courage to get up again and give the business another shot. 

So, what's the solution to this problem?

Research!

Use the internet and contact experienced people of the same industry to learn from them. Don't for the time when you will give up everything and start working on your new business. Learn things whenever you can. Only when you are sure that now you have learned enough to start a successful business of your industry should you take the next step. 

The Internet is the source of valuable information where you learn from the experience of other people. This article is one of them. This is a humble approach to share our experience and knowledge with all ambitious entrepreneurs and businessmen. Here I have shared things you must have when starting a new business. You don't necessarily need all of them. It's just some things that may be helpful for some businesses and essential for some industries. 

A Unique Selling Proposition

This is not optional. If you are to start a business, you must have an idea that is unique. Of course, the entire business idea can't be unique due to the saturation we have in every single market. However, you can add one unique thing in the same cliché idea to stand out in the market. 

For example, for a food business, you could have a great taste that your customers won't find anywhere else. Whether it be quality, low prices, or additional service, that's for you to decide. It's not something you would find easily. You will have to research the entire market. See what people are doing and what your customers expect. Look for a market gap and make it your unique selling point. 

Focus all your business processes and marketing on that unique selling point to attract and retain customers. As long as you keep offering that uniqueness, you will keep getting returning customers. And a business with loyal customers never fails. 

At Least Six Month of Budget

It's a frequently asked question: how much money do you need to start a business? There is no one right amount. It all depends on the industry and the scale of the company you are starting. There is also not one formula to get an exact number. But here is something that will give an approximate idea of what you need. 

First, make a list of initial necessities you will need for the business. For example, equipment, workers, office, etc. write down the price that would be spent before starting operations. 

After that, get an estimate of how much money you will have to spend if you don't get any return at all. It includes rents, bills, and wages.  

Finally, multiply the monthly expenses to six and add it with initial expenses. That's your total investment. Remember, you multiplied the monthly expenses to six because you must have at least six months of budget to keep the business running. You can't expect profit at the beginning, and you need a strong backbone to suffer losses for this time period. 

Answering Machine

You start your marketing before you start operations. This means that you will spread brand awareness and let the world your business exist. So, you will be getting calls from prospects who may be interested in your product or services. If you don't properly retain them, you will lose potential customers. That's why you will need a professional phone number with a receptionist to answer all such calls. 

For many businesses, having a receptionist is crucial. For example, a doctor can't make an appointment and deal with customers while also treating a line of patients. 

Now you might be wondering how a new business can afford a receptionist. It's difficult enough to pay for other expenses, and hiring a receptionist before starting operations would be way out of budget. Fortunately, there is a perfect solution for it. 

There are businesses that let you outsource receptionist work. You get an answering service from a reliable company that will professionally deal with all your calls. Every time someone calls your number, it will be attended by a real person who will guide them as per your instructions. This will present you as a professional company to impress your prospects. 

A Website

You will be left way behind the market if you don't have a website. You might wonder since when a website is so important. It's become crucial as most of the world population regularly started using the internet. It works like an online branch of your business where you will get customers. Whether it's a product or a service you offer, you can rely on the internet to get you leads that you will contact to convince and convert into customers.

You need a domain, hosting, and a website. The first two barely cost $50 a year. As for the website, you can get one in any budget. There are sites you can get in $20, and you can have them custom-built for additional cost according to your requirements. With this, you should also consider acquiring some digital marketing services to promote your website and attract potential customers. 

A Network of Relevant Professionals

A network is one of the biggest assets of a professional. People think money is all they need to start a business. Honestly, you can always arrange the funds. But you can't have someone else run the business at your place. It's very important that you stay in touch with every professional that is remotely linked to your industry or business.

Even if they are not in the same industry, save their contact number and keep in touch. You should try to have one person from every profession in your network. You never know when you might need a lawyer. Other than that, the expertise of a marketer is also useful. Furthermore, keep business cards of reliable electricians, mechanics, plumbers, and other such professionals for maintenance of your office. 

Business License

Many businesses are not allowed to operate without a license. For example, if you are a dentist, you will need to get a license first. You get the license only after your fulfill certain requirements. The government doesn't want an unqualified person to provide services that could harm somebody. That's why a license is important. Get information about its requirements and complete them before you even start the plan of your business. 

Document of Roles and Responsibilities

You might be working alone, have partners, or employees. Many businessmen underestimate the value of documentation, which they later regret. You need to write detailed roles and responsibilities of each actor and have him sign before you start working together. If you don't do that, it will later cause problems between you two. 

It's particularly important if you have a co-founder or partner. Decide what goals each of you must achieve to keep the business running. If you are the one doing all the work and the other one only benefitting, sooner or later you will sick of it. Write documents and decide that each will only be rewarded after achieving certain goals and milestones. 

Team of Business Developers

There are businesses with lousy products and services that keep running and making profit just because they have great business developers. Their job is to bring work for you, in other words, customers. It takes more time to attract a customer than to retain it. You can't spend all your time looking for customers and convincing them. Your expertise lies elsewhere, and that's where you should focus. 

Work on your product or service to provide the best user experience. Business developers will bring customers to your doorsteps. If you can retain them with quality, they will keep returning, reducing your marketing cost. Make sure you find some experienced business developers and hire them on commission at the initial phases.