13 small business tips everyone should know
Post on 08-Jan-2017
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13 Small Business Tips Everyone Should Know
#1Do Something You Love
What Do You Love?
• What do you do that time just flies by?• What do your friends
get bored of hearing you talk about?• What won’t feel like
work?
Starting a business is hard. If you don’t do what you love then you won’t follow through.
#2 Know Your Customers and Competitors
CustomersImagine your typical customer…..
• W H AT IS T H E IR AG E , INCO ME ,S TAT U S , G E ND E R ?
• W H AT IS T H E IR R O L E IN TH E IR O R G A N IZAT IO N?
• W H E R E D O T H E Y L IV E ?• W H AT A R E T H E IR B IG G E S T
PR O BL E MS ?• W H AT A R E T H E IR G OA L S ?Establish a buyer persona [link]
CompetitorsWho are your competitors…..
• WH AT D O T HE Y D O ?• WH AT D O YO U D O T H AT I S
D I F F E RE N T T HA N T H E M ?• WH AT P R I C E A RE T H E Y
CH A R G I N G ?• HO W W I L L T HE Y F E E L
WH E N YO U G E T I N T O T HE BU S I N E S S ?
Perform a competitive analysis [link]
#3 Know What Type of Business You Want
ONLINE, BRICK AND MORTAR OR BOTH?
• WHAT KIND OF RESOURCES DO YOU HAVE?• WHAT WORKS FOR YOUR
TYPE OF BUSINESS?• HOW MUCH RISK DO YOU
HAVE?• SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP,
LLC, CORPORATION?
AN ONLINE BUSINESS CAN BE DONE FOR ALMOST NO MONEY, CAN YOU LIVE WITH THAT IN THE START?
#4 Take your Friend’s and Family’s Input With a Grain of Salt
• They will be tentative of change
• They may attempt to tell you why you can’t do it
• They may try to offer advice (usually not applicable to what your are doing)
KEEP THE FAITH!
#5 Brand Yourself
Your name and domain should
match your brandMake sure yourdomain is available
#6 Start NOW!!!
DON’T WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE THE EXPERIENCEThere will be so many things you haven’t done before. The best teacher is doing. You can teach yourself as you go. It is the best and quickest way to learn. You are an entrepreneur therefore you are a risk taker by nature. Take the risk and jump in!
-Elissa Talley
#7 Get an Accountant
Accountant > AttorneyHere is why…..
1.An attorney will almost always refer you to an accountant if the questions are tax related
2.Most questions around starting a business are tax related
3.In most cases, accountants are cheaper than attorney for business tasks (i.e. setting up an LLC)
4.They will be your new best friend!
#8 Know Legalities
You May Not Need an Attorney Now but You Will at Some Point
In the early stages, try to do legal “stuff” using online tools or paralegal
Use your first meeting with an attorney (usually they don’t charge for this meeting) to ask as many questions as you can
Usually bigger legal issues don’t come about until you start to grow
Meet with several different attorneys
#9 OUTSOURCE
Virtual Assistant Writer Bookkeeper Accounting/Taxes Programmer Attorney0
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10
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Chart Title
Level of Difficulty in obtaining skill (1-10) Cost Ratio (ratio = cost per hour/difficulty)
As the level of difficulty per task increases and the cost per hour to perform that task increases, the more logical it would be to outsource. Comparing this set of data, anywhere the lines are close together or intersecting, outsourcing should be considered.
A bookkeeper is a perfect example of a skill that makes sense to outsource. It can take quite a while to learn QuickBooks and bookkeepers don’t charge very much.
#10 Get on Social Mediachannels where your customers hang out
Source: http://us.accion.org/business-resources/articles-videos/choosing-right-social-media-platform-your-business
#11 Get on Forums and Network
Source: http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/
Around 40% of the world population has an internet connection today. • In 1995 it was less than 1%.• The number of internet users has increased
tenfold from 1999 to 2013.• The first billion was reached in 2005. • The second billion in 2010. • The third billion in 2014.
#12 Let Things Follow Their Natural Course
You will feel overwhelmed sometimes. You will feel anxious sometimes.
1. Set up a plan2. Get help from a mentor3. Pick the important
things for the week
Things evolve as you go…the things that seem important today may not even exist next week.
#13 Never Stop Researching
Business Plan
Marketing Plan
Sales Plan
Organization Structure
Financial Model
SEO
Social Media
MissionVision
Blogs/Videos
Website
Buyer Persona
Competitors
Business ProcessesHuman
Resources
Research
ResearchResearch
Research
Research
Research
Research
Research
Research
Research
Smarketing
Legalities
Content Creation
SMARTgoals
13 Business Tips Everyone Should Know
1. Do Something You Love2. Know Your
Customers/Competition3. Know What Type of
Business you Want4. Take Your Friend’s and
Family’s Input With a Grain of Salt
5. Brand Yourself6. Start Now!!
7.Get an Accountant8.Know Legalities9.Outsource10.Get on Social Media11.Get on Forums/Network12.Let Things Follow Their
Natural Course13.Never Stop Researching
www.elissatalley.com/sharing
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