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Originally Posted On: 5 Things To Think About Before Starting A Business – The Freelancer Blog

The journey of starting your own business is exciting but will also be extremely stressful. There are so many things to think about which is why it’s important you do your research and put yourself in the best possible position before launching. Throughout your journey, you will be learning things throughout the whole process so it’s important you accept feedback and embrace it, as this will only help you improve and get better. From thinking about your branding to the accounts software and how to bring in a new customer, you’ll have plenty of things to put together before launching. Below are six things to think about before starting a business.

Do You Have Enough Savings?

The initial costs of running a business can be a lot depending on what your business is. Without having enough money in the bank initially, you may be setting yourself up for failure before you have even started. As a rule of thumb, make sure you can last a few months without making any profit once you have launched. It may be that you will need to look into investment options to raise the capital for your business idea or secured loans. As long as your business idea and business plan is strong enough, there are people who are willing to invest in new business as it could make them money as well.

How will you bring in customers?

This is an important question which any business owner should think about before starting their own business. So how will you bring in customers? How will you get your product or service out there? Some people will do this by building a strong website and working on the SEO, others by advertising on Google or the local press and some may be able to operate through people referring them. There are many ways to bring new customers in but you need to think about what will be the best way for you and your business.

Your Branding?

What are your brand colours? What will your logo look like? Will you need any marketing materials? All of these will be things that you will need as a new business that could potentially cost you a lot. Logo design can vary in price depending on who you employ but remember your logo is the first thing a lot of people see, so it’s important it draws them in. Your business cards can be printed online as this tends to cost less and any designer will be able to help you with your brand colours.

Discuss Your Idea With Someone

Ask your best friends or loved ones over and put a Powerpoint together to present your business idea to. This way you share your idea with them but also trust they will not say anything to anyone else. We are sure your idea is great but it’s always worth getting an option from someone else just to double-check. You may also find they have some good ideas on how to help you and how to improve your idea. Even when running your business, feedback is essential so it’s always important that you are asking for it, especially from the start as its a good habit to get into.

Will You Need Employees?

Some ideas may only require just you until you have started to bring in some income, others may require help from the off. It is important you sit down and realistically think this through as employees are expensive and will need to be accounted for. Not only that but with employees you may then need to have office space for them to work from, alternatively, you could hire a freelancer to work from home. Employees can bring a lot of benefits with them as they could have experience within the industry you are trying to get into which will provide valuable feedback on helping your business succeed.

Accounting Software

Keeping track of your finances is extremely important for any business whether that be a startup or an established business. Before starting your business do some research on the different accounts packages available and how they will help you. Most accounts packages can work in conjunction with your accountant saving you time and money. Good things to look for with an accounts package is that it facilitates expenses, sales, invoicing and reports. If you look online there are many comparison sites that will compare the different accounting software.

Have you started your own business? What tips helped you along the way? Let me know in the comment box below, I would love to hear from you.