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It is the dream of many of us to have our own business and be their own boss. If you are one of these, getting things off the ground can seem impossible. It looks like there are so many things you need to do before you can start getting on with the bits you actually want to do that,you’ll never ever make your dream a reality.
However, like all things, there is an easy and a hard way of doing it. Once you look beyond the surface, you might find that there are only a couple of things you need to get right to start the ball rolling, and this is especially true if it just you and you are using your home as a base. So here are a few things that you might find will help to speed up the process of getting your business off the ground.
#1 Thorough research
You will hear a lot of talk about testing your ideas, and you certainly should. Conducting proper research into what might be viable can cut down the amount of time and money you spend going up blind alleys. This is especially important if you are working with a small start-up fund (more on that in a minute), as you can then concentrate your efforts on what is most likely to work.
#2 Keep an eye on costs
If it’s just you and you, and you are using the home as your office or workshop, then you’ve already taken care of two of the biggest overheads. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other things that can be a huge drain on your funds. For example, if you need to make deliveries or visit customers, you will need some sort of van, and they can be expensive things to buy and run. One way to sidestep this is to use pay as you go van finance which can work out better for your monthly budgeting.
#3 Use quality materials
The benefit of this is twofold. First, buying cheaper materials, whether electrical, tooling, or even software, can save you money, but the additional time you have taken to deal with quality issues or send faulty items back might be the time you don’t have. Second, using top-quality materials means that you will have more confidence in your product; with the additional bonus, you are likely to gain a reputation for quality.
#4 Build a brand
These days, it’s not just what you do but how you do it that is of interest to your customers. So, letting people know, using your website (yes, you’ll need one of those) and social media channels, everything about your working practices and general outlook on matters of ethics and inclusion, can do much to boost the start of your business. This is because people are more likely to use a service whose beliefs most closely match their own, with the handy offshoot that if they feel an affinity with you, they are less likely to complain and more likely to become an advocate for your business.