By Dine Racoma
So, you’ve realised that you want to start your own business – to join the greats such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs who reinvented themselves by going all in for a business endeavour that they believed in.
Before you ride your high horse to a self-made career, remember that it’s never like a Disney story and everything comes from hard work and the right timing. Consider a few of these tips to steer you away from the amateur choices that could lead to the early demise of your business.
Find your business space
Depending on the service or product you provide, you should anticipate that the amount of work that you do will increase exponentially. But before you get ahead of yourself, you should first focus on your roots.
For this scenario, we’ll assume that you already have at least a brand name and a business in mind.
The first thing you should consider is where you will hold your base of operations. If you’re still in the relatively early stages of your startup, it’s okay to start in your home, but later on, you’ll likely need a separate location where you may be able to expand your progress by hiring employees to help you.
Strategise your reach
Know what your brand stands for and where to reach your potential clients. It is part of the minimum requirements for a business to have at least a manifesto of what your brand does or what your product represents. This calls for advertisements. Brochure printing is one of the easiest ways to get the word around about your business by disseminating them at strategic locations.
Look for establishments that offer services related to yours, like printing services near bookstores or car repair services near carwashes. This is a more efficient way to reach your demographic in person. Other traditional print materials such as flyers and billboard placements are also good ways to spread the name of your brand relative to your base of operations.
Count the costs
Before you start considering advertising and marketing strategies, remember to know how much your capital allows you to spend. Allot a specific amount of your budget to promotions in the same way that you allot a set budget for the production of your services.
Your budget must be realistic. Cutting costs will be easier when you have a price ceiling in mind. In terms of promotion, there are a number of cheap leaflet printing services available out there and if it is still against your liking, you can adjust your print material designs to fit your budget.
Starting a business is about working your way around your limitations while making the most out of it at the same time.