Starting a business is hard but turning one’s business into a success is even harder. A business’s success is measured by its profitability and popularity. In order for yours to be considered a success, you need to convince consumers to do business with you rather than your competitors.
Stealing away consumers from one’s competition can be extremely difficult, especially without a recognizable or well-known brand. However, just because it’s difficult that’s not to say that it’s impossible.
Here is a step-by-step guide for starting a successful business:
Company Formation
One of the first things that you need to do if you want to start a company in the United Kingdom is to register it with Companies House. If you do not want to start a company but instead want to work as an independent freelancer, then you can register yourself as a sole trader with HMRC.
In an article titled ‘Seven Things to Decide when Setting Up a Limited Company – Uniwide Formations,’ it is explained that when setting up a company you first need to think about the company’s name, and then you must consider several other important things.
Planning is essential when you are starting a company, so make sure that you read articles like this and properly prepare for your company’s registration.
Business Clarity
Something that you should really think about before you begin the steps of forming your company is what purpose your company is going to serve. You should always have a clear idea in your head about what it is that your business does.
A lot of people start businesses, and then change their initial idea, despite having already built up a brand and reputation. Make sure that when you start your company you are clear about what direction it is going in, and what it does.
Creating Website
You should also create a website for your company. Most consumers turn to the internet when they are searching for products or services. If you don’t have a website, then you will lose out on a lot of potential customers.
In addition to creating a website for your company, you should also consider opening a social media page, where you can post updates about product releases and promotional sales, as well as build a relationship with some of your customers.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is essential. While real-world marketing still has some value, it pales in comparison to digital marketing. You won’t be able to achieve exposure and success until you begin incorporating it into your company’s marketing effort.
There are many different ways of marketing one’s business in the digital space, but the most effective of these are search engine optimization, content marketing, influencer marketing, social media marketing, and video marketing.
You can manage your business’s marketing yourself, though it’s highly unlikely that you will be able to juggle it in addition to running a company, in which case you should hire a marketing professional to assist you.
Employing Help
If your business is going to have a physical presence, then you will likely need employees from the very beginning, even if your company isn’t making much profit. One thing to consider if this is the case is hiring your family to help you.
One’s family can come in very handy when it comes to looking for employees. This is because they will likely help you even if you don’t pay them a lot, because it will help you to get your business off of the ground.
Outsourcing Accountancy
In terms of employing help, one thing that you will need to do is to hire an accountant. You don’t have to pay for a full-time accountant nor do you have to pay an independent local accountant, because you can outsource your firm’s accountancy abroad. There are myriad accountancy firms operating internationally, that will handle your company’s accounting for you.
It is very important to make sure that you have an accountant employed, whether they’re outsourced or work for you so that your company can remain tax compliant. It’s very hard to achieve tax compliance when you don’t have an accountant there to help you, especially when you are juggling 1,000,000 other things.
Consumer Confidence
If you want your business to be a success, then your customers need to be confident in you and must trust you. In order to achieve consumer confidence, make sure that you deliver high-quality service and that you don’t cut corners on any of your products or services.
Consumer confidence can be earned through reviews, also, so you might want to consider purchasing fake reviews. The publication of fake views isn’t necessarily illegal, although it is something of a deception, so it’s entirely up to you whether or not you choose this as a method of gaining customer confidence.
Getting Insurance
You may also need to be insured. If you have a physical store, then insurance is required. There are other forms of insurance that you can get too, that aren’t mandatory. If you sell physical products, then it’s good to insure them against theft and damage.
If your firm’s stock was damaged or lost then your insurance agency would pay you, ensuring that you are compensated for the losses. If you weren’t insured and you lost all of your stock, then this could drive you to bankruptcy.
Physical Presence
Lastly, physical presence has been a theme throughout this post (i.e., in reference to physical stores). Do you want your company to have a physical presence or will you be purely a digital brand?
A physical presence does come with a lot of benefits, but it can be very expensive. Additionally, if you sell very niche products, then there’s no reason to have a physical presence. A physical presence is only really required for fashion stores, cafés and restaurants, and hardware or electronic stores. Everything else can be sold online; this is called an e-commerce store.
First-time business owners often make amateurish mistakes that interrupt their profits. If you want to start a business, then you need to follow this post’s step-by-step guide so that you can minimize the mistakes that you make and maximize success.
