11 Tips to speed up your business launch

Many entrepreneurs don’t know how to take their business from point A to point B. Point A being a brilliant idea, point B being established and making money. Why is that? Lack of business skills, lack of strategy, lack of understanding of the market, lack of funding, etc. There are many reasons why some people just can’t get their business off the ground. Today, we are presenting a list of tips that will help you overcome this barrier, start your business and progress through your roadmap faster.

1. START DOING SOMETHING

   In our experience, it’s better to start doing something than waiting until your idea is fully mapped out to start your entrepreneurial journey. Talk to your friends and family and validate your idea before you invest your time, effort and money into making it a reality.

2. SELL SOMETHING

   You might have an idea to start an e-commerce business but you are not sure what you will be selling just yet. Or you might have a very clear idea of what you want to sell but you are not sure if you will be any good at it. Sell anything! Set up a store on BigCartel or amazon and try to sell something, just so you can get the feel for it. The skills that you will acquire during this process will come in handy later down the line.

3. SKILL SWAP

   You most probably have a skill that some other start-up needs. Offer your sales/IT skills in return for something that you need. This might be anything from accounting, through branding to incorporating.

4. HIRE VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS

   You probably don’t have all the skills that are needed to run your business. If you can’t find anyone who is willing to skill swap, your next best bet is hiring a remote worker. Set your weekly budget and make a list of tasks that you need help with and get somebody to do your web maintenance or weekly marketing tasks for you whilst you focus on the core business.

5. HIRE CONTRACTORS

   You don’t want to become an employer right from the start, however, there might come the time that you will need to tackle a larger project. So, instead of hiring full-time employees, hire on a contract basis. Contractors are skilled professionals that will hit the ground running and provide you with the skills and expertise that you need.

6. FIND A COFOUNDER

   Running a business by yourself might prove to be difficult (not to mention very lonely!). Find a co-founder whose skills complement yours and build a bigger and better business together.

7. FIND A CREDIBILITY BUDDY

   Find somebody who can meet you on a regular basis and check on your progress. This might be a budding entrepreneur who also struggles with the same things. You can set up weekly meetings and check on each other’s progress and give feedback.

8. DO NOT THINK ABOUT MONEY

   A good product or service will always find a way to make money. So don’t worry about the amount of money you will make or your exit strategy right from the start. Instead, focus on solving a real problem or on building an awesome product that everyone will want to use. The cash will follow naturally.

9. BUILD A BRAND

   Building a loveable & recognisable brand is the best thing that you can do for your business. A brilliant brand will make your product sell itself with minimal marketing efforts.

10. HAVE A MARKETING BUDGET

    Marketing is the lifeline of every business and you should dedicate an appropriate budget towards your marketing efforts. Business is nothing without customers, so make sure you have the means of finding them once you are up and running.

11. KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS

    You have to get to know your customers ahead of launching your startup in order to know whether your business idea addresses their needs and whether they are willing to pay the price that you are asking for. Remember, your potential customers might be able to identify the problems that you are not aware of and can help you brush up on your idea so it’s perfect once you launch.

Start fast so you can identify potential problems. Fail fast and pick yourself up even faster.