5 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Own Business

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Technology has truly taken over the normal commerce of everyday life, especially when it comes to the busy society we all live in. There’s nothing better than convenience when it comes to shopping, and what is more convenient than a few clicks and confirmation before products are delivered straight to your door. That being said, it is only natural for businesses and entrepreneurs to tap into the world wide web to do business, whether it is to start a new or place and already existing company online. However, with all of the decisions to make and legalities you must go through, starting your own business can seem overwhelming and chaotic. Narrowing down the most important things to consider before going online can help put it all into a calmer, more organized perspective. So before you start your online business, let us help you to get the process going with five things of the most important things you should consider.

Legalities and Restrictions

Honestly, this should be the first step: check into any legal matters that may come your way. Permits, permissions, licenses, restrictions, patents, and even taxes – can and will fall into your path like boulders if you are not prepared to deal with the legal side of your business. Taxes being the most important, monetary wise, but you must also make sure your business is legal and can provide the proper documentation and paperwork in order to prove it so. 

Some may even look into employing legal counsel just to be sure that all ground is covered before proceeding into becoming an official company. All questions and concerns can be addressed instead of taking unnecessary risks. Once you get comfortable with the legal side of things, it will be time to map a thorough plan of your business workings and figure out the best way to become successful.

Map a Plan

Obviously, any great idea springs from a thought, or a series of thoughts that need mapped put in order to turn into something of fruition and success. It is heavily important to know what your niche is and what possibilities are available in the arrival of your success. Could your business expand into more? Will it offer more services upon expansion other than the starting product or service? Where will you be working, and will you be able to upgrade your space if need be? Are there milestones you would like to reach, or need to reach? Even though you are just at the tip of the iceberg, these are all questions to ask yourself in order to map a solid plan. Consider the best, as well as the worst.

Secondly, take time to study the market and the competitors that exist within that market. Not only do businesses want to bring in the most customers, but they also want to make sales on and off of the internet. Not all companies have physical stores to shop from, so if your market requires handling a product for purchase, online sales are probably not a good idea. Beyond that, pricing and monetary value is something to consider. Can you beat your competitor’s prices while pulling a profit? How often do they hold discount sales, what are they? Map out a marketing plan that can rival your rival.  

Next, take time to have a look into the audience and/or consumer that you are trying to reach. Who are you selling your product or service to? Where do they hang out? What platforms do they use the most?  What is going to appeal to the consumer, most? How can you get your audience talking about your business and recommending your product? You must consider where will your sales happen the most and where will your advertisements be the most efficient. This way you can begin planning where and how to start showing off your branding techniques in order to gain attention and get noticed.

Creating Your Logo Design and Branding

Speaking of branding, the most important component of a successful online business is having a quality logo and using it to represent yourself efficiently. Logos are the ‘face’ of the company and oftentimes, are what consumers use to recognize your business quickly and easily. Take time and use careful consideration while planning and creating your logo to ensure that it can be used across all platforms and on several different mediums. This means keeping your logo simple, yet unique to your business so that it can be used as your lead branding tool.

While making a logo for your business, it is important that you are using a design that represents your business as a whole. From graphics to colors, to fonts – the design should be simple as to stay malleable and memorable. The more complicated and intricate the logo, the less likely consumers will be able to submit it to memory while moving about their fast-paced lifestyles. The more original the logo, the easier and more likely it will be for consumers and audiences alike to fit the ‘face’ with a name. Consider where you could be placing your logo in everyday life to enhance visual branding, such as creating email signatures and displaying the logo on websites and social media pages.

Lastly, remember that branding isn’t simply limited to screens, as you can also use your logo on uniforms, building signs, business cards, brochures, receipts, and even billboards. By including logos, you can be sure that your business is visually present in all its transactions so that consumers can remember who you are. Be efficient and original with your logo in order to ensure maximum branding opportunities and abilities.

Social Media and Online Presence

Once a logo is established, it is important to use it as often as possible and get the consumer to associate your logo with your business. Millions of people are plugged into social media and this is where they access most of the information on the web. The upside to these sites is that they run on advertisements and sponsors from advertisers, which means you want your logo on those sites. Any access to your company is good access, so why not go where it is constant? While it all sounds easy enough, this is definitely a double edge sword.

The downside to social media, is that with all of the algorithms they use, it is hard to get established enough to be seen without paying for views and/or likes, while also posting a steady stream of content. Not only do you have to consider how you will build enough variable content to stay steady, you will also have to consider the price of promoting your posts in order to be seen. How much is each site going to charge? How often will you have to spend money on them? In order to brand yourself and get your logo seen, ask yourself what lengths you will have to go to on social media to stay relevant.

All things considered, once a groove is found in the use of social media, it can be heavily effective in branding. Artwork and photography can be used to spread your logo through artistic design and bring visitors to your page who wish to see more. Contests and giveaways are another way to generate traffic and gain attention, but again can mean cost to the company.

As mentioned before, the more your logo is seen, the more it is associated with your company. The more active your company is online and within social media outlets, the more likely it will be seen. The trick is figuring out how to advertise on the highways of social media without being swallowed up by the constant flow of traffic.

Communication

Once all of your ducks are in a row and you feel like you have mapped your business out effectively, you must figure out how you are going to keep the wheels of communication open and flowing. Consumers are going to have questions as well as feedback, and it is key for companies to respond. When social media comes into play, there are auto-reply messages, but it is more effective to respond personally and deal with the situation immediately. Users on social media comment on posts and ask questions or dish criticism. While most of it may just be feedback, there are also questions and concerns that customers want answering before they purchase products. With questions going unanswered, sales may be lost.

Another point of communication is public relations in advertising and speaking for the company. Commercials can be made, interviews are offered, but who will you send as the speaker, if not yourself? How are you going to respond to all of the questions coming in from different platforms? What kind of auto-replies can you compose for those feedback messages? Do you even want to use one? How will you go about interacting on social media? Will you have a team? A few set people? Who is going to answer phone calls?

 These questions arise, because in order to stay truly consistent, businesses need to communicate effectively and consistently with customers and their audience. The best way to do that is to formulate a plan that aligns with your advertising and branding strategies in order to better your relations image. Most companies suggest compiling a list of email addresses and creating a routine newsletter or advert in order to keep customers interested. This can also be made easy by adding a subscribe option to your websites, or reminding repeat customers to mark your social media pages as favorites. Either way, a good communication strategy needs to be considered in order to stay in touch with your market and its consumers.

Overall, starting an online business can feel like chaos when everything is brought forward at once. That is why it’s important to take time to carefully map out and consider each aspect of your business and what moves you are willing and able to make in order to become successful. Organization can go a long way in planning and figuring out what to do first. Always make sure your company is in legal operation, design an original logo that you can effectively brand yourself with, establish a plan for social media use, and determine how you are going to keep communication needs smooth and consistent. With these considerations, you are more likely to know what to expect and what options are available to become successful with your business endeavors.

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