Things to think about when starting a business

Editor’s Note: Here at Dispatches, we are always looking for ways to help our readers do things. For some of our readers, that means helping navigate the working world, for others, it means assisting in the ever challenging question, “what’s for dinner?” For still others, it means figuring out how to balance family life with everything else. In an effort to aid in all of these endeavors, we have collaborated on this article written specifically for our readers.

As I’m sure you know, starting a business and driving it towards success is exceedingly challenging, and there’s a high chance that any venture will fail in its first year. However, there are still many things an aspiring entrepreneur can do to give themselves a better chance of making it. 

Learn to Love Mondays
Even if the product or service is something you’re passionate about, turning your business idea into a reality is going to involve a lot of fairly unglamorous work. However, these boring tasks are going to be just as important, if not more so, than the more creative and enjoyable ones. To give yourself the best chances of success, it’s essential to make a point of developing your personal work ethic, and learning to love sitting down to these less enjoyable jobs. Like many entrepreneurs, you’re going to spend around half the time you’re awake trying to develop your business idea, so approaching it with the right attitude will be a massive help.

Cut Back Expenses
Failing to follow this tip is at the root of why a lot of promising businesses fail. No business can survive when its cash flow is a shambles, and this is exactly what yours will become if you don’t look for ways of cutting expenses. One way of doing this is to understand how businesses like yours are taxed and finding out how you can shave some money off your yearly tax bill by working with a local accountant. If you’re going to be operating from a commercial premises, find ways to cut down on utilities can be exceedingly helpful. Other things like pay monthly websites, angel investors and eco-friendly government initiatives can also equal savings. While there are a range of business-specific steps you can take to cut costs, sometimes all you need to do to free up a decent amount of capital is cut back on some luxuries. Take a long, hard look at your personal spending habits, and think of anything that you could comfortably afford to miss out on. These changes might seem too small to make a difference, but in the long run, they can be extremely helpful.

Put the Customer First
Take some time to think about your main competitors. What are their weaknesses? What can you do to deliver a better, more satisfying product or service, and establish a stronger bond between your brand and its customer base? Whoever dominates your niche, spend some time studying them, and finding any instance of customer apathy in the way they deliver their product or service. This is the chink in their armor which you need to exploit. When you delight your customers in the same ways that your competitors let them down, you’ll have much less to worry about!