5 Things New Business Owners Need to Think About
“To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart.” — Thomas Watson Sr.
Starting a business can be one of the most challenging, daunting tasks in an entrepreneur’s life. When it’s done right, however, it can also be one of the most rewarding. It’s important to build a solid foundation, especially as a first-time business owner. Below are five key components to starting a business that the RaisinBread team strongly recommends for every business owner to consider:
1. Hire the right people. Character is everything!
It’s important for your business to build a strong culture everyone can be proud of. The first few people you hire will set the tone for the kind of culture and workplace you will be operating and promoting. Outline the values and morals of your business and hire people who support you in your mission, and whose personal values align with your company values. When you have a reliable, kind, and passionate team, beautiful things can happen and cause your business to flourish.
2. Find your niche and stick with it—for now.
It never pays to bite off more than you can chew. The urge to do everything all at once can be enticing, but it hardly ever ends in success. When starting a business, one of the first things you should do is decide what your specialty is, and how you can perfect and capitalize on that niche service or offering. When your focus is narrow, and you offer an unmet or desired need to your targeted customers/clients, you’ll have the bandwidth to support your business as it steadily grows, rather than drown in the waters of doing too much too soon.
3. Make sure you’re prepared for a rainy day.
Rainy days happen, but be sure you can have fun dancing in the puddles, rather than drowning in the storm. Whether this is a savings account, or opening a business line of credit for use in an emergency, it is critical to have a plan and means to support yourself through uncertain financial situations. A business line of credit is a great way to offer yourself some cushion for a rainy day, specifically because you don’t have to worry about putting up collateral in case you default on the debt. When you have a safety net, you can securely weather the storm.
4. Understand the power of local marketing.
Local SEO and understanding Google Business can be invaluable for businesses. Four out of five users use a search engine to find local information. Knowing this, your business can be correctly optimized for local search, ensuring your business is being promoted to people in your surrounding community. One key way to do this is to make sure your business has been set up with Google Business. This will allow your business to pop up on Google maps and in Google searches. For more useful techniques on properly setting up with Local SEO, click the link here.
5. Get adequate insurance, meant specifically for small businesses.
75 percent of US businesses are underinsured, and 40 percent of small-business owners have no insurance at all. Many new business owners face at-risk events that could trigger insurance claims, but often choose to not file a claim due to not having insurance, or not having the right policy to cover their claim. With the right policy, it can be affordable for new businesses to obtain the coverage they need to stay protected from large costs or disasters down the road. Don’t delay in getting the coverage your business needs. The more protection you have, the smoother your business operations will be.
Whatever your industry, we’re excited for you and your new business venture. The founders of RaisinBread are business owners, too, and understand perfectly well what you’re going through. With RaisinBread, you can be confident your business is protected with the right coverage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
When your business is covered, your business can thrive. And you’ll have peace of mind.
