Do You Have What It Takes To Start up a Startup from Scratch?
Starting up a business can be a task of epic proportions, and those that do so successfully are the ones that have a combination of two things. The first is the determination to succeed which keep them motivated even during the hard parts of the process. This is a type of grit that comes deep from within. The second is an intimate knowledge of the process of starting up a company, and what needs to be done to achieve this and this is Something you can get some detailed information on in my post below.
Idea
There may be some controversy over whether to start with an idea for a product or service or to start with a plan and then find a product or service that fits your scheme. For the sake of argument let’s say we will begin with the idea itself.
Now, this idea may have come to you in a eureka moment while soaking away in your bath, or it may have been a longer more arduous process. However, whatever you do don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you can be like Steve Jobs and come up with something that people will immediately fall in love with and buy in their millions.
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In fact, the product development process usually works best the other way around. This is because it allows you to look for gaps in the market that your product or service will fill, therefore ensuring there is a market for it.
Plan
Next, once you have your product idea, you will need to come up with a coherent business plan to help you map out where you’re going and what needs to be done.
To do this, you will need to begin with setting the big, long-term goals such as making a certain amount of money or selling so many products worldwide by a specific date. Then work back year by year and month by month to decide what the smaller targets need to be.
In fact, it is these smaller targets that are the most important because they will give you a must more precise guide as to what you will need to achieve by when to be successful. Such targets should always be clear and attainable, as well as easily measurable. Otherwise, they will be too vague and are likely to complicate the startup process rather than making it more clear.
You will also need a watertight plan to help you secure funding and investment for your business, something that many companies need to get off the ground or expand into other markets later on. Remember that no-one will consider you if you don’t have a decent grasp on the projected numbers for at least the next three years, as well as the milestones you need to reach to get you there.
Product
The next step in starting up your startup is to look at your product again. Yes, you may have thought that are done with this, but often the difference between a successful startup that makes it in the long term and ones that crashes and burns without a trace is that they made the time to refine further the product or service they are offering.
In fact, it can help a great deal to get others to review and test your product or service, to further refine it as much as possible. By doing so, you can match it more specifically to your target market, which should help you achieve higher sales, as well as also have the added advantage of being able to minimise any faults with your product or service. Something that can cost you a lot of money once you are up and running.
Funding
Your next step in the startup process is to secure funding. You already know that to do this you need a great product or service to offer, as well as a detailed business plan. However, what many startup founders aren’t aware of is all the different choices available to them in this area.
For many small businesses, a loan from their bank is an excellent place to begin. These usually are offered at a reasonable rate of interest and the process is doable if a little arduous in places. However, for those that do not want, or cannot go that route there are other options to consider.
One is to approach a peer to peer lending platform and see if you can secure a significant amount of your capital from them. Such platforms are set up with the intention of providing money to smaller businesses at a fair rate of interest.
Finding the funds for your startup is an essential step.
The money is provided by private investors looking to make their funds work harder than they would in a saving account. This does mean that it’s likely you will have to be approved by the site as a good potential candidate before you can start to apply for a loan. Although, peer to peer lenders’ requirements are often a lot less stringent than the one set by high street banks.
Lastly, if poor credit is causing you a problem in this area, it is worth investigating a private loans company. This sort company specialises in lending money to individuals with a less than perfect credit rating, and as such are often much more open to dealing with clients that have had credit or loan issues in the past.
Of course, you can expect the rate of interest that you pay back to be higher if you choose this option. This is because such firms are taking a higher risk by lending to you, so do be sure to factor that into your equations and checks that it works regarding the profit you can expect back from your startup.
Manufacture
Now, let’s take a peek at a process that so many startups seem to brush over, manufacturing. This aspect of setting up a business is concerned creating the physical product and is the stage that can happen after prototypes have been perfected.
It is also a stage that can cost a great deal of money, especially if you want to create your products on site. For this reason, many startups partner with manufacturers overseas and get them to build their products and then ship them to where the company is based. The startup then receives these goods and stores them ready to be shipped out to their customers once orders have been placed.
For this to work effectively, it is a three-stage process. The first stage is that you need to source a reliable manufacturer that can get you the items in a short space of time. The second part is that you need to consider the warehousing services you will need to use to store and packaged the products with your brand before they are sent to customers. The third part is all about getting them from where they are stored to the customers’ delivery address.
Each part of this process needs to run smoothly for your business to success, as with that in mind it’s vital that you put some serious effort into securing that right supplier, the proper warehouse venue, and the best delivery company that you can. Otherwise, even though it is technically their mistake, it could be your reputation and profit margin that is on the line.
Launch
It is only when all of these other stages have been dealt with that you can think of launching. To launch your product successfully, you need both a stock of items ready to go and a good marketing strategy.
Such a strategy should be directed family at the particular demographic that you are aiming to sell too. It should also be multifaceted in that it works across different platforms, and engages potential customers no matter what stage of the buying process they are at.
To do this, many startups like to offer things of value in exchange for a potential customers time. This may be in the form of money off coupons for your product, or information and a guidance on an area that is linked to your field. EBooks, video tutorials, and webinars are all viable way of doing this, and by using them, you can help create a permanent stream of warm leads that are much easier to convert into sales for your startup.
Grow
Once you have launched and got the first few months of your startups’ life out of the way, it is a good idea to review how things are going, as well as consider anyways in which you could expand and grow your business.
Many startups do this by finding another market in which to sell their product or service. It may be one that is adjacent to their current demographic, or they may choose to go international and sell their product overseas.
Others can find success by thinking outside the box and applying what they have learned by using their knowledge of setting up or manufacturing products to start another type of business.
While others still focus on retaining and pleasing previous customers to gain repeat sales and to convert them into valuable brand ambassadors. Ambassadors that will, in turn, attract more customers to buy their startup’s project.
Hi, I'm Kelly O'Donnell.