Launching your own company usually means embracing your passion – or at least something you do very well. You’re not going to try to build a profession out of something unless you feel you have a very good handle on it, and for that reason it’s easy to feel like you’ve got everything under control. Even if there are a lot of difficult steps in launching a business, you can feel that your own expertise with regard to the service or product at hand will lead you through the obstacles.
That can be true to some extent, but the truth of the matter is that great ideas and passion don’t necessarily make you a great businessperson. They’re an important foundation if you’re going to drive the success of your company, but they don’t necessarily solve all problems. For instance, these are a few big steps you’ll likely need help with as you take on this challenge.
Funding
In the early going, it’s easy to feel like you can manage business expenses. You can keep things cheep, do a ton of work all on your own, and try to set everything up without relying on any kind of significant cash injection. But at a certain point most businesses need some kind of funding. Fortunately, there are more options than ever before in this regard. You can always borrow from friends or family or talk to contacts who might be interested in investing. However, you can also go online. There are peer-to-peer lending services designed specifically for this purpose, and you can also explore business crowdfunding online, effectively generating investments from anyone who might be interested in profiting from your idea.
Building A Website
This is another task that you can usually manage on your own to a certain extent. But realistically if you’re going to be busy running the business and you also want a professional website, you’re probably going to need some help. You don’t need to look around for local designer or hire a computer science student to make it happen, however. As with funding, there are convenient and respected services available online. Web design solutions can help you with everything form building your site to designing a mobile app, and even marketing to the people who visit these platforms. Naturally these services aren’t free, but if you can work something similar into your budget you’ll likely have a stronger web presence than you would if you tried to manage it on your own.
HR Strategies
You may be able to function as a one-person HR department in the early going. But even if you wind up with just a handful of employees, you may need to look into filling a position specifically to manage them (or at least consulting with HR professionals about how to do so). HR encompasses hiring, placement, employee training, payroll, and to some extent the workplace environment. It’s a lot to handle if and when your business starts to grow, and it’s something that’s almost always easier to outsource to an experienced professional.
Accounting
Accounting gets very complicated very quickly, and it’s ultimately the backbone of your business. Having a firm handle on what you’re making, what you’re spending, what you can afford to spend, and even what the tax situation is looking like means truly understanding your performance and potential. Ideally you can reach the point at which you can hire an in-house accountant or pay for professional services. However, this is one aspect of running a business that has become a lot easier for people to handle independently. Bookkeeping programs have become incredibly sharp and intuitive, and give you a great way of staying on top of your finances with minimal effort.
Marketing & Growth
To some extent, this ties into the web design points made above. But there’s more to marketing than just having a strong website. Every business works differently, and at some point you’ll need to figure out how to reach new customers for yours, as well as how aggressive you can afford to be in doing so. Growth strategy has to coincide with performance and potential, and from there it has to be executed with a well-designed marketing scheme. Needless to say there are entire professions that revolve around making this happen for small businesses like your own, and even if you have a pretty good grasp of marketing on your own, you may ultimately need to employ their help. It leaves you free to run the business so that it’s in good shape for when it is able to grow.
Robert Alleson