For many, starting a business can be a great leap of faith, especially for the new players in the field. There are a lot of factors to consider when launching a business. It requires tons of research, time, effort, and skill to create and execute a business plan. Without careful planning, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and lost before you’ve even got off the ground. Worse still, you may even lose precious time and money doing the wrong things.

That’s why we decided to share with you these top 10 smart and practical tips, so that you can start your business on the right foot and face every challenge head-on with confidence.

Tip #1 – Start Today and Don’t Wait for Perfection

If you wait for perfection, chances are you might go broke. The longer you wait to launch the more revenue you will be losing. Not only that, you’ll probably still spending money and so you run the serious risk of running out of funds before you even have a chance to get off the ground.

Yes starting a new business can be scary but that’s what stretch goals are all about – they should be scary but exciting at the same time. The best way of learning is by doing.

Your product or service should be good but it doesn’t need to be brilliant to start with. Early customer feedback is one of the best ways to help improve it – in the meantime you will still be making some revenue.

As Reid Hoffman, venture capitalist and co-founder of LinkedIn, said: “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

Tip #2 Develop a Success Mindset

Without the right mindset, you might as well give up now. Becoming successful in business is just as much about the beliefs operating in your life than the business acumen.

Resilience, motivation, determination, all stem with the right mindset. This is where affirmations, meditation and visualizations can be helpful for reprogramming your subconscious mind.

Tip #3 Give Great Customer Value

What we have learnt is that the more you give, the more you get back tenfold. Look after your customers and they will keep coming back for more.

Giving away great free content, value and support is an excellent way to attract and build your customer database. Having free checklists, templates, ebooks or webinars in exchange for email addresses is particularly important for someone just starting out.

We would even recommend that you give away some free products and services in exchange for feedback, referrals and testimonials. Social proof builds credibility.

Don’t be afraid to go the extra mile, even a simple thank you email, showing your appreciation goes a long way to building customer loyalty. Never stop building meaningful relationships with customers and other people in your industry.

Tip #4 Develop a Great Elevator Pitch

Prepare a compelling 30 second elevator pitch about your products and/or services that you can share with others. It should solve a problem, motivate or inspire them to want to know more.

We found that doing this was also helpful because it really made us very clear about our companies mission, goals and purpose.

Tip #5 Create A Business Plan

The business plan not only helps you to get clear on your companies vision, mission, objectives, it can also be helpful for investors or other funding sources such as bank loans and credit facilities. In addition, if you ever choose to sell your business in the future, this is a useful document to show potential buyers.

Tip #6 Create a Social Media and Digital Marketing Plan

These documents are worth their weight in gold.

Social Media and Digital Marketing plans not only help you to get clear about your online marketing strategies but they also help you to measure the success of your online social media and marketing campaigns.

We would even go as far as to say, if you don’t have these in place, you will be leaving money on the table and can be left behind.

Tip #7 Get Systems, Outsourcing and Automation in Place

Starting up a new business can be overwhelming with the amount of tasks that you need to do -particularly if there is only 1 or 2 of you in the business. So take some of the stress out and free up your time. Outsource everything you can, so that you can focus on doing what only you can do in your business.

There is so much great software and productivity tools out in the market, such as Aweber, Zapier, Trello, Basecamp, Lead pages, to name just a few.

Tip #8 Start a Business that Excites You

Being a social entrepreneur often stems from not only wanting to create wealth and success in your life but also making a difference in the world, by sharing your gifts, services and/or messages.

We believe that it is possible to align your purpose with prosperity so that your life can be more meaningful and fulfilling.

Tip #9 Research Your Competition

Know your competition, so that you can differentiate yourself from them and to make sure you are always ahead of the game.

A great way to do this, like all good social entrepreneurs, is to pull out your credit card and purchase the competition’s product. You will then be able to see what is working well and what you can do better.

Take a look at your competitors reviews, again for things that you can do better and things that customers are loving.

One way to do this is to set up a Google alert to notify you when any new information about your competitors shows up online or subscribe to their newsletter.

Tip #10 Find Yourself a Mentor or Coach

If you want to achieve success faster and easier, then the biggest tip we can give you is to get yourself a mentor or coach. Someone who is successful in your field that you can model.

This is an investment in yourself and your business. You could waste a lot of time and money and not always with the results that you want, if you have to learn everything on your own.

Start Your Business Today!

Starting your own business is no mean feat. Yes, it can be a little scary, but I hope exciting too! Know that when you feel scared, thrilled, and motivated in doing something, that’s when you know you’re on the right track. 

And even if you don’t see traction in your business yet, that’s okay. Reaching success in entrepreneurship isn’t an overnight thing. It requires time, and therefore patience, but with perseverance and with the right guidance, SUCCESS is practically a given. By applying these tips from the get-go, you’re looking at reaching the RESULTS you want faster. The best time to start a business is NOW!