Foundations of a successful start up
-Resolve a problem
-Have a clear purpose and a detailed business plan
-Get a good team
-Give yourself time
-(social media) Paid posts on social media
-(social media) Build a following by providing meaningful content
-(social media) Connect with larger accounts and influencers
-Prepare a Financial forecast
-Select the best company structure
-Prepare a Tax forecast
-Income and expenditure planning
Resolve a problem
ask yourself is your idea solving a real problem? Does a solution for this problem already exist? If not, you are onto something valuable. The key is to look for a real problem that you can resolve and no one has a solution to yet. This is called a blue ocean idea. You have limited to no competition. The market will be wide open for you, this means profit.
The opposite is providing a service or product that is already being offered by others. It will be difficult to get customers as you will have to compete with established companies. This is called a red ocean idea. Keep coming up with ideas until you feel like you have a blue ocean idea.
Have a clear purpose and a detailed business plan
Before you do anything, you will need to sit down with yourself or your team and write down a clear purpose of your start-up and a list of milestones you will need to reach as a road to your overall main goal.
The more detail you can get in at this point the better off you are. A financial forecast is also a must. Financial forecast will help you determine your pricing and will also give you insights the amount of sales you need to make in order to make a profit.
Getting in touch with an accountant from the start will help you a great deal. Accountants can be very expensive but thankfully for just $20 a week you can get the experience of our accountants to help your start-up get the best possible start. Visit www.93accounting.com for more information.
Get a good team
If your start-up requires a team, be very careful who you work with. You can have an amazing well skilled team however if one individual does not fit in with the rest you run the risk of a divided and unfocused team which will lead to your demise. Be extremely careful who you decide to work with.
Most people will select friends to go into business with. You run the risk of ruining your personal relationships and most of the times your friends will say yes without truly believing in the idea or without the willingness to work at the idea. I have personally experienced this multiple time and has been a harrowing experience. I am not saying never select your friends just make sure you are clear with the standard you will hold each other too.
Give yourself time
Running your own business is one of the most difficult things to get through. Most entrepreneurs want to be successful on day two, but you need to give yourself time in the first two years you may feel like giving up but after 5 years you will achieve even your most ambitious goal.
(social media) Paid posts on social media
Paid advertisements on social media is incredibly cheap compared to traditional advertising. It is also highly effective. Social Media platforms will allow you to target very specific audiences. Allowing you to advertise to people only you are interested in. With only a few dollars you can reach hundreds of people who have never heard of your brand before. A powerful tool most business owners tend to look over.
(social media) Build a following by providing meaningful content
When you begin your social media journey it can be very difficult. A way to attract followers is to create content that is meaningful do not simply a repost or use external links. Create content that your audience can learn from, benefit from or try to get an emotional response from your audience.
(social media) Connect with larger accounts and influencers
Get in touch with other accounts or influencers that are operating in your space. A shout out by them will work wonders for your business. Again, this is where if you create good content influencers may repost or in some way use your content to push it out to their audience. This can get you an unbelievable amount of exposure.
Get in touch with an accountant.
As a start-up you do not have much capital to play with. You do not want to hand over any precious profit to the IRD. To run a successful start-up, it is important to have the following with you as blueprint to your success.
Financial forecast – this will help you see how profitable your business will be. You can determine your pricing and set sales goals from a financial forecast report.
Selecting company structure. For tax purposes the correct company structure can save you thousands in taxes and millions in the long run. Vitally important to sit down with your accountant and find the best structure for you.
Tax forecasting – overlooked by almost all new businesses. It can be very easy to just focus on developing your business, but financial management will make up 30% of your business. Don't work hard all year and end up paying it all as taxes. Plan your tax with your accountant.
Income and expenditure planning – this will guide you throughout the year. You will know your stream of income and what you can afford to reinvest
Unfortunately help like that from an experienced accountant can be very expensive however at 93 accounting we offer full year unlimited business and tax support, financial forecasting and completion of reporting to the IRD (income tax & GST) for just $20 per week. Visit www.93accounting.com for more information.