If you’re considering starting a business, there are a whole host of things to consider. From thinking about your market and what products and services you’re going to offer, to operations and logistics, it can be hard knowing where to focus your efforts.
Although starting a business is exciting, it’s also risky. In the UK, it’s almost half a million small businesses are at risk of going bust. So, it’s important to consider all eventualities before you become one of the 5.5 million small businesses in the UK.
To help you make your business a success, here are some things to think about before you take the plunge.
1. Research your market
Market research is crucial if you’re going to survive as a business. By conducting thorough market research, you can get a better understanding of what’s offered in your market and how your offering fits into this.
If your offering isn’t unique, you’ll struggle to match the competition.
2. GDPR
GDPR is the legislation surrounding data privacy. Although many businesses see GDPR as red tape and even a burden, GDPR can help you to streamline and improve some core business activities.
But most importantly, GDPR gives your customers confidence. If you have a robust GDPR strategy in place, you can build trust with your customers.
In the medium-long term, GDPR compliance can enhance customer loyalty, meaning you can unlock greater innovation and create even more value for your customers.
But how do you adhere to GDPR you ask?
In short, GDPR requires you to audit personal data, review your data processes and importantly – keep data safe. One easy way to ensure data is safe is to securely encrypt things like USBs.
3. Funding
Unless you already have plenty of money in the bank, it can be extremely difficult to build a business from the ground up.
As such, in most instances, securing funding is essential for success.
If you’d like to go down the funding route, there are plenty of different options. If you’re looking to secure a business loan, you’ll need to have a detailed business plan, a clear sales projection, a robust cash-flow forecast, and all your account information.
If this route isn’t viable, you could even reach out to family and friends.
4. Your business’ structure
Building a business model can be difficult. But it’s important to know how, if, and when you intend to grow. By doing this from the start, you’ll be able to set your business up in such a way that you allow for things like promotions and growth. If you forego this step, you might find yourself in hot water later down the line.
Now it’s time to put into practice all you’ve learned.
