Statistics show that 34.4% of small businesses fall in their first decade due to mismanagement. No matter the survival percentage, there is still a chance of surviving as a small entrepreneur.
Are you torn between a physical and a virtual investment? Well, like anyone else, you may opt to start a small business and scale it up. But do you know you don’t succeed overnight?
Well, any small or big business needs dedication and sacrifices. This blog explains how you can start and manage a small business.
We also guide people on their financial management aspects and how to make more money. Subscribe to our email list to be among the first to learn our updates.
How to Start and Manage a Small Business
A business can be your big source of income and jobs for many people if you start it with the right mindset.
Let’s see the steps of starting a business.
Step 1: What’s your passion?
Everything takes an inward drive to succeed. Once the thought of starting a business comes to you, think of what you love most. It will be much easier to succeed in what you love doing.
On the other hand, it might take a lifetime to prosper in a business you don’t love. For instance, you can not start a travel business if you dislike traveling.
After identifying your passion, take time to study the market. You’ll not always find big opportunities aligning with your passion, but it will be better to start than regret later.
Step 2: Study the market and identify opportunities
You cannot jump into a new market with a new business and expect to succeed faster. Instead, you should study the market and see whether there is a chance to start a business.
Analyze the costs associated with starting the business, like the cost of stores, operation licenses, and salaries, if you’ll employ someone.
Now, what skills do you need to run your business?
Step 3: Get the skills
Don’t wait to start a business and learn the skills needed later. That will frustrate you and later to closing the business.
You can start with basic accounting skills. These skills will help you manage your business finances through proper record-keeping.
You should also learn management skills because you need to be a good manager in everything to succeed in business.
After you acquire the skills, calculate the amount of capital you need to start your business.
Step 4: Get enough capital
You’ll need money to start a successful business. Ensure you research everything you need to start the business.
Do not underestimate the costs associated with the startup. Factor in every cost and ensure you have a good amount of miscellaneous budget.
As much as you can get business loans, you should strive to start your business with cash. If you have little or no capital, consider various ways to make money to boost your capital.
Step 5: Structure a business plan
To start and manage a small business successfully, you should have a business plan showing how you intend to do your business. A business plan will guide you into starting and properly managing your business.
You should include your goals in the plan and when you intend to accomplish them. In addition,dont forget to include your business name, slogan, and logo. These tools will help you establish your brand.
We can help you make a good business plan at a small fee. Reach out for more information.
Step: 6 Where to Source products
If you want to sell goods, you should research the available suppliers in the industry. Ensure you have various suppliers and compare the costs of products.
Sometimes if possible, strive to work with manufacturers to get products at a fair price. Remember, you should break even as soon as possible for your business to stay afloat.
Step 7: Think of an exit plan
What will you do when everything doesn’t work out in the business? Well, this is not discouragement, but it happens anyway.
Therefore, you should think of ways to liquidate your business if it doesn’t work in your favor.
After having everything ready for starting a business, you can start with small steps.
Step 8: Start your business
When starting a small business, do so with the right mindset. Always fight to stay up in the business. Do not be discouraged by the first shortcoming.
Instead, learn from your mistakes and do your best to avoid repeating the same mistake.
Consider marketing strategies to build your brand awareness. You can create a market campaign to prepare your target clients for your new business. When launching your business, you can give offers and discounts to welcome customers to your business.
After starting the business, you have just accomplished a small percentage of your goals. Now, the success or failure of your business depends on what you do after the launch.
10 Tips to Start and Manage a Small Business
After you’ve started your small business, it’s time to manage it appropriately if you don’t want to be among the failing businesses.
The Business
- Stick to your business plan
Once you start a small business, ensure you stick to your initial plan. Don’t stagger along the way because you won’t make it long.
Once you perfect everything in your business plan, it’s easy to succeed in your business. In addition, a business plan will guide you into achieving each and every goal you’ve set.
- Set SMART goals
Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and achievable goals will grow your small business. A Dominican University Scholar in California observed that 76% of people who set SMART goals by writing them and acting upon them later achieved their goals.
It’s good to be ambitious, but not in the wrong way. Do not set high goals when you cannot achieve them. For instance, don’t set goals to gain millions of profits in your first year in business. Once you don’t achieve that goal, you’ll feel discouraged, and that’s when you start to fall.
- Keep clear records
Clear record-keeping is one way to help you identify the weak points and the strongholds of your small business. To manage a small business correctly, you should be a good record keeper.
You should learn how to manage a small business’s finances if you want to succeed. It’s good to have separate accounts for business and personal finance. You can have tools like Quickbooks, Tally, etc, to help you track your business performance.
For instance, once your business is doing badly, you can easily identify the specific area that is contributing to failure. The earlier you realize the obstacle, the better because you’ll devise ways to deal with it.
- Be a good decision maker
The decisions you make for your business will determine its success or failure of the business. You should learn when to say YES and when to say NO.
A business requires you to make decisions that favor it to succeed. For instance, you should say yes to anything that will improve the business’s sales performance.
When something requires a decision in the business, you should analyze all potential decisions that could work. After identifying the decisions, think and analyze each until you reach a dead end. Always choose the decision that has low potential risk to your business.
The Employees
- Hire the right personnel
The employees you hire also have a hand in making your small business successful. Ensure you hire the right staff for each job post. You can always have a professional Human resource manager select your employees because they’ll develop the best team for your business.
Always accept employees with a passion for the work you assign them. Since your employees interact with clients daily, you should ensure you get the right staff.
- Frequently train your employees
Technology is always taking a new shape, the latest being Artificial Intelligence (AI). You should take the initiative to train your employees on tools that can improve your business performance.
You should ensure that everyone in your team can work with technology for the best of your small business.
As you train your employees, you should also reward them for motivating them. Always give them a good reason to work in your business.
Your Competitors
- Analyze your competitor’s strategies
What strategies do your competitors use in their businesses? You should research to know what works for them. Once you learn, you can improve their strategies and use them in your business.
However, you should not copy everything from your competitors since what works for them might not work for you. So, always be creative.
- Think outside the box
Creativity is one thing that can improve your small business performance. Think of ways you can improve your sales. You can hire people to help you brainstorm new strategies for your business.
It’s the creative side that will alienate you from your competitors. Remember that customers love new things and ideas. Therefore, you may just attract a new client base by being creative.
What about your customers? How should you treat them to succeed in your small business?
Your Customers
- Your customers are your bosses
You have probably heard the saying that customers are always right, right? Well, as much as you need them to buy your products and services, you should humble yourself to accept your customers as they are.
You should have excellent strategies to keep track of all your customers. Always have a team ready to answer your customer’s questions.
In addition, have Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools that will help you build a relationship with your clients.
- Have good customer representatives
Your customers need to have a good experience whenever they visit or call your business office. Therefore, ensure that the customer care desk has staff who know how to deal with customers patiently.
Marketing
- Integrate your business with current marketing strategies
People will know the existence of your business when they frequently see it around. Currently, it’s easy to link your business with online marketing tools.
Ensure you establish an online presence for your business. For instance, have a business account on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Linked In.
You can also start a website for your business and educate your audience with pro tips on what you sell to them.
Using digital marketing tools and platforms will help you increase your client base and later succeed in your small business.
How to Start and Manage a Small Business: Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I best manage a small business?
You should first ensure the business is healthy by properly managing its finances. In addition, you should ensure you make the right decisions to curb obstacles that may occur along the way.
- How do you attract customers to a small business?
The best way to attract more customers is to show up and keep a good relationship with your clients, and they’ll refer you to their friends.
- What do I do before starting a small business?
You should first study the market and all involved in the business you want to start. In addition, ensure you have enough capital to start your business.
The Bottom Line
Now that you know how to start and manage a small business, it’s time to wake up and make your first move. Small business investments can become big enterprises in the future with the right management.
Comment below with your views about starting a small business. If you have any challenges, feel free to reach out, and we will be glad to help you with free tips.