subject: Make Your First Year in Business Less Difficult and More Profitable [print this page] Make Your First Year in Business Less Difficult and More Profitable
To every business owner, the first year is crucial and the most difficult year for any business. This is the time when you experience the so-called birth pains as you try to jumpstart your business and make it known to the public. The first year is definitely where you are going to try out a lot of things and discover obstacles and hindrances that you need to learn from in order to get what you have set out to do in the future.
To help you survive the first year and make sure that you pave the way to a successful business in the future, here are simple tricks that can help you survive the first year and even come out profitable for your business.
Have a budget for everything.
No matter that you have a big company or a small business operating from your garage, one activity that you need to learn to do is how to budget everything you have for your business. Especially when you are just starting out, it would seem like everything you need and every movement you do entails money. Hence, nothing in your whole business can go faster than your money. So you need to really look into how you use it.
Before buying anything or hiring someone else or even to print marketing collaterals such as your pocket folders and business cards, be sure to sit down and create a budget plan that would entail an estimate of your entire expenses for the year, including of course your marketing budget for the business card and pocket folder printing. Put everything that you think you need to purchase to jumpstart your business. And although it may look like a big task, you would be surprised to learn how much and how many it takes to really start a new business. Don't worry too if you happen to get overwhelmed in the process, a bookkeeper will always be handy to have around.
Stay on top of your taxes.
Don't let your taxes confuse and overwhelm you that you don't know where to start with your business tax filing. If you can, pay ahead of schedule. Also hire a tax professional if your budget permits so you will know the best means to keep yourself in shape when it comes to your taxes. Make sure you keep all your receipts organized and orderly so you will not waste your time as well as your tax consultant's time when it is finally time for you to make your payments.
Find your niche and know your target market.
You need to find and understand your market so you can prepare for how you can communicate and convey your business to them. Knowing your target market is crucial in your first years. It will take some time for you to get everything right. But with the right marketing campaign, you'll be able to find your niche in your industry.
Have a plan in place.
Finally, if there's one thing you should have in your first years, it would be a plan. This means that you have to have a goal written out for your business. In addition to your budget, your plan where you intend to go and how you're getting there is the one thing that would steer you to where you want to be in the future. Whether it's a vision or a set of goals, your plan can help you achieve success for your business.
In addition to all these things, you also have to hire good employees, acquire the skills to deal with hard-to-please customers, and to market effectively as well as keep track of your promotional campaigns. By doing all these things in your first year, we're not promising that it will be a bed of roses; but we certainly believe that you would not have a very hard time jumpstarting your business.
