Your first 4 steps when starting a business

So many entrepreneurs get stuck before they start. They don't know where to start, they don't know what to do. They know what a growing and successful business looks like because they see them everywhere, but what about a business in its infancy? They do not lack motivation; they just don't know how to apply it.

I asked entrepreneurs to tell me what they would do first if they were starting from scratch. Their responses fell into four categories: decide on your business idea, get to know their target audience, set yourself up for success, and then hire a mentor. Here are the details.

First, know what your business will be. Without a defined business idea, it's easy to be on a continuous journey of research. Daniel Priestley, founder of Dent Global, knows exactly what he would do. “I would get a team of four people together for a brainstorming session. We would come up with 5-10 ideas and create landing pages for each. We would then test each idea for popularity with real customers and plan a launch event for the winner. » A solid team, a proven idea and a start-up time: simple. Kaybe Mega Marketing's Kriss Britton also focused on the launch, which he said should happen "as soon as possible". He added, “Too much time is wasted developing ideas or perfecting everything. Start fast, fail fast. Learn, advance and iterate. Make a draft. ”

Validation and product market fit are the first pieces of the puzzle, and there are many ways to find them. Keir Spoon is a fresh start coach who has shared what he is doing right now. “I talk to as many business owners as I can. Test my message and offer with a live webinar. Writing my learnings in blogs on Medium. Seeking validation of a service from real customers and documenting the journey alongside it is a solid decision in these early days.

When the practical steps of your idea start to make sense, don't forget about passion and purpose, these entrepreneurs say. "Make sure you have a real passion for the idea," said Bharati Manchanda of Embellish Truth, "it will get you through the ups and downs." Business mentor Emma Hine wants you to “know your purpose, including why you are starting the business and what you want your life to look like. Then build a strategy that has that right at heart. Going further, financial planning coach Adrian Kidd said, "Do something that will make the world or other people's lives better in some way." He thinks it puts "everything else in place" and means you present yourself more authentically.

Graphic designer Ollie Booth had a simple question: "Do I like it enough to spend weekends and evenings working on it for the next two years?" He thinks maintaining income during this time is the hardest part.

Without customers, you don't have a business. So it makes sense that the second stage focuses on them. Forget the product and “focus on the market,” said Paris Collingbourne, founder of Loud Llama PR. "You can come up with the most revolutionary idea in the world, but you're not going anywhere if there's no market for it."

Matt Jones, edtech entrepreneur, starts with a chat. "I would find and talk to potential customers, to validate the need." He would check if he "could fix a pain point for them" and go from there. Biz Coach UK founder Rohit Nanda would work out what differentiates his business and then “focus on how it deals with my potential client hotspots”. He said everyone has a "problem they have that they don't want" and your solution might be the one they don't realize they need. “With this create your message,” he added.

While it can be tempting to win clients, even if it's possible at this early stage, publicist entrepreneur Crystal Richard wants you to "look into new clients and be more selective." Especially when starting a service business, rushing to sign clients, "can lead to working with anyone to fill your pipeline, including clients that aren't the right fit for you."

The Design Sheppard author Stacey Steppard thinks step two should be your very first step. "Start building a community around your new business idea before it even exists." She advised you to “sort your brand messages and share them with your community on social media and through email and content marketing.” She believes the secret to getting people to...