The number of people wanting to start their own business grows each year. For example, a recent study found that this is something that 60% of young people aspire to do before turning 30. The reasoning behind this surge in entrepreneurship is clear: running your own business is both rewarding and profitable. 

However, it can also be incredibly challenging, which is perhaps why 50% of businesses close within just five years. Fortunately, there are many steps that you can take to protect yourself from this fate (and the difficult job search that follows). Read on to find out more.  

Refine your business plan.

Having a strong business in place will help your business get off to an excellent start, while also ensuring that you remain on track to reach your long-term goals. This is because it ensures you’re covering all of your bases from the outset, meaning that you thoroughly understand your mission, your customers, and the market that you’re about to enter.

As such, don’t write out a half-baked business plan and expect this to work. While it may seem like a great way to save time, as it allows you to get started right now as opposed to in a few weeks or months, pushing ahead without a business plan in place often means that you are setting yourself up for failure. This is because it means that you’re overlooking the finer details that go into running a business that is on course for success. 

Have a strong hold over your finances.

While it is entirely possible to start a business on a budget, you must ensure that you have a strong hold over your finances from the get-go. This will make it much easier to launch and grow a profitable business, as you’ll know ahead of time exactly how much money you’ll have to play around with.

This means that you can divide your budget across multiple crucial tasks, from marketing and product development to customer acquisition, without finding out that you’re about to run out of money halfway through a project.

Pitch to investors

If, when sorting out your finances, you feel as though you’re a little short on the money you need to kickstart your company, this does not mean that you’ve reached the end of the line. For example, you can often access the funds (and backing) you need by reaching out to investors. 

Of course, this is not necessarily an easy task. You need to make sure that you: 

• Reach out to investors who are interested in your industry, or the kind of products and services that you intend to offer (while avoiding potential conflicts of interest) 
• Refine your pitch as much as possible, so that you are showcasing your business and its potential in the best possible light
• Practice your pitch over and over again, so that you feel confident that you’re able to avoid some of the most common pitching mistakes that could set you back
• Provide investors with a suitable incentive for getting on board, such as shares within the company itself
• Work on your negotiation skills to ensure that you’re able to protect your best interests while still gaining access to the funds you need

Furthermore, it is important to note that you can reach out to business owners at any stage. For example, you may have better chances of obtaining funding by reaching out after a successful product launch, as you can show them that you’re already building a strong reputation and customer base, making it easier for them to part with their hard-earned money.

Get your marketing right.

When it comes to ensuring your business succeeds, you need a stellar marketing campaign in place. After all, this will be your primary method of customer acquisition moving forward, while also giving you the opportunity to build a name for yourself within your chosen industry.

Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can make sure you’re off to a great start in this regard. For example, you could start by partnering with an seo intelligence agency, which can help to ensure that all of your digital content, from blog posts to social media updates, is SEO-optimised. This will increase your organic reach, as it means that the algorithms will push your content toward the right people.

You should also make sure that you are building a strong presence on social media, posting updates to both your feeds and stories several times a week. This ensures that your brand remains at the forefront of your customers’ minds, while also showcasing everything you have to offer. That being said, you should make sure that you are posting more than just advertisements, as this could make your customers hit that unfollow button pretty quickly. Instead, you could share content such as behind-the-scenes videos that showcase the making of your products, or what your employees get up to on a day-to-day basis.

Protect yourself from burnout. 

Burnout is incredibly common amongst business owners, often due to the amount of time and effort that they are putting into ensuring that their business is a success. However, this is not something that you should simply accept or learn to live with. After all, dealing with burnout often means that your workplace performance suffers and your motivation levels drop.

Fortunately, there are many different ways in which you can protect yourself from burnout, such as by:

• Developing a healthy work/life balance, so that you’re able to shut off at the end of the work day
• Ensuring that you’re working reasonable hours each week and that you get plenty of sleep
• Dedicating time to your hobbies and interests outside of your work, so that you’ve got more going on in your life than simply running a business 
• Taking good care of both your physical and mental health, and taking a break or some time off when you need to
• Talking openly about how you are feeling, especially if you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, whether that’s with your colleagues, friends, family or a mental health professional

Start hiring as soon as you’re able. 

Hiring new employees as soon as you’re able to do so will also help when it comes to ensuring your business succeeds. This is because it will increase your output, meaning that you can cater to a larger customer base or take your business to the next level.

When hiring our very first employee, try to hire someone who brings something entirely new to the table, possessing skills that you do not currently possess. This way, they can take on tasks that you currently find both difficult and time-consuming with ease. You should also make sure that you cultivate a positive working environment so that employees who join your team do not leave in a hurry. 

Find what makes you unique and run with it. 

With thousands of businesses launching each year, one of the biggest challenges you’ll face as a new business owner is standing out from the crowd. For example, it can be hard to pull customers’ attention away from bigger competitors, especially if they have been loyal to them for some time.

One way in which you can approach this challenge is by making sure that you identify a clear USP (unique selling proposition)  from the outset.  This is because you’ll then have something tangible to utilize in marketing campaigns that sets you apart from other companies operating in the same space or market. It also gives customers a clear reason to support your brand moving forward, as they will not be able to find similar products or services elsewhere.

Spend time getting to know your customers. 

The more time you spend getting to know your customers, the easier it will become to grow your business. This is because you’ll have a sharper understanding of their needs/wants, so that you can continue to exceed their expectations moving forward.

There are many different ways in which you can get to know your customers. For example, you could pay close attention to any reviews that you receive or comments on your social media. Alternatively, you could chat face-to-face by hosting a series of focus groups. Beyond this, you may find that you’re able to learn more about your target audience by studying industry trends and changing consumer behaviors.

Final thoughts. 

Starting your own business can be exciting. After all, it means that you’re taking your career into your own hands and finding ways to turn things that you are passionate about into profit. However, while maintaining this kind of positive outlook is important, you must acknowledge just how challenging the coming weeks and months may be.

This way, you’re prepared for what lies ahead and can ensure you’re doing everything in your power to ensure that your business is a success. Fortunately, there are many different ways in which you can achieve this goal, from ensuring that all online content is SEO-optimised to spending time getting to know your customers.