Most businesses fail within the first few years. But when you approach the beginning stages of your business with purpose and intention, you will have a stronger foundation on which to grow your business and brand. You will build from a place of purpose and clarity so that you can intentionally grow your business over time. If you’re in the beginning stages of starting your business, these 5 steps will help you to create an intentional business.
Why you want to start your business with intention
Anyone can start a business. But starting a business with purpose and intention sets you apart from the beginning. Instead of throwing things together and getting off to a haste start, you are intentionally placing building blocks for a strong foundation that will ensure more long-term stability and growth for your business.
I strongly believe that anyone can build a successful business with the right tools and strategies. If you take the time to do things right from the start, your business is more likely to succeed. Plus, you’ll be more equipped and empowered to build and grow your business when you start off on the right foot.
5 things to do when starting your business
Most people want to jump right into the fun parts of starting a business like creating a website, posting on social media, or creating products and services. While those things are all important and necessary for a successful business, it’s not necessarily the first thing you need to do. Before you get into those pieces of the puzzle, you need to do a few things first.
1. Make a plan
All good things are made better when you start with a plan. You could jump into business and figure it out as you go. Or you could take the time to make a strategy about what you’re doing, where you’re headed, and how you plan to get there to make things much easier and more intentional.
2. Educate yourself
Take this time to dive into the business world and learn as much as you can. Otherwise, you might find yourself scrambling to learn things last minute, or worse, learning from your mistakes. If you spend time on it in the beginning, you’ll be more prepared to move forward and make better business decisions as you go. Educate yourself on general business management, branding, marketing, and your own specific skills. Most of us go into business doing something we didn’t go to school for so it is crucial to learn from every professional expert in your field, master your specialty, and make it your own.
3. Make it legal
Unless you make it legal it’s not a business, it’s just a hobby. You need to legally register your business and get all the required paperwork in hand to be able to do business legally. There are certain licenses and permits you have to obtain depending on your business and location, and you want to be sure that you are doing things right from the beginning. This is different for every state and country, but definitely one thing you want to check out before you get too far. You really want to do your homework on this one to avoid any legal matters after you’ve already started doing business. This part usually isn’t so much fun, but it is a necessity.
4. Create a strong brand strategy
Creating a strong brand strategy in the beginning will help you build that intentional foundation for your business. I don’t believe that every business needs to invest in full-on branding before they open the doors to their business. Some business owners will take years to figure out what their brand is and where they want to focus (you’re not alone – I was like this!). And in order to avoid re-branding after re-branding, you can start small. You may not know what your brand is in the beginning. It may take time to figure it out. And even when you do, your brand will continue to grow and evolve as your business does.
Regardless, you need to start somewhere. Whether you invest in professional brand development early on, or wait until you’ve got a better understanding of your business, you do need something. Develop a strategy for your brand in the beginning so you have something to build upon. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be a well-thought-out starting point.
5. Build a community
Not everything in business is about money, but we do have to make a profit. I’m sure that is at least half the reason you decided to go into business in the first place. But you can’t sell your products or services without people to sell them to. It is so beneficial to start building your community even before you have something to sell to them. Use this time to start telling people what you do and get to know your audience. You can get your business in front of real people, start to find your target audience, and do some market research so that your business and brand are built on real data.
Recap
Starting your business can feel daunting and scary, but exciting at the same time. And for many of us, it falls into our path as a natural progression of where we were before (it did for me). I never dreamed I would own a business, but it has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. I don’t regret anything in my business journey, but if I could do it again, I would do it with more intention when starting my business.
Next Steps
Are you starting a business? Start with these 5 steps to create a strong foundation for growth.
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