We can all agree by now that telling anyone the benefits of starting a business can be likened to the physical equivalent of flogging a dead horse, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t useful bits of information that could give your brand that solid footing, that strong first breath it needs.
Starting a business on solid grounds, like a strong brand and a focused marketing strategy to push that brand to the world, can be the defining trait that keeps your business afloat when others nose-dive with the 21.5% of businesses that fall into the sea of oblivion in their first year because of an inability to solve a big market problem.
Besides the business idea, the first step to starting your business and identifying how to get that solid footing fast is to gather as much information as you can on sales, financing, legal issues, intellectual property protection, and any business-related information from everywhere you can. Calm down, we’ve taken the time to gather all the necessary information your startup needs.
Let’s get into it.
1. Come Up With The Business Idea
Entrepreneurs would agree that although there’s a lot that goes into starting a business, the first step is always made with the discovery of the business idea, and these ideas always come in the form of a groundbreaking discovery or an improved product or service.
Once you’ve got the idea, go ahead and:
- Run a keyword search on Google.
- Check if the idea has already been patented, and get one if it hasn’t.
- If a patent already exists, then you may need to alter your product or find a new one.
Bear in mind that perfecting a business idea, or product, may take lots of time, so be careful not to take forever before releasing them into the market because it’ll help you secure early feedback that’d help improve your services in the future.
To do this effectively you’d need to research, understand, and learn what your competitors are doing right, that way you can know what gives your product an edge and develop it.
2. Build Your Business Brand
The name of your business can greatly increase its chances of either failing or succeeding. A wrong name could throw your startup into deadly legal battles that it may not survive, and even if it does, the negative reputation may well choke the life out of it.
So, to avoid that, you must get a name that is unique to your business, communicates your values and goals, and would also let you scale up when the time comes.
And although it can be quite a hassle to pick the right name, being that over 5.8 million businesses were started in 2019 alone, and almost every word in the dictionary is already trademarked, we recommend you use squadhelp in getting all your naming and branding needs met quickly, so you could focus on other facets of your business.
Here’s a definitive guide in brand naming.
3. Establish Your Online Presence
A great business idea and a superb brand name would mean very little if no one knew about them, and in today’s online world, your business needs to have an online presence, a .com page and social media handles that provide possible customers with lots of informational content that meets a specific need.
Boost your online presence by offering regular product updates, conducting keyword research, and by using either Google or Facebook Ads to carry out extensive online marketing.
Borrow a leaf from your competitors, learn their online strategy, and adapt it to your business.
4. Build A Great Team
No business can hope to survive and thrive in the global market without having an excellent team. And as we all know, every team is as good as its weakest member, so ensure that everyone you hire isn’t only qualified or possesses the skillsets you need, but is also committed to helping your brand achieve its visions and goals.
To avoid any issues make sure you pay attention to these necessary documents:
- Employee’s Offer Letters.
- Confidentiality and Invention Assignment Agreement.
- Trade Secrets.
- Copyrights and Patents.
- Trademark Rights.
These documents are still important, even if you choose to outsource or crowdsource team members to boost your productivity and offer exceptional customer service.
5. Keep an Eye on Legal Issues
Keeping your business legally protected is one life-wire of major successful businesses that gets overlooked more than half the time by startups. Getting an experienced startup legal adviser is something you should do as soon as you can, possibly before your first marketing campaign.
Legal advisers would help you navigate the complicated world of modern business, manage all your legal documents, and also help you:
- Prepare contracts.
- Set up an employee stock option plan.
- Prepare business agreements.
- Handle every legal issue.
- Provide standard offer letters for your employees
We can’t overemphasize how necessary it is that you invest the time and money to meet with experienced lawyers before selecting the one who understands your business and industry better.
The Time Is Right Now
There’s no better time to start a business than right now. Who knows, that idea you’ve been nursing could very well be the next Uber, Airbnb, Tesla, or even Google. But we’ll never know until you go out there and put it to work for the advancement of humanity.
The post 5 Simple Steps to Starting and Naming A Business appeared first on Squadhelp.com.
