Everyone has a bright idea for a business, but turning it into reality is a different undertaking. There are other important pieces that you need to build a good foundation for your start-up. So what else do you need apart from funding?
Realistic Target
Starting a business is almost like starting a band. You start with a loyal fan base. When you finally generate enough buzz and get a recording deal, you make your first album and go on tour. Hopefully one or two of the songs turn(s) into a hit and you get to rock out stadiums instead of just local bars.
Similarly, start-ups usually start with a small customer base. After a first round of seed funding from an investor and/or relatives, the first line of products are released or the service is launched. Hopefully the business generates some sales and expands as demand increases.
This can be achieved by having a realistic target. Know your target audience and market. Identify what differentiates you from the competition and use it. Don't focus too much on what your competitors are doing, and concentrate on your own capabilities.
Brand Development
Steve Jobs is the face of Apple, but he did not design nor build any of its products. He gave ideas (added more to others) to make Apple products marketable. When you start a business it's not just about thinking of a revolutionary product or service. It's also about how you're going to sell it. Start-ups also need brand development.
Appoint a designer co-founder right from the start to ensure that your brand development is aligned with business growth.
Ancillary Functions
Building a business comes with a variety of tasks to support your primary work. These are your standard administrative task such as bookkeeping, HR and payroll processing. You also have a new breed of tasks for marketing campaigns such as graphic design, web development, and online marketing. You need to plan out how you’re going to fill in these knowledge gaps in a cost efficient way without compromising quality.
Start-ups can hire freelancers for short-term projects (few days to few weeks). SMEs can lease an offshore staff as an extension of their in-house team and support internal efforts.
Delegation
There’s never enough time when running a business especially when you don’t have enough staff. Moreover, you can’t afford to maintain a big team to fill in all your ancillary functions because of limited funding. Offshore staffing can help you overcome this problem – hiring a virtual assistant can easily save you time – but you must learn to let go and delegate properly. This can streamline the business and enable you to focus on more strategic tasks to grow your start-up into an SME.
This blog has plenty of outsourcing tips including basic guidelines, managing offshore staff, value creation, and other strategies.
Most often entrepreneurs get carried away by their ideas or ambitions. Before dreaming of changing the world and/or becoming the next tech billionaire, focus on what you have now and what you can do to achieve those goals.
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