Key elements to launching your startup business

"Just do it" -Nike

This powerful slogan of a well known sports brand wraps up everything you need to launch your own business. Be not afraid to fail, but planning, hard work and the following tips may help you to master common pitfalls.

Idea

How often did you have an idea and felt: "Million dollar idea!! How come no one else ever thought of this? What if someone would just make a business out of it? What if I started it?"

Well, this is where most good business ideas actually begin. If you feel you finally like to give it a try before you forget about your idea again, start building a business plan. Describe every aspect of your ideas and write down everything you think is required to launch and sell your brainchild. The more detailed your business plan, the faster you will find out, if your idea could actually be something worth working on.

Entrepreneurship

Well I hate to break it to you, but without the drive to get out of your comfort zone and taking a little risk, you will likely never launch your own business. You have to be willing to put in the extra hours and be convinced and convincing, that your business venture will be a successful one. Discuss your idea with your friends and family. If you are having trouble selling it to them, you will have a hard time sell it to your future customers and investors. The more you plan, the less you will be surprised by unforeseen hurdles. Be flexible and open to suggestions to reach your goal.

Social Skills

No matter what stage your new business ideas is in, you will need an audience to sell it to. Talk to everyone you know, get their support and build the audience to which you would like to cater to. Networking and the right marketing will help you to find new customers or investors.

Funding

I get it, most ideas fail because of financial hurdles. A solid business plan and good sales pitch is key if you approach any investor. There are endless opportunities from public grants, private investors, loans, and other assistance plans. You should be able to finance your business venture without selling your soul to the devil.

Marketing

It does not matter how brilliant your product is. If no one knows it is around, you will have a hard time selling it. The array of tools available to promote your idea is endless. Find out how you can best reach your core customers first. Does it make sense to start using twitter or put a poster up on that billboard? The right marketing mix will help to reach more customers for the available budget. Marketing is expensive. In average companies pay around 10% of their revenue in advertising their products/ services. If your're marketing savvy, you will know how to advertise on a budget. If not, it may make sense to outsource.

Outsource

Talking about outsourcing. Do not be afraid to outsource anything you are not good at to other people. Be it sales-, tax-, legal-, coding-, supply chain or marketing issues. You will sure wear a lot of heads when launching your own startup business and you are likely not well versed at everything. Find a partner to complete you with necessary skills you do not possess. For everything else, pay a little extra to have experts at least set up your business correctly. Over time and once the income allows, start to internalize by growing your team.

I think if you have the above mentioned covered you are on a good path for sustainable success. Feel free to reach out if there is anything you may need help with. It may be a good exercise to start talking about your idea and hone your elevator pitch for future investors and customers.

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