6 Ways to Manage a Successful Small Business Startup

small business startup

Entrepreneurship is an exciting and thrilling undertaking. However, it can also be quite terrifying to step out on your own and stake everything you have in your very own company, as there is nothing that can fully guarantee your success for your small business startup.

Nonetheless, if you are at a point in your career where you are ready to have your own small business, there are certain things you can do to help give yourself the most likely chances for success.

While it might seem daunting at first, managing a successful small business essentially boils down to a few points. Here a six of those points to help you get your small business idea off to the best start possible.

1. Understand Marketing

There is little to no point in a small business startup unless you have a firm grasp on how you can get the word out about what it is you offer. Marketing sounds like a simple concept, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is so. There is a true art form to mastering marketing, so much so that companies generally spend somewhere in the neighborhood of 7% of their gross revenue on marketing.

As you are just starting out, you might not have the necessary funds to hire a full-time marketing executive. Depending on what industry you are in, this is probably something you will look to do down the line. In the meantime, you might start by contracting out your marketing needs to an agency.

Once you do get around to adding your own marketing professional to your team, be sure that they have the required skills to do the job well. You should also make sure that you and your marketing team are on the same page when it comes to goals and projections so that you can develop the most effective marketing strategy for your business.

2. Fool-Proof Finances for Your Small Business Startup (As Much as Possible)

There is no way to completely guarantee that your finances will work out precisely the way you plan for your small business startup. There are, however, ways of decreasing your financial risk as much as possible.

One of the roles that you will be taking on as the owner of a small business is that of watchdog for the finances of your business. You need to be as diligent as can be when it comes to monitoring all accounts and payments in real-time. If something starts to deviate too much from your initial estimates that were drawn up in your business plan, then you know that it is time to reevaluate and change things up.

As far as loans are concerned, you might very well have had to take out one to help you get your business off the ground. Your general rule of thumb, though, should be to keep the debt you acquire in the initial phases of your business as low as possible. Taking on an investor is always a viable option. Using your own funds, if applicable, is even better.

3. Start with a Solid Structure

The time you spend developing and writing your business plan will be some of the most valuable time that you devote to your small business startup. You will only be able to manage a successful endeavor if you can create a solid business plan.

Think of the business plan as the foundation on which you are going to build everything. You need to have contingency plans for most eventualities as well as projections and timelines that are realistic and well thought out. All of this information needs to be laid out in such a way as to make it easily understood by whoever will have occasion to read it.

While the thought of writing a business plan might be an intimidating one, it actually isn’t too terribly complicated. You will no doubt need to do your fair share of research, but as long as you avoid making the more common mistakes, you will be off and running before you know it.

4. Bring the Right Personnel on Board

The hiring and training of your new staff is another point wherein you don’t want to cut any corners. The individuals that you bring on board should meet all the requirements that you initially outline for the various positions that you need to be filled, and they should also have enough experience so that you know they can be trusted to help you get things off to a good start.

With all the things that you have to manage for your small business startup, you might be tempted to overlook the significance of adequately training your new employees. This could be a very costly mistake in the long run, however, as you very likely won’t have the time or the capital to deal with employee turnover early on in the life of your business. It is far better to hire the right people the first time around and provide them with all the tools they need to be successful.

No matter what industry you are in, every small business has to complete several legal requirements before opening its doors. While you might feel as though you can handle such things in-house, mistakes of this nature can be costly. It is better to find and hire an attorney with enough experience to help you check those legal boxes correctly and efficiently right from the start.

6. Fine-Tune Customer Service Practices

Without the resources of a larger or more established corporation, you can’t afford to slip up when it comes to customer service. The impression that you make on your first set of customers can be a lasting one. You need to ensure that this impression is a good one.

If you plan on having a separate customer service department, it is a good idea to staff it with individuals who will be capable of monitoring all channels of customer communications, including social media and online reviews. Such platforms have become commonplace for clients and users to do their research on various businesses and products.

Furthermore, your customer service team should be as quick to respond to complaints and criticism as they are to highlight praise and gratitude. Make sure that complaints are seen as efficiently as possible, as customers who have had a poor experience in this regard will be quick to post backlash online that could be detrimental to your brand.