Entrepreneurship is a series of challenges. If it’s not trying to figure out a profitable business idea, it’s seeking out funding. If it isn’t trying to get your head around marketing strategy, it’s chasing up overdue payments. And if it’s not struggling to manage your time, it’s worrying over growth plans. The truth is, there’s just a lot going on at once, especially when you’re flying solo. Ultimately, what keeps you going is bringing your vision to the world, fulfilling your dream of working for yourself, and growing your company into a profitable enterprise, to the point where you can float that graphics business, franchise out your coffeehouse or or put up that manufacturing business for sale. Of course, very few small businesses turn into stratospheric overnight success stories. But there are ways to develop your company more rapidly. If you’ve been running something as a side hustle for a while and you want to accelerate it to the point that it can support you full-time, or you’ve launched a business but you want to move it on to the next phase, you need a high-growth strategy that’s going to speed up your success. But is it really possible to fast-track your business to success?
Developing What You Do
In today’s economy, having a portfolio career is rapidly becoming the new normal, and it’s no bad thing to have diverse streams of income working for you. Many entrepreneurs find their start by first developing their business while they are also employed by someone else, or studying. However, there’s only so far you can grow what you’re going while working part-time on it. If things are going well and you can see a future in what you’re doing, it could be time to scale up on the side hustle. It’s easy to get stuck on how to transition what you do from a hobby to a full time enterprise which makes consistent profit. For a start there are legal steps that you need to take, as well as getting your head around being your own boss full time – this can be quite a scary prospect when the monthly paycheck and accompanying perks like health insurance are taken away.
Creating A Plan For Fast Growth
Many side businesses have their origins in a fairly casual process – a few items sold on the side on eBay for example, or a small website which trades a few orders a month. It’s not your main focus and there isn’t a whole ton of direction – whatever comes in on the day is what you focus on, fitting it around other work commitments and study. When it comes to levelling up though, you have to think a little more strategically in order to really make it work. First up, you need to develop a business plan. This gives you a road map to work to as you grow your business – it spells out your targets, and how you’re aiming to achieve them. It outlines your mission and values – these things are essential as you come to develop a brand and try to establish loyal customer relationships. There are lots of procedural and legal steps involved, and this can seem quite overwhelming to begin with if you’re used to doing it on the side without any proper processes in place. A good business plan will break this down into manageable steps with an associated timeline, giving all your actions a timescale and a wider context. If you really don’t know where to begin, there are plenty of sample business plans out there to look at, or you could try looking for a business mentor so you have someone to challenge your thinking and bounce questions off. Developing a proper plan allows you to start off growing your business on the right footing, and avoids setting up problems further down the line.
What’s In A Name?
Well, it turns out quite a lot! The name of your business is a key pillar of your brand identity. Many side hustles start off with a silly or joke name – often a lot of thought doesn’t go into it. When you want to take it to thebrand identity next level though, you may soon come to regret the lack of care you put into naming your venture initially. Start by doing some market research about possible naming options. It’s a good idea to test the water – you could run a poll on your website, set up a focus group or even ask the question on social media. Make sure that you have a good understanding of your target audiences – what they want from your business and what name is likely to resonate the best with them. Once you have narrowed it down, it’s time to make sure it’s free. First, check that your preferred company name is not already in use by someone else. Second, check that the domain is available for purchase. Often this isn’t something you think about if you’ve been operating off third party platforms for sales, or have a template website with free hosting. If you’re serious about fast tracking your business growth, you need to know that all the email addresses and social media handles are free for your use. Don’t take half measures – if something isn’t available don’t wade in and hope it will become free or add an awkward workaround. Asking your customers to remember an overly complicated website address or Twitter handle won’t wash. Go back and choose something which is fully yours and easy to remember. Search the federal trademark database and make sure your business can’t be confused with someone else’s – not only can this lead to customer confusion and missed sales, but it could also result in a messy legal battle further down the line. Start as you mean to go on with a unique company name which encompasses the message you want to put out into the world.
Set Up The Legals
There are many different legal company ownership structures that you can have. However, if your aim is to fast track, corporate legal advisers recommend that opting for sole proprietorship with a ‘Doing Business As..’ (DBA) is the quickest and most affordable route into running your own officially business. Filing a DBA reserves your brand name in a legal sense. However, it’s also important to remember that a sole proprietorship doesn’t create any legal separation between your personal and business finances. That means assets – and liabilities – are all shared. If the business runs into difficulties and you amass bad debt or even go bankrupt, you can be held personally responsible and may be pursued as an individual in court by your creditors. You may want to look into the option of registering as a corporation. This is a longer and more complex option, but it will afford you more protection and ensure that there is no confusion over your personal money situation and that of the business. It is possible to change the legal status of your business further down the line as it develops though, so take professional legal advice from a small business specialist before proceeding to make sure you take the best option to suit your goals for the company. Many small business owners opt to form a Limited Liability Company (LLC). An LLC has less onerous record keeping requirements than running a corporation. It also helps you to avoid double taxation and gives you a degree of flexibility in how the company is managed. However, if you need outside investment in order to fund your growth plans, then you would need to be registered as a corporation. This also allows you to operate internationally and provide shares in the business, giving certain rights to specific investors. It makes it easier to attract seed funding but it’s a lot more onerous in terms of your reporting, accounting and legal obligations. In addition to this, certain states do not allow you to do business as an LLC. The route you choose is very specific to your goals for the business, so spend time considering the options and getting proper advice.
Check Your Licenses
Depending on your location, your business will be subject to different laws and regulations, so usually the best place to start is to check in with a local small business association, a chamber of commerce or if your industry has a federation – these organizations will be able to give you a steer. In the US, there are regulations at a federal level but there may also be state regulations to adhere to, and licenses or permits to apply for – your local government office is the place to go for information. In addition to the governmental requirements, the industry that you operate in may also have licensing requirements. For example, those operating in the food industry may need a food handler’s license as well as a seller’s permit and various other legal documents. But don’t be discouraged by all the paperwork – owning your own business is worth all the admin.
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