4 Methods to Finance Your New Business Venture

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |New Business Venture|4 Effective Ways to Finance Your Startup BusinessEveryone has entertained the notion of becoming their own boss at some point. However, some people have the drive and initiative to start their own business. According to experts, over 600,000 new businesses open their doors in the United States every single year. Some open up subsidiaries of businesses like a Starbucks or a Waffle House franchise. Majority of these new enterprises will be small businesses run by people just like you.

However, starting a new business doesn’t just require determination, it will also need plenty of capital.
Without hefty initial funding, your dreams of opening a new business will be over before they even begin. However, there are a few tried and tested methods you can use that will guarantee you have the money needed.

Below are four effective ways to get the financing you need to become a business owner.

1. Take Out Personal Loans

One of the riskiest but perhaps one of the most surefire way to get a lot of money in a short amount of time is by taking out personal loans. Unlike a business loan, which can be denied based on the potential profitability of the business and the preferences of the bank you’re asking, these loans depend solely on your financial capabilities. If you are in a great place regarding you finances, you could be in the position to ask for large loans or even negotiate with a mortgage lending company for the money you need. However, this carries a lot of risk for you. If your business can’t recoup the money in time, you may be deep in the red personally. Gage the risk and rewards of this method before committing to it so you don’t lose all your finances.

2. Apply for Business Grants

If you don’t want to take out a loan, you can instead petition to a financial organization or similar enterprise for financial aid. There are many organizations whose sole purpose is to give out financial assistance to business owners. Each organization will have different criteria. Some cater to different types of aspiring business owners, such as women or color.

Some only give financial assistance to specific business categories such as eco-friendly businesses. The trick is to find the right organization to submit your petition to. Thoroughly research the organization you’re trying to get a grant from so you can present the best case possible.

3. Find an Angel Investor

Getting accepted for a business grant can be difficult, especially since there could be hundreds or even thousands of proposals that these organizations have to process. If you’d rather make your case to someone more personally, you can try to appeal to an angel investor.

Unlike venture capitalists, who are more concerned in getting in the ground floor of a possibly massively successful business, angel investors provide money based on other reasons. They can be moved because of your struggles, delighted by the idea of your business, or any other reason under the sun. Angel investors also typically don’t expect their money back quickly and are content to be silent partners. Of course, not every angle investor is the same and you may have a different arrangement with each one you meet.

Make sure you have clear boundaries with an angel investor and go over every inch of paperwork with a fine-toothed comb. This will protect you and your investor from any possible confusion after you’ve secured the finances you need.

4. Crowdsource

The internet can be a great source of revenue, especially if you can gather enough people to do so. Crowdsourcing sites like Kickstarter, Go Fund Me and the like allow you to present your case to millions of users around the world. They can then pitch together to meet your financial goals. Of course, the patrons and people who donate to your crowdsourcing efforts will require something in exchange. This sites usually include goals and milestones.

Should people donate a certain amount, they can expect a gift or product in return for their patronage. This can be a little costly and should definitely be accounted for when you calculate the amount of money you’re going to ask. Crowdsourcing can also be very subjective, and you will have to make your business proposal more attractive than countless other enterprises on these platforms.

Your small business can be the first and biggest step to securing your financial future. However, making sure your fledgling enterprise gets funded can be a massively difficult undertaking. These tips can help you amass the money you need and put you on the path to becoming a boss on your own right.

How to Start Your Own Business Online

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start an Online Business|How to Start Your Own Business OnlineAn online business, no matter how lucrative or appealing it may look, comes with its own set of challenges and it is often planning that helps launch and sustain any business, even if it is online. Similar to traditional business, there are key requisites that one has to meet before they plan on starting a business.

Good research and ideation is the beginning of any business, and several other aspects are important to determine before starting something, even on a small scale. Online businesses have a low barrier to entry and that is often the reason that most miss planning the key aspects and end up losing profits or creating the distinction for their brand online.

Fixate on the business idea

This step might seem like a no-brainer but it is important to fixate on an idea that is backed by proper research and is a result of proper planning. The important question to ask is as follows:

  • What are the strengths of my business idea?
  • Why is it important to contribute the product/services
  • What are the strengths of my idea?
  • What can be the potential risks of starting the business?
  • What problems is my product/service solving?
  • Who must be the target consumers?
  • Where must my business be present?

Business research writers from Paper Writing Pro say that upon asking some of these questions, it gets easy to determine the strength of the idea and spend considerable time solving the weak areas of the business idea. The first step is proper planning and research of an idea and determination of its potential success rates.

Decide on a name

The thing to keep in mind while deciding a name for your online business is the fact that it must be related and easy to pronounce. Think of exciting names for your business and decide according to the target group. Create a name and design a logo that is easy to recollect and creates a mark in the crowd of many such online businesses.

Carry out a quick search to check if the selected names are not taken already. If this step was missed, you might stand a chance to face legal allegations and procedures owing to copyright issues.

Validate the Idea

It’s often helpful to run a pilot project to validate the idea and the expected success rates. Start by evaluating your idea and upon confirmation, reach out to a small group of people to conduct a dry run. Observe their reactions and opinions closely to narrow them down according to the results.

Make use of technology and create a landing page and list down all important attributes of the product/service. Keep a close watch on the reactions, page landing and study the demographics of the traffic that the page generates.

Most people starting a business online seldom focus on a pilot and focus all efforts on launching a full-fledged business. Upon failure of the idea, the investment goes into waste, leading to a failed business when not backed by sting R&D.

Determine Funding

It is essential to determine and list down the finances required to initiate and run an online business. Determine the major cost heads and go ahead with a financial plan. There are multiple ways of funding. The first way to consider is self-investment. Self-investment also requires the need to determine the sustainability of the business with the funds available.

To upscale a business, you may need additional funding and that can come from outside sources by way of investors. Keeping a strong business plan ready makes a difference in nudging the interest of the potential investor.

Create and share a strong business plan, idea, and pitch to attract them towards funding your startup business. There are multiple series of funding and as the business grows, you could move ahead in funding levels to create a successful and profitable business.

Have collaterals in place

An online business is most reliant on a website and e-commerce listings. Invest the time in creating a powerful and appealing website. Find ways to create a pull strategy that gets the target consumers to check your website. Packaging makes for an important factor and, with the long list of online businesses, creates a certain distinction for easy identification of your online business.

It is also essential to plan the online platform you’d want the business to appear at first. Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook are great mediums to leverage the audience and reach out to more people at the same time. If you are looking to sell products online, invest in a good photoshoot of the products and display them on all your online mediums.

An important thing to determine is whether you’d like to create a personal identity by way of a website or you are looking to reach out to the masses by way of e-commerce presence and listings. Once the business scales up, you could even participate in multiple e-commerce marketplaces to increase visibility and reach out to a larger consumer base at the same time.

Make the business legal

A crucial step is to legalize the presence of the business. Even if an online business, there are set regulations and legal issues as per your country’s laws and regulations. Read up on the legalities attached to the nature of your online business. The first step of all-registering your business online. The next step is to determine the tax regulations about the industry of operation.

Setting up the legal structure is important as it protects your business from online frauds, completion, and most of all with forgery and cases of duplication. Copyright your logo and products.

Look for brand partnerships and affiliations

Brand partnerships and collaborations are good ways to increase monetization and towards creating popular products/services. Get into affiliate partnerships with leading e-commerce brands to amplify the visibility of your business online. Cross-marketing with established brands can help a great deal in navigating consumers towards your business and its offerings.

When you plan to step into partnerships, establish a clear representation of your business and its particular offerings to avoid creating confusion in the minds of potential customers. Involve third-party apps and platforms that are authentic and have a good consumer base. Do check reviews and recommendations of the third party before getting into business together.

Improve the credit score of the business

You may consider taking loans to secure the future of your online business. To receive the loan grants with ease, focus on improving and maintaining your company’s and personal credit scores. A poor credit score may restrict the growth of the business beyond a point and create difficulty in taking external financial help.

The key aspect to keep in mind is that the growth of a business happens when the future is well determined and thought of. Think long-term ways and efforts to sustain your online business.

The bottom line

The launching of an online business is similar to launching a traditional business and most of the key aspects remain similar. It is important to consider and lay importance to get it right and making substantial efforts to increase the share of voice in the online market and attracting target consumers to purchase from your business. After a business launches, there is a need for effort to upscaling the business. A good online business can reach consumers on a large scale, offering immense growth opportunities when business plans are made with great research, a strong focus on the offerings, and determination to solve for consumer needs.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Tiffany HarperTiffany Harper is an experienced corporate sector writer, who sometimes helps as an expert to ninjaessay. She specializes in entrepreneurial development and start-up strategies. If you need essay help or business advice, don’t hesitate to contact her. When Tiffany is not working she is writing her book about self-growth and self-motivation.

4 Tips for Starting Up a Tech-enabled Accounting Company in 2021

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Accounting Company|4 Tips for Starting Up a Tech-enabled Accounting Company in 2021Starting up a company in 2021 will be a challenging journey as there’s never been more competition in most markets than now. In order to stand out, you need to create a solid business model that does have the potential of delivering quality service to customers. To open a financial service provider business of this magnitude, you’ll need to have some experience and qualifications behind your team. This in itself is already a significant challenge individuals face when trying to bring a new venture to life.

Opening a business of this magnitude won’t only require accounting knowledge and offering clients superior service compared to your competition. It would be best if you had someone well-versed in marketing and who understands marketing platforms from physical marketing through to digital marketing. There are various aspects you’ll need to give serious consideration to reach your goal of operating and managing a sustainable and profitable business of your own. This article will look at four tips to consider for entrepreneurs looking at starting an accounting company.
Image by Tayeb MEZAHDIA from Pixabay

1 Business Plan

When you start planning on opening a business of this magnitude, you should most definitely put some time and effort into creating a business plan for your company. You can use a business plan to secure funding or even bring new business partners into your company. Your business plan should make investors more comfortable and explain your exact strategy and means of doing so. Your business plan should also include market research regarding competitors, market value, and target market. Your business plan may also include information like your mission and vision statements, as well as start-up capital.

2 Online Presence

When you start a digital-savvy business model, you should ensure you create a desirable online presence. This can be done by getting your business a website and using state-of-the-art systems and technology to improve the overall performance of your company. You can hire a pro to build a website for you, or you can look at building a website on WordPress. The WordPress software allows anyone to quickly create an aesthetically pleasing website with access to thousands of plugins to increase customer interactions. Your website will be your company’s main attraction, it will serve as a lead generator, and all your marketing efforts will be directly linked to your website. By getting a website, you allow yourself to use multiple digital marketing strategies to build up clientele.

3 Search Engine Optimization

When you get a new website, and it goes live, it doesn’t mean it’ll have any organic traffic whatsoever. According to research, it’s much more difficult for new domains to be ranked on the first page of organic search results. You can do this by getting professional SEO for accountants. This is the process of increasing the quality and quantity of website traffic by using organic search results from Google. To rank well on Google, there’s a list of requirements you have to stick to. Make sure your website is user-friendly and optimized for mobile use. You can also focus on posting regular content targeting sought-after keywords in your industry to show Google your website is relevant to those searches.

4 Marketing

Marketing your business will be one of the leading role players in the success of your company. With all the competition out there, with no effort, potential customers can’t notice and get in contact with your business. By marketing your brand, you create exposure and ensure when someone you targeted needs the services of an accountant, they’ll remember you. You can use Social Media Marketing to build a following and reach your local audience fast. Google ads are also a great way of increasing your website traffic by paying google to place your ads on relevant searches. You bid against competitors for the top placement, and you pay per click Google generates for you. By increasing your website visitors by large numbers, your ranking will automatically start growing.

Modern businesses have proved over and again that these fundamental business principles are crucial to creating a sustainable business model which is both profitable and advantageous for clients. Marketing plays a vital role, and individuals should always ensure they have a marketing budget and spend enough time building their business’s future. So get your brand in order, start crunching numbers and make money while doing so. Follow your instinct and own every day, you never know what each month holds, but if you work hard and smart, you might be better off.

What Do You Need When Opening a Retail Unit?

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Retail unit|What Do You Need When Opening a Retail Unit?There are many different forms of business out there, and each one offers customers and owners alike something slightly different. If you have chosen to open a retail unit, you need to think about some of the following things.

Location

With a retail unit, location can be everything. You need to make sure that you track down somewhere that meets several needs. Of course, the unit has to be big enough for your business. Not only must it have a good layout on the shop floor, but there should be enough room in the staff-only areas like the stockroom and office for you to be able to successfully manage the business.

On top of this, the unit needs to be in a good place. If you are going to be relying on passing foot traffic for a lot of your trade, you need to make sure that you are located somewhere where you will get this interest. A busy high street or a shopping centre might be ideal. If you are tucked away in the middle of nowhere, you might not be able to get the foot traffic that you need.

You should also think about the needs of your customers. For example, if you sell particularly big or bulky goods, or if you expect your customers to purchase a lot from you in one go, it can be good to try to find a retail unit with an adjoining car park. This is going to be something important to your customers, and can be a great way for you to begin to build customer satisfaction and loyalty from the moment your brand launches.

Technology

Nowadays, there are many pieces of tech that every business needs to make sure that they have as part of their retail unit, even if it is a simple shop. For example, most shops nowadays take card payments, so you will need the terminals and software to be able to process these payments. With this, you need to look for the payment provider that offers the lowest credit card processing fees possible. This means that you will be able to take the most revenue from each transaction instead of paying excess fees. Though finding the lowest credit card processing fees should not be a priority when choosing a payment provider, it should definitely be something in the back of your mind.

A retail unit is going to need many more different pieces of technology to be able to run smoothly. Most businesses nowadays make use of some form of computer system to be able to keep track of several metrics. This computer system might be linked to the till and payment provider, but it could also be used to track stock, orders, and holidays for staff to mention just a few of its capabilities.

Even if you have what appears to be a very traditional store on the outside, you can still make use of technology in a few key places to help you manage the business more efficiently. Never doubt how much easier it can be to manage certain projects and operations with the right tech on your side.

Equipment

In a slightly different tangent than technology lies equipment. You obviously need to make sure that you have all the right equipment necessary to be able to open the business and run it properly. This can often mean that you need to find some highly specialised equipment. For example, if you decide to open a hairdresser, you will need all the equipment associated with styling hair. A café will need a kitchen outfitted and a coffee machine. A specialised repair shop will need the tools and precision equipment required for orders.

It can be expensive to outfit a retail unit with the right equipment but it is incredibly important that you do find it. Not having it to hand means that you might be tempted to try to get around it and complete the task with the equipment that you have might mean that you do not finish the task properly, potentially leading to more issues further down the road.
You might have to go to a specialist supplier to get the right tools and equipment that you need. However, there is a chance that you will be able to build a professional relationship with this supplier. If you know that you will regularly need to purchase disposable equipment as part of your business, finding a supplier to work with could mean that you are able to score a discount on bulk orders in the future.

The Shop Floor

You need to think carefully about how you decorate and arrange the public sections of your business that your customers will be able to see. This needs to be a good space that is welcoming and perfectly describes your branding. It can be more difficult than you might imagine to get this right. Ultimately, you need to make sure that you have a space that flows well, that naturally encourages your customers to browse.

It is incredibly important that you think about how the shop looks from the customer’s perspective. You might like your initial set-up and design, but it could be overly cluttered from the point of view of a customer. Likewise, you might want to go for a more minimalist look, but to a customer the store could appear to be very bare.

Don’t worry if it takes you several attempts to arrange things how you would like them. Consider taking a course in visual merchandising to learn more about how to arrange your shop floor in a more pleasing manner. You would be surprised to learn about how much this could help with gaining traffic and other interested parties.

Social Media

Even if you do not operate an ecommerce business, having an online presence of some variety is incredibly useful. If you want to be able to find new customers who can be converted into loyal ones, you should turn to social media. You cannot expect to rely on foot traffic alone.

Make sure that you have social media accounts across the big platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and make sure that you post on them regularly. These are key places where you can reach out to your customers and they can get in contact with you if needs be. It is also the perfect environment for you to show off your new deals and products that might be launching. Learning the best tips and tricks for social media will hopefully help you to push ahead and attract a new audience who are interested in what you have to offer as a business.

Opening a retail unit can be more work than people might realise. However, there are plenty of things that you can do to create a fantastic environment that many are happy to visit. From the tech and equipment you are choosing to include in your operations to the design of the shop floor and your choice of social media, opening a retail unit can be very complex. Make sure that you have everything that you need on your side, and take this challenge head on.

A Good Foundation For Your Business Is IT Support

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Business IT Support|A Good Foundation For Your Business Is IT SupportThere is no denying that technology is at the core of everything we do today. All businesses rely on technology in some shape or form, which is why it is imperative for everyone to consider IT support. If this is something you have not considered at your business at the moment, read on to discover everything you need to know.

What Is IT Support?

IT support is one element of the broader, technical support sector. Any business that uses software and other technical solutions to run their company effectively must know the software and hardware they are utilising in order to ensure it is working effectively and that it is fit for its purpose.

IT support provides the backbone for your business when it comes to all things technology-related. You will have help and assistance in all areas, whether this means setting up an effective phone system or implementing cyber security measures to make sure that your business is protected.

When you are looking for an IT services company, it is vital to have a thorough understanding of the service you are going to receive. Some people decide that they are going to outsource all of their IT requirements to the company in question. However, for others, they decide to outsource certain elements and then they keep other parts of their IT operations in-house, so it really does depend on your business and what is going to be right for your specific needs.

Should You Outsource To An IT Company?

There are a lot of different benefits you can gain by outsourcing your IT support requirements to a third-party business. It is important to consider all of this carefully so you can figure out which option and solution are going to be right for you.

One of the main reasons why so many people decide to outsource is because they know that they are always going to have an expert team to turn to should something go wrong. After all, if there is one thing that businesses cannot afford today, it is downtime. Every minute that you spend offline is a minute that you are missing out on potential profit and opportunity. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to outsource to a team of experts so that you can get that support and get back up and running as quickly as possible.

In addition to this, IT support companies can provide you with the perfect platform to flourish and move forward. This is because they are making sure that you are making wise technological decisions that can boost efficiency and help your company to achieve greater success.

All in all, we hope that this blog post has helped you to get a good understanding of why IT support is so important for businesses today and how it can become the backbone of success at your business. The importance of this cannot be overlooked in the present day.