Things to consider when starting your business
When you decide that you want to start your own business, one of the motivators is usually a (great) idea. This idea might be a brand new concept or your own unique twist on an existing idea – like selling niche cakes for example. Whatever the idea is though, you need a process to turn if from “just trying a thing” to an actual money making operation. Here are a few things to consider:
Startup Budget
This is critical. You need to sit down and analyze what you need and how much it’s going to cost you to start. Include as much as you can think of from promotional content such as business cards to things like invoice books, stamps, advertising, increased phone bills etc. When you finally arrive at this total add between 5% – 10% to this total to make an allowance for additional items you may need or price increases.
Advertising
Now that the budget is out of the way we need to focus on getting your name out there. A popular way for small businesses to promote in Barbados is Social Media. This is a great and cost effective way to promote yourself. Also – depending on your type of business – it may be helpful to attend relevant events and interact with people of interest. Remember no one will care about your business as much as you so you need to be serious about promoting.
Know your customers
You should at least have a vague idea of who your target audience is and brand yourself in an appealing way to them. Create a draft of what your customer looks like. Give him/her a name, age and personality. Find out what he/she likes. Basically, you are trying to woo this person. Question. When was the last time you went into an all pink sports bar with scented candles and flowers? … Exactly!
Be kind!
This is very important! When you do start your venture, try your very best to smile when you interact with potential clients even if they end up not doing any business with you. Being kind goes a long way. They might not spend money with you, but they might tell their friends about you because of your mannerisms. If you are a student of the 48 laws of power then you would be familiar with law 6: Court Attention at all Cost. Being kind is good for business!
