This article is contributed by Jason Dirkham
There’s no way around it; starting a new business involves a whole load of guesswork. To even attempt this, you need to guess that there’s a demand for your product in the first place. You also need to guess that you’ll be able to keep up with their demand and make this work. For the most part, your first few years of business may feel as tense as walking on a tightrope. It’s no wonder, then, that so many new business owners fall off before they even get going.
The fact is that this is the one thing you don’t want to guess at. The chances are that you’ll put more money and effort into making this work than you’ve ever spent on anything else. One wrong step on that uncertain footing and every effort you’ve made here will come crashing with you. It’s far from ideal, that’s for sure. The sad fact is, that uncertainty seems inevitable to some extent. Success in business means breaking new ground. And new ground is never as even or secure as we wish it would be.
But, what if we were to tell you that there is a way to secure your path before taking that fateful step? Okay, we can’t work miracles. There is always going to be some level of uncertainty. But, by turning your attention to this, you can at least remove some of the guesswork from your startup processes. All you need to do is get on board with the following.
The magic of market research
At this stage, your ideas about a target audience are only ideas. While it’s important to keep a consumer in mind, you don’t yet know who’s going to buy your products. Often, our predictions here end up being way off the mark. That’s the trouble with guesswork. The main issue with that, of course, is the fact you’ll waste initial time and money targeting the wrong people. Thus, you’ll fail to pull a profit for longer and stand more chance of crashing down. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. By taking the time to do market research before you begin, you can gain a much more reliable idea of who would buy your products. How you go about this is up to you. Common options would be to reach out to social media. This has the benefit of being free for a basic account and can help you towards no end of profit. By watching who interacts with your posts and where traffic comes from, you should be able to gain a much more reliable idea here. That, in turn, can ensure the success of your small business. Even if this is way off where you thought it would be, don’t be afraid to change your plans to meet this demand. These initial results free you to research your audience and alter your product to their needs. That, in turn, means going ahead reliably, and pleasing more people as you do.
Follow the yellow brick competitor
In the dark, dank woods of a new business, most of us wish there were some yellow brick road to lead us to an entrepreneurial Emerald City. How much easier would life be then? In truth, though, there is already a yellow brick road which many of us miss. There may not be a literal path we can follow all the way, but our competitors can be just as good for guidance. Studying the successes and products of competitors has always been an excellent way to gauge demand. As such, you shouldn’t hesitate to sign up for competitor’s newsletters and keep a close eye on what they’re doing. Their successes and failures will be enough to point you in the right direction. Of course, that in itself doesn’t make for secure footing as such. Even if you can see success, you’ll have no way of knowing where it’s come from. Hence why you should turn to competitive intelligence apps like those offered by zag.ai to take this even further. With apps like these, you’ll be able to track things like where their traffic comes from, and which keywords bring success. Insights like these can shine a bright light on the path to success which you never knew was there.
Bring on the business plan
We know what you’re thinking; shouldn’t you have a business plan before this stage? In many ways, yes. A business plan is the thing most entrepreneurs start with before anything. How else can you even begin to find your way in this wilderness? But, as can be seen from sites like https://www.leadershipreview.net, every business plan needs flexibility. Those notes you made before starting may not even have any relevance anymore. That’s okay because they got you to this stage. But, it’s now time to turn to a business plan with your newfound knowledge of the right path in mind. This time when you come to the drawing board, keep in mind everything you’ve learned about your audience. Then, find new ways to incorporate these things into your plan. Again, these points shouldn’t be set in stone. Instead, they’re markers which can help you move forward. Think of this like a plan written by a novelist. They lay out the chapters before starting to keep themselves moving toward crucial points. But, as soon as the words start flowing, many authors report that the story begins to write itself and goes down all manner of new paths. Your business plan should be much the same. These are some pointers you need to write to ensure you at least know where you’re heading. And, with your newfound knowledge in mind, they should ensure that at least some of that upcoming ground is more stable than it would have been.
So, there you have it. Starting in business doesn’t have to be like entering a minefield. All you need to do is send out the feelers beforehand and plot your path according to the results.
This article is contributed by Jason Dirkham
