Published: March 8th, 2017
Our latest guest blog comes from Adrian Barradell, Marketing Co-ordinator for Impetus Business Loans. Adrian keeps the organisation’s marketing on track. Away from Impetus he runs his own communications agency and is also a local radio broadcaster.
OK, so you’ve take taken the plunge and decided to start up your own business.
Congratulations.
These brief tips will help you understand what you can expect during the first 12 months – and what you can do to keep things on track
1: It’s going to be hard
Most people who’ve set up a successful business from scratch will tell you it was a tough journey with no shortage of worries.
The best way to counter any doubts is to create a realistic and deliverable business plan – and then let this guide you week by week.
2: You’re unlikely to get rich quick
It is not uncommon for a start up business to take two to three years to become profitable.
Understanding (as well as budgeting for) the reality of this, will ensure your expectations are realistic.
3: It may be tricky to adjust
If you’re starting a business after leaving employment you may have in the past been responsible for just one operational area.
Now of course, you’ll be responsible for everything.
It may be hard to adjust to this but if you think about any personal skill gaps you need to fill, and also what support you can access, you’ll feel much more in control.
Even just having a family member or friend to talk things through with, could be a big help.
4: Time management may be a challenge
It is very unlikely that you decided to work for yourself so you could work a 50+ hour week.
Doing as much as you can to understand and use effective time management strategies will help you every day.
5: Not everything is likely to go right
Successful entrepreneurs understand that not everything is likely to go right with a brand-new business.
Therefore they develop effective ‘bouncebackability’ skills to enable them to learn from their problems (and even benefit from them) and move on.
The more you can do to find out how other people have developed this ‘bouncebackability’ gene, the better.
Don’t worry
Anyone starting up a business is going to face plenty of challenges.
The good news is – there will be plenty of successes too!
It’s all about putting the right support processes and systems in place, so that you can create a manageable and sustainable business – and enjoy the journey along the way!
If you are looking for any business finance, Impetus Business Loans can provide start up and business development loans across the West Midlands.