A Guide to New Business Owners: The Most Important Things to Prepare
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When you’re starting a business, it may seem like you have an endless amount of time and opportunities. But, in truth, you probably have a lot more to prepare than you realise. If you’re just getting started, you’re likely not aware of all the tasks you’d need to take care of before you can actually get your business off the ground.
And, after you’ve been in business for a while, you’re probably looking at your to-do list and wondering how you managed to keep it all together for so long. The reality is that, to succeed, you need to be prepared before you can even think about taking action.
This article provides a short overview of the things that every new business owner needs to prepare.
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Set Up Your Organisation
If you’ve already started your business, you may be thinking, “where do I go from here?”
The first thing you need to do is to set up your organisation. What’s the difference between a sole proprietorship, a partnership, and a corporation? A sole proprietorship is owned by a single person, a partnership is owned by two or more people, and a corporation is owned by a group of people.
Setting up your organisation will determine which type of business entity you’ll be operating under. You’ll also need to set up your bank account for receiving payments and recordkeeping.
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Select a Payment Processor
Your merchant account is only one type of payment processing service. There are many different types of payment processing services, and each one has a different feature set.
For example, some payment processing services may provide you with discount codes that can be used to get discounts on products or services from your clients. Other services may provide you with fraud detection and protection.
This is important because you don’t want to start accepting payments only to find out that the payment processor you’re using is irresponsible or doesn’t provide the level of protection you need. You may end up regretting the decision you made to begin accepting payments.
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Be Reachable To Your Customers
A business can only thrive if it can be reached by its audience and future customers. Thus, setting up communication methods for your business is highly important. This means that your business should have a business email and phone number.
You can set up your business email account in a number of different ways. You can use a paid email service like Google or Microsoft. If it’s a private or personal business, you can also use your existing email account.
There are a few things to keep in mind when using your existing email account. First, you’ll want to use an email account that doesn’t have a lot of other recurring users on it. Using a shared email account runs the risk of other people getting your emails, which can cause unnecessary confusion.
A business phone number can either be a number bought specifically for the business, or it can be your personal number. To be better organised, it’s often better to have a separate phone number for your business. That way you won’t mix up personal and professional matters.
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Build an Online Presence
Building a proper online presence is essential if you want your business to survive. Afterall, if your business isn’t online, how will people find you? That being said, building an online presence can be done by setting up a website or social media account.
When your business has just kicked-off, which should you start with first? Website or social media? It honestly depends on the condition of your business at the moment. To put things into perspective, think of it as choosing between a place to hang out or a house.
Social media is like a place to hangout, just like a coffee shop. It can be tailored to your liking (with limitations), but it’s not going to be yours forever. Social media apps come and go. One minute this is used a lot, and maybe in a few years people will move to other apps.
However, it’s still one of the best ways to build a relationship with your future customers. It’s also the best way to encourage engagement from your audience.
A website, on the other hand, is like a home. It’s a place where you can showcase your products digitally. Or, in other words, it’s a place where you can host people. It’s like a foundation for your business. You’ll also have more freedom in customising it compared to social media. However, it might be slightly harder to have the same kind of engagement that you would on social media.
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Conclusion for New Business Owners
All new business owners face a lot of uncertainty and risk in their early years—whether that’s quitting your job or buying your first business.
Choosing the right business structure, finding a reliable payment processor, building a good online presence can help you start and grow your business faster.
With any luck, you’ll find that being ready for your business before you actually start, will make the process a lot smoother and more successful.
Need to make sure your business strives online? Contact a digital marketing agency based in Bali and watch your business grow.
