Eight Ways to Kick Off a New Business

By Kevin Nunley
http://www.DrNunley.com

Kickoff time in football is similar to kickoff time for a new business in one important way: it determines whether you start out struggling to regain the upper hand, or get up and running with confidence.

Kickoff time doesn't determine the outcome of either a game or a new business, but getting off to a winning start never lost any points.

To get your new business off to a great start, follow these 7 guidelines:

1. Know Where Your Sales Are - Before you flip your sign to open, upload your business site, or spend a single penny on marketing, know where your sales are going to come from. Who is your target demographic?

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is not knowing who is going to buy from them. Why? Because if you don't know who your customers are, you can't market to them. And if you can't market to them, your business will go out of business.

For instance, if you are starting a business selling athletic gear online, find out not only who wants your products, but who actually buys your products. If your products are meant for kids, you have to market to them as well as their parents. Find out where they spend their time online; what sites they are likely to visit. And always consider what problems your target market has and how you can help to solve some of those problems with your products or services.

2. Find Mentors - You aren't the first person to start your own business. Hundreds of thousands of people before you have walked the same path your are about to walk. Take advantage of their experience. Try to talk to a few small business owners who have been in business between 6 months and 5 years. They have been in business long enough to have acquired some substantial wisdom.

One man I knew started his own business with that traditionally masculine, "I'm not going to stop and ask directions" attitude. After he had made some mistakes that almost cost him his business, he decided to talk to some other business owners about their experience. He quickly discovered that his mistakes could have been avoided if he had just stopped to ask directions.

3. Do Your Market Research - Don't just ask your family and friends if they think your business idea is doable. Of course they are going to be more positive than realistic.

Get out and conduct your research with a pen, paper and your legs. You can even call potential buyers and find out their views. This is a great opportunity to make contacts and pre-sell your products or services, as well as find out about your target market.

4. Finance 101 - You are starting a new business to make money. But what's the good of making money if you are so ignorant of what to do with it that you lose it all?

At least one person in your business (and if you are a solitary business owner, that one person is you) must know basic business finance to some degree. You don't have to get your accounting degree, but you must know some basics: record keeping, business or corporate taxes, expenses, deductions, etc...

Don't make the mistake of going into business with no knowledge of how your finances should work. Even if you trust someone else to handle your finances, you should understand the basic workings of incoming and outgoing money.

5. Promote Like a Pro - Whether you are starting an online business or a regular business, you have to find the methods of promotion that work for you.

Now, just because your business is online doesn't mean you shouldn't promote offline. You can use anything from billboards to T-shirts, brochures to cable television commercials. Much of your best traffic will come from offline promotion. Many websites are lost in the vast reaches of cyber space, but if you put your URL in front of people's faces, they will seek you out.

If you are starting an offline business, the same idea holds true in reverse. You should combine both on and offline advertising and promotion. Why? Because, even if your business does not exist solely online, you should still have a website. A lot of times, people are curious about your business, but they don't want to call or drop by. That takes time out of their busy schedules. But most people do have time to check out your website to help them decide whether or not they should stop by.

You website can be one of your best methods of promotion. Include your website address on all print advertising, as well as any other media you use to advertise.

6. Get All the Information - Don't ignore business areas that you do not understand. Sure, it takes a lot of time and effort to learn a bunch of new information, but having the right business knowledge is what will make the difference between success and failure.

Make the learning as palatable as possible. If you hate reading boring business books, then attend a training seminar or get advice from other business owners.

7. Expect a Battle - Put yourself in your competitor's position. What would you do if a new business opened up and started stealing your customers? You'd fight back, right? You would increase your marketing efforts, hold special promotions and sales, maybe even tell people negative things about your competition.

So when you open your business and your competitors try to take you to the mattresses, don't put up the white flag. Launch your own promotional assault and show them what you're made of.

Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and copywriting. See his 10,000 marketing ideas and popular promotion packages at http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at kev-@drnunley.com or 801-328-9006.

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