Starting your first startup is never easy especially today, since it’s already a tough
competition for you the moment you decide to step into this venture. But, once you
make a proper and long-term plan, you will always find your way to keep on track.
Building a startup means you have a long way to go and a sufficient preparation
mentally and physically to face the never-ending ups and downs. You don’t always
succeed on your first try though. That would be a very rare case.
It usually takes more years for you to reach the safe zone. That is why having the
knowledge beforehand is really important.
1. What to offer your customers
This is the first thing you have to think of before starting up your company.
Customers are the purpose of why a business exists. Thus, you should know what kind of products or services you want to offer to your customers. After you get a sight of what you want to offer, it’s easy for you to make a leap for another step. You can decide who your target customers are.
Let’s say you want to sell mobile devices.
You will target adults or mobile user, who will spend their money for your products.
2. Name or brand
Brand name is a serious matter that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Some startups just
name their company simply without thinking of its commercial value. The name
should be appropriate with your products, and it should sound professional in order
to grow your site globally.
Once you decide the name, imagine how people would react to it. Does it sound too bland? Does it sound like a big success? Would it level
up your curiosity what business it does? It is even better to come up with a tagline
that people would remember, as a part of the branding.
3. Marketing and pricing strategy
You should make a research to know what kind of marketing you want to do to
launch your products.
Whether it’s through advertising, public relation or promotions.
You have to plan your strategies from marketing and pricing aspects. Make a survey and product testing to see how much people are willing to pay for your products and services.
Whether it will be enough to cover your costs and how much profit you will
gain.
4. Study your competitors
For starters, it's better if you can list up several competitors and analyze how they
work, and how they are still in the industry. You can visit their stores where their
products are offered, look at the prices, features and etc. Study them by becoming
their customers to get an idea how the company works. Check their website,
subscribe to them, check out the articles about them. Be curious about them!
5. Find the right partner
Collaboration is the key to success. However, the choice of your partner must fit what your business wants to strengthen the establishment. The more established
your partner is, the more secure you are since they had experienced a venture
earlier than you, so they know how to manage every circumstance very well.
If your partner is just as new as you, you won’t get to see a clear direction of what ahead of you.
It’s okay to invest more for a suitable partner because it can reduce your
business’s risks. You can learn a lot from them, and everything you learn will be
valuable.
6. Capital
Getting capital is not as easy as you can imagine. Money is a big thing for
entrepreneur because we will never know whether your investment will worth it or
not.
If you think your idea worths all the risks, take an opportunity by finding a
venture capital who are willing to be a part of you. Getting capital is a complicated
process, you should make every single penny count and show them how confident
you are with the success of this startup!
| About the Guest Author:
Azma Farhana Baharin is an intern writer for a marketing department in a B2B company.