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Starting and growing any business is difficult because we don't always know what to do next. In this guide, we will discuss the following key areas of consideration to avoid "getting stuck":

1. Identify your business idea
2. Create a business plan
3. Build a website
4. Branding
5. Building marketing funnels
6. Payment methods and financials
7. Sales and customer success

If you are stuck or want advice from our team, Upbox offers bespoke consulting services. Please contact our sales team at here.

Identify your business idea

It is important to understand what you are trying to achieve, before you set out to build something. This is true of highly technical businesses, and simple ones:

1. What business do you want to start?
2. What problem are you solving?
3. Does something like this exist in the market currently?
4. Who are you competing against?
5. How will you be different?

Below are a few examples for you to think about:

1. John wants to create rocketships and send them into space. Does John have any experience doing this? If not, what can he do to prepare himself for starting a rocket company? Are there any specific reguations that he must adhere to? Are there any certifications that he needs to acquire before starting? Is anyone else creating a company in this space? What are they doing differently from the others? How can John set his company up for success by offering something unique?
2. Jane has been making candles and wants to sell them. She has experience making candles, but can't decide between selling candles online or selling them at a local market. What costs are associated with each? Can she speak with other candle-makers to learn about their challenges, and how they are addressing them? What is different about Jane's candles? If she sets up an online shop, can she meet the demand of her customers? Does she want to build a business that can scale, or does she enjoy making candles and wants to monetize a hobby?
3. Elliot grows their own vegetables and wants to sell them. What is Elliot's production volume? Do they grow enough vegetables for local supermarkets, or are farmers markets a better fit? Or, should they reach out to local restaurants that are interested in buying local, fresh produce? How does Elliot track their customers to know who has ordered what, and ensure that delivery is completed in a timely manner? How can Elliot find new customers and promote their fresh produce to new businesses? Does Elliot have a website to attract new customers?

These examples are all very different, and raise a number of challenges that someone could face when starting a company. It's essential to understand your strengths and weaknesses as you grow, so that you can fill any gaps while this plan develops in your head.

Create a business plan

Now that you have a rough idea of your business, let's put pen to paper and create a basic business plan.

There are many tools available that can help you build a business plan, or you can look for a one-page business plan, and see how much you can fill out without further research. Find and complete whichever best suits you, but it's important that you keep this as an ever-evolving document, rather than something that is forgotten in a filing cabinet once complete. If you would like to research different types of business plans in more detail, you can search for the following types:

1. Traditional - these are detailed and fully comprehensive documents, covering every aspect of your business and the industry.
2. Lean - this is a streamlined document that focuses on the key elements of your business.
3. Operational - if you already know your business and the industry, then complete this to plan out your daily activities and objectives.

Some key points in all business plans are:

1. Outline your idea with a single, concise headline
2. What are you goals?
3. Who is your target audience?
4. How do you intend to make money? (ie. revenue streams).
5. What are you costs and ongoing expenses?

Build a website

Websites are important for businesses of all sizes, across all industries because they serve as the digital storefront for your business and can attract new customers, showcase your products or services, and provide valuable information about your business.

As of 2023, there are many options available for businesses that are looking for a website. You can create one yourself with point and click website builders or hire a developer to create one for you. The biggest differences between these options are as follows:

1. Website builders - these offer easy-to-use templates and drag-and-drop interfaces that make it easy for non-technical users to build a website. However, they can be limiting in terms of customization and functionality.
2. Web developers - hiring a developer to build a website for you, can be expensive, but will offer you the best results. Additionally, the design, creation, and deployment of your new website can be time-consuming due to the increased complexity.

While some people may not want to add technical aspects to their business, a well-designed website can dramatically increase customer engagement. According to a study by Clutch, businesses can expect to see an average of 30% growth in revenue within the first year of launching a website.

Branding

Creating a brand identity is important to distinguish yourself against potential competitors, but also to show your customers who you are and what you represent.

To begin, create a name for your company, often related to the product or service that you offer, and design a logo. Then, you can begin describing your products and services through clear messaging that resonates with your target audience. This messaging can be used in emails, letters, ads, etc. As you continue to explore ways to reach more customers, social media will become a necessity. It is important to develop a consistent brand-voice that you use across all of your channels and accurately reflects your business. Your messaging will often be complimented through the utilisation of colors, fonts, and images to reinforce a consistent visual identity.

As a subset of marketing, branding can be approached in many ways, but the points above are a good starting point. Regardless of platforms that you use to promote your business, it's important to build a strong brand that resonates with your target audience and sets you apart from your competitors. With a strong brand in place, you can attract more customers and increase your chances of success as a business owner.

Building marketing funnels

It is essential to build and develop multiple sources of inbound interest, often refered to as a 'marketing funnel'. This funnel often tests engagement rates across numerous different activities, and focuses it's time and attention on those that generate the most interest from potential customers. Examples of these funnels are:

1. Social media: platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn offer businesses a powerful way to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and drive sales. They allow you to share content, engage with your audience, and target specific demographics. They all function in different ways, and target different types of users; it's important to understand who you are trying to reach, before you spend time and money trying to reach them.
2. Newspaper and magazine: traditional methods of self-promotion involve creating ads for physical mediums such as newspapers and magazines, where you can pay to have them display an ad about your company. This is becoming less common due to the success of digital methods, but is still highly effective for some industries.
3. Digital advertising: these are easier to track, monitor and manage, but comes with significantly increased complexity, and potential costs. However, well focused ads have the potential to reach your target audience more effectively, resulting in more leads and sales.
4. Events: having hit a recent speed-bump, events vary in location and sector, but are a great way to meet other businesses and prospects. Face to face interactions tend to be better for building lasting connections, but may not be relevant or necessary for some industries. 

In summary, establishing an online presence is essential for businesses looking to reach new customers and build awareness. Social media platforms offer businesses a way to connect with their audience and increase this awareness. Online visibility and growth can help you build a strong and engaged audience, while branding your business is important for reaching your target audience.

Payment methods and financials

Setting up payment processing is an essential step for any business looking to accept payments from customers. As technology has developed, new methods of payment have been established. Now customers have the option to use traditional payment methods such as cash, checks, and credit or debit cards, or they can adopt a digital payment provider that provides specialised services to help send and receive funds more easily and quickly.

There isn't a 'one size fits all' option here, since the best solution varies depending on the industry.It's important to have a system in place for handling these types of payments, such as a cash register or a process for depositing checks. Alternatively, you can use apps like Paypal, Venmo, or Stripe to transfer money digitally, or even swipe card payments through your phone using solutions offered by Square.

It's important to have someone review your fraud prevention measures regularly, to monitor transactions and minimize fraud and payment risk.

After establishing a method to send and receive money, it's important to trach your revenue, expenses, and cash flow to avoid cash flow problems. Tools such as QuickBooks can help you manage your finances by automating accounting tasks, tracking expenses, and generating financial reports. As your business grows, it's important to review your processes to accommodate the increased complexity of your finances. This may include hiring a bookkeeper or accountant, implementing more advanced financial management tools, or investing in financial planning and analysis (FP&A).

Managing your finances is essential for any business looking to grow and succeed. With the right financial management tools and processes in place, you can make informed financial decisions and grow your business with confidence.

Sales and customer success

Growing your business can be an exciting and challenging time. Having a plan in place is essential for staying focused and achieving your business goals.

Despite most sales advice, there really isn't a single trick to 'closing' sales. Rather, understand the following about your customer:

1. Who is your customer?
2. What need / challenge are they trying to resolve?
3. When do they need it resolved by?
4. What is the impact on their business if it is not resolved by this date?
5. Who is involved in the buying decision?

From this basic qualification, you can see if they are a suitable customer and if you can address their problems, or if they are looking for a product or service that you do not offer. Turning away a business that you cannot help, will save time for all parties involved, and may build future credibility for you and your brand.

Once you onboard new customers, its important to work with them to track their goals and help them reach these goals. As they grow in size, so to will their requirements for your products and services. The following process varies depending on industry, but a general process involves:

1. What were their goals and the dates they needed to achieve them by? If not, what was the impact?
2. What challenges have they faced with your business? Have they been resolved?
3. What have they purchased from your previously? Has this changed?
4. What are their goals and targest moving forward?
5. Has the team changed, or are you still working with all key stake holders?
6. Schedule regular engagement when challenges are encountered, and reduce as these challenges are resolved.

These points are very generalised, but it's important to have a process detailed for both parties. To help improve customer retention, or reduce points of friction in the sales process, many businesses choose to engage third-part consultants. Fort businesses looking to always optimize and improve, it's important to regulary check processes in your business and add another layer of accountability for you and your customers. 

Upbox specialises in providing guidance and expertise to growing businesses. Our focus is on optmising processes to increase efficiency and advising in revenue generation and retention. Contact our sales team if you would like to discuss this further here.