So you want to start a business. Great — that decision alone puts you on the road to entrepreneurial glory. But what comes next is an avalanche of decisions… From product, sales, and marketing to hiring the right people, setting up finance, and partnering for success. The good news is that these days there are new tools that make creating and running a business more manageable than ever; new technologies can remove some of the guesswork and help you with almost every aspect of getting off the ground.
Here are six basic checkboxes that will put you on the fast-track to startup success and business growth.
Develop a unique pitch and plan.
It takes money to start a business, so you need to be able to convince investors that your idea has value (even if those investors include your mom). Start by nailing your 60-second pitch. In today’s short-attention-span world, you have to articulate your vision in plain English, in one minute or less. You also need to define your product, target audience and customer acquisition plan, and you need to have more than a basic understanding of the costs involved. You can’t recruit employees or sway investors — not to mention add customers — if you can’t quickly make them appreciate your dream and understand how it could become a reality. There are tons of online resources that can help you polish your pitch and develop your plan, so start researching now.
Understand the legal issues around starting a business.
Even if you have a genius idea, you still have to work through some legalese to get started. First thing’s first: think of a unique name (and watch out for trademark issues that can be thornier than you might think). Next, establish the structure as a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation, and secure the appropriate business license. You’ll also need to look into things like business insurance — you may not be required by law to have it, but in most cases it’s a good idea to have at least enough to cover your assets. Not every legal concern needs a lawyer, but you need to do your research to be sure. The US Small Business Administration is a good place to start, or check out services like Legalzoom. If you do need a lawyer, the American Bar Association can help you find someone nearby.
Set up health insurance and human resources.
If you want to attract and retain good people, you have to take care of them. Start by educating yourself about what you have to do. The Small Business Administration can tell you what’s required (like Social Security and workers' compensation) and what’s optional (health care insurance coverage and retirement benefits), and how this varies from state to state. But to be competitive and keep employees happy, you may want to offer more than the minimum. Many small businesses are overwhelmed by the paperwork involved in setting up health insurance and human resources, but services like Zenefits offer an easy way to manage hiring, onboarding, benefits, payroll and more in the cloud, so you can can access your information from anywhere, on any device.
Set up your finance systems for growth.
Financially speaking, the first thing you need to do is set up a business checking account. Things to look for: competitive interest rates, a comprehensive online interface, mobile banking and options for bill pay and payroll. But managing your business financials requires more than just an account. If you’re not a numbers person, you may want to hire an accountant before you go too far down the road of setting up your systems. In many cases, an accountant can help you set up a tool to track costs and revenues so that you can do it yourself on an ongoing basis. Then, while you can track cash flow in Excel, companies like Freshbooks offer great tools that make it easy for small businesses to manage their money in the cloud, so you can even pay bills from your iPad or mobile phone. As your business grows, you may want to consider hiring a part-time or full time bookkeeper and/or a CFO.
Market yourself on the web.
These days a business isn’t “real” unless it has a website. But who has time to try to set something up when you’re trying to get a business off of the ground? Start with the basics: create a logo and brand look-and-feel. Use a service like 99designs to find talented designers who can quickly and cost-effectively get your job done online. Luckily tools like Squarespace are available so even the most technically-challenged can create a nice-looking online presence, complete with eCommerce, analytics and more. It’s also important to make sure you’re listed in local business directories like Yelp. Create your own page so you can control the message; or if your business is already listed, make sure you claim it so you can manage communications with customers and prospects.
Manage your customer relationships in the cloud.
A recent survey found that while small businesses recognize the importance of building close, personal customer relationships, 31 percent listed word-processing or spreadsheets as their only way of managing them — and another 25 percent reported having no CRM system at all. Many of these companies worry that CRM systems are too complex to set up and difficult to maintain; however, that’s no longer the case. With cloud-based solutions, it’s easier than ever to get a CRM solution up and running. My company, Salesforce, offers solutions that let you bring all of your customer data together in one place, making it easy to find, win and keep customers — and grow your business faster than ever.
Want to learn more? If you’re in the New York area, join our free, one-day Small Business Basecamp event on December 14. Hear from Salesforce experts along with partners Amazon Business, SquareSpace, WeWork, Yelp, Zenefits, RingCentral, and more. It’s a one-stop-shop to teach you how to launch and grow your business faster than ever. Sign up now.