Marianna Hewitt celebrating International Women’s Day with Oak and Fort, a modern lifestyle brand which is not only woman-founded but also led by women. Since the launch of her flagship product, the Jet Lag Mask, she has been a great force in the wellness and self-care movement, inspiring others with her success.

Operating a new business can be an exciting, but daunting adventure, with several factors to consider before leaping. Statistics show that more than 50% of all small businesses collapse before their fifth anniversary.

Before opening your doors for business, there are various critical stages, from drafting a business strategy and collecting money to building a brand and establishing operations. A detailed checklist ensures you cover all the crucial bases and set yourself up for success.

01

Knowledge or ability

Obtain the required skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in your chosen industry once you decide on the type of business you want to establish. Although it will take time and work, you will have all the information you need to launch your business idea from scratch.

Since it is critical to have a business plan, gathering all of the pertinent reseach will make it that much easier to compile all of the data you need. By creating a business plan, you will determine if your service is in demand and if it is worthwhile to pursue the idea in the first place.

If you have the appropriate expertise, create a business plan independently. Alternatively, you can always seek the assistance of an experienced business consultant.

02

Staffing

Your staff can either grow or destroy your business. Without competent human resources, no company can thrive. Therefore, you must enlist a team of knowledgeable staff who plan to attract the right talent for you company.

Additionally, consider collaborating with a recruiting agency to fill your openings with competent people. Furthermore, several websites make it easier to find the right type of candidates you are looking for.

Enlisting help from a staffing agency might ease your work and save you money. So, it is worth the extra step. You must also factor in training in addition to hiring the right people, so keep this in mind, too.

03

Start-up costs

Estimating your start-up costs is one of the most important variables when starting a new business. It would help if you calculated the whole cost of starting and running your business. For instance, the start-up costs for a manufacturing unit you want to create might be high.

Consider the cost of the land or building, the industrial setup, the acquisition of machinery and equipment, the investment in furniture and office supplies, and a variety of other assets that will require funding. Similarly, a retail business will have start-up costs for construction, interior remodeling, and showroom design.

Once your business is formed, you must consider the operating capital needed to keep it running. You must examine the inventory you maintain on hand, the credit you can provide your customers, and the credit you may receive from suppliers.

However, you should not constantly rely on credit from suppliers, especially if you are a newcomer to the sector. Avoid company debt in excess when you start funding your business as this may hinder your growth in the future.

04

Legal licenses, permits, and insurance

Addressing the legalities of running a business is not the most enjoyable aspect of beginning a retail business, but it is necessary. You must decide on your business structure, ranging from single proprietorship to corporation.

It is typical for merchants to form limited liability corporations to reduce personal risk, but make sure you receive legal counsel before deciding on the best business structure for your specific circumstances.

Before opening a retail business, you should also extensively investigate what licenses and permissions are necessary for your area. Verify federal, state, and municipal government requirements because regulations vary. Some applications take a long process, so start as soon as possible.

05

Competitors

Look into the companies that provide comparable goods or services. You may learn about their target markets and the places they serve.

If they serve a comparable demographic, consider opening stores further away from them or focusing on a different market. You might also join a local chamber of commerce or entrepreneurial group to meet individuals working on similar projects.

06

record-Keeping

Before establishing your company, devise a method for tracking your sales, income, expenditures, and operational costs. With the help of an organization, you may track your expenditures and file your taxes. Consider hiring an accountant or studying software options that can automate some tasks to help you with this.

07

Payment processing systems

Installing payment processing hardware is essential. Buy payment processing equipment such as credit card readers, POS systems, or mobile card readers. Be certain that the equipment is compatible with your payment processor.

There are numerous types of credit card machines, each with its advantages. Countertop, mobile, virtual, and integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems are some of the most frequent credit card terminals. Mobile terminals are ideal for companies that sell on the move, such as during trade exhibits or events.

Takeaways

Starting a new business can be challenging but achievable by implementing the right strategies from the beginning of its inception. Consider adopting this checklist to achieve the best results for your particular venture.

With so many resources available online, you are sure to gather the best tools and resources available. Take advantage of the many advances in technology that will allow you to automate common tasks and processes. This will allow you to free up your time to focus on your business strategy, growth, and expansion.

Likewise, Hello Lovely Living is here to support you with your business endeavors, so feel free to reach out to us for a free consultation on the many graphic, web, and digital marketing services available.

A consistent brand message across your digital marketing channels builds trust with your brand. Need branding, graphic design, or digital marketing help? Get in touch

If you are new to digital marketing, you might feel overwhelmed by the many tools, strategies, and platforms you must master. However, you will learn that digital marketing is not as complicated as it seems. In fact, with a few essential tips and best practices, you can start creating compelling campaigns that reach your target audience and grow your business online.

Here are some digital marketing tips for beginners that will help you get started:

01

Define your goals and audience

Before you launch any digital marketing campaign, you need a clear idea of what you want to achieve and who you want to reach. Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, drive sales, or build brand awareness? Who are your ideal customers, and what are their needs, preferences, and pain points? A clear goal and target audience will help you choose your campaign's channels, messages, and tactics.

02

Choose the right platform

Many digital marketing platforms, such as social media, email, search engines, websites, blogs, podcasts, videos, and more, are available. However, you do not need to use them all. Instead, focus on the most relevant platforms to your goals and audience. For example, to reach young people interested in fashion, you might want to use Instagram and TikTok. For professionals looking for solutions to their business problems, you might use LinkedIn and Google Ads.

A consistent brand message across your digital marketing channels builds trust with your brand. Need branding, graphic design, or digital marketing help? Get in touch

03

Create valuable content

Content, including video content, is the core of any digital marketing campaign. It is what attracts, engages, and converts your audience. But not all content is created equal. Create valuable content for your audience, meaning that it provides helpful information, solves their problems, entertains them, or inspires them, with a focus on quality video content to enhance viewer engagement.

If you are a beginner, you can use an easy to use video editor for effective video editing for your video content. The content you create must also be relevant to your brand, reflecting your values, personality, and unique selling proposition. Finally, create consistent content across all platforms and channels, following the same tone of voice, style, and format, ensuring that video content is seamlessly integrated and aligned with your overall content strategy.

04

Optimize your content for SEO

SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is the process of improving your content's visibility and ranking on search engines like Google or Bing. SEO is vital because it helps you reach more potential customers searching for topics related to your business or industry. To optimize your content for SEO, you must do keyword research and find out what words and phrases your audience uses to search for your products or services. Include the relevant keywords in your content's title, headings, body text, images, and meta tags. You must also ensure your content is easy to read, fast to load, and mobile-friendly.

Now is also a wise time to look into implementing a Google reputation management strategy. This will go hand in hand with SEO and help boost your visibility and increase traffic to your site. It’s also an opportunity to use SEO and reputation management techniques to grow your business.

Dreamstime Stock Photos

05

Measure and improve your results

The last tip for digital marketing beginners is to track and analyze your campaign's performance and results. This will help you understand what works and what does not work in your digital marketing strategy and how you can improve it over time. A few metrics you can measure include impressions, clicks, conversions, bounce rate, engagement rate, and return on investment (ROI). Use tools like Google Analytics or Facebook Insights to collect and visualize your data. A/B testing or surveys can also be used to experiment with different variations of your content and see which one performs better.

Takeaways

Digital marketing is one of the fastest-growing segments in the online space. Content is king, and digital marketing is the vehicle in which content reaches the right audience. By utilizing the right digital marketing tools, software, and apps on the market, you could benefit from the vast amount of resources to help your business thrive.