How to start a small buisness?
First of all, you need to decide on what you will be selling or what service you will be providing in your business. You need to spend money to make money, so once you have come up with a product/service, think of a name and logo for your business cards and website. You can get logos designed by graphic designers, but that will cost a lot and it's best to keep costs low for small start-up businesses. It's better to design a simple logo yourself, or have a friend do it for you. Once you have your name and logo, get some business cards printed. You can actually get them done for free- if you browse some printing websites, an ad will pop up- just locate your area and bam! You have your very first business cards. Business cards are what make people remember your business. If you do not have business cards, you will get customers coming in once, or twice, then forgetting about you. If you have cards for them to take, they will look inside their wallet in a few weeks time and see the card, think 'Hmm my sister's birthday is coming up' or 'Ooh it's nearly time to start Christmas shopping' and immediately consider your shop.
Remember though, you haven't got any customers yet! The best place to start if you are selling products, is at a market stall. I can tell you from experience, don't go crazy when buying stock. You are only at a market- you can buy more stock if you are successful but you can't magically sell extra stock if nobody wants to buy. Markets are a great place to test-run your business. You may think you have a great idea and fabulous merchandise, but the public may not agree. It's best to be left with 50 unsuccessful bottles of body wash and -$300, than be left with 500 bottles, and -$3000. You also need to consider your target market. You will not make any sales if you are trying to sell watering cans and garden hoses in an area that has been in drought for 2 years. The same goes for trying to sell garden features by an apartment complex. Your product may be a great product, but are the people that live here going to want one? If your answer is yes, then great, continue. If your answer is no, then you might have to re-think your business, or move to an area that will provide more clientele.
Now that you have a successful product, good business cards, a company logo, and cash coming in, you could take the next step and get your self online. Start a small website about your business, including pictures of your product, prices, your business contact email, and your location. If you just wanted to advertise yourself, you won't need much, but I highly recommend you start giving your buyers a chance to shop online from your website. You may need a website designer to help you get it all running smoothly but it will be helpful in the long run. To save money, you could find an IT academy close to you and have a student design the website. They will be eager to get their first paid job, and will try very hard to give you the best website that they can make- at a fraction of the normal price!
Remember, while you are sorting out your website, you still need to be selling your product at the markets at every chance you get. If you are still selling stock fast, you could consider renting a small shop to sell from. This is a big step, and it's very risky. So you need to make sure everything is running smoothly before you make the move. Try and find a shop close to the markets because remember, it was the people from around there that wanted the product. If you don't want a shop of your own, you could try approaching other shops that have the same sort of merchandise as you are selling, asking them to stock your product. This is one of the hardest bits, getting started, but once you are in with a fast selling product, you will only go up from there. If you chose to have your own shop, you may want to have your business cards printed again, this time with your website address on them. Try working by yourself, if it gets too much to handle, you could consider employing somebody!
Now you are on the road to starting your own small business. It takes a lot of hard work, but it's worth it in the long run. Good luck.
