With the inflation and the pandemic, more and more people are getting side hustles aside from their primary jobs to earn. It seems that starting your own business can be the way to go to generate more profit. However, the shift the pandemic has brought made traditional companies scramble towards having an online presence. There are also several businesses whose operations are entirely online. If you are thinking of launching your online business at this time, here are the things you have to do:
1. Have an Inspiration and Passion
It is crucial to have inspiration when you are getting started since there are many odds, naysayers, and unbelievers at the starting point. This can get you discouraged, so you have to carefully select what you’ll read and whom you’ll listen to.
McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc did this, and to date, McDonald’s remains the largest fast-food restaurant in the world. Before his breakthrough, when he was still selling paper cups and milkshake machines and was aiming for McDonald’s expansion, he received a lot of mockery from people around him. Even his wife did not see his vision. But he held on to his goal. He listened to a record of “The Power of Positive” and kept himself inspired. If he did not do this, we wouldn’t be enjoying BigMac today.
Passion is just as important. We have many innovators like Mark Zuckerberg who have always encouraged people to have a passion since if you have that, things will eventually play out in your favor.
Inspiration gets you started; pushes you through the initial stages. Passion keeps you going; it is your staying power despite the odds.
2. Think of a Brilliant Idea to Start Without Funding
Most startups get their funding from willing investors. So you have to sell your vision and gain the trust of people who will be betting money on your venture. Though you are establishing a business online, you should get to personally present or at least have a video conference call with your potential investors to build good relationships. If investors are hard to come by, you must develop an idea of proceeding without funding. You can enroll in online classes and put in hours of research. Since you will launch an online business, you have to be equipped with the proper knowledge and tools to take the first step.
3. Create a Business Plan
You must be able to answer the following:
- What will you include in your executive summary?
- What product or service are you going to offer?
- Who will be your competitors, and how can you stay above them?
- What will be your marketing strategy?
- How will you handle financial planning?
- What software are you going to use?
There are other questions that you have to answer, but these are the crucial points. A business plan will serve as your map as you go about your startup. Disregard having one, and you will be lost. A great business plan will also encompass a contingency plan since every company has possible pitfalls.
4. Hire the Right People
Where are you going to get your team? Should you hire offshore talent like some real estate companies with virtual assistants and efficient real estate agents do?
Before more questions pop into your head, you have to understand why being selective and putting in the effort to find the right people will eventually pay off.
- It will save you time. Hiring a candidate with no experience or poor performance will take more time for you compared to an experienced and high-performing employee.
- It will contribute to your business growth. Today, Having suitable candidates in your team means business growth since they will be more invested in your company as their role matures.
- It will save you money. You can be losing 25% of the annual salary for the role you are filling in just for the turnover cost. Never make this mistake.
Establishing a business is more than just having more money to go into your pockets; it’s about seeing a problem or pain point that you can solve and delivering the solutions to people. With this in mind, you must have inspiration for being a superb entrepreneur and a passion for giving service to others. Before launching, it needs funding or at least a way to run without one. To keep going, a map or a business plan. Lastly, the right people to get your business running and move your business further.
