<p class="p1">Have you always wanted to start your own business? Has all this time in quarantine gotten your juices flowing and now you have an idea you want to put out into the world? Here are some things to know before starting your very own business.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 3.0.1 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135805 " id="quads-ad135805" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<h2>1. You need capital<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></h2>
<p class="p4">Every business needs capital to get going. There is no way around it. Whether it ends up being from an investor who believes in what you are selling, or through a small business loan, you need <a href="https://www.explosion.com/137439/5-proven-ways-how-to-get-funding-for-a-small-business/"><span class="s1">funding</span></a> to open up a business. Be aware that when you borrow money you will get reviewed on your tradeline. <a href="https://hires.shareable.com/help/what-is-tradeline-on-credit-report"><span class="s1">What is a tradeline</span></a>? According to ShareAble for Hires, a tradeline is “consumer accounts, including credit accounts or lines of credit.” If your credit isn’t great, then consider getting a co-signer to help apply or just borrowing cash from friends or family.</p>
<h2>2. Marketing is essential</h2>
<p class="p4">The only way to have a successful business is to have customers, and you get customers with <a href="https://www.explosion.com/138186/five-new-marketing-strategies-to-jumpstart-your-ecommerce-business/"><span class="s1">good marketing</span></a>. That doesn’t only mean garish TV ads or pop-ups on websites. Good marketing can be done with word of mouth, posting interesting content on social media platforms, or a great website. If you are a local store, maybe all you need is a good sign or some <a href="https://www.explosion.com/73240/awesome-food-hacks-that-will-simplify-your-life/"><span class="s1">delicious-smelling food</span></a> wafting out of your kitchen. When making your budget, the U.S. Small Business Administration recommends that small businesses should allocate <a href="https://www.sba.gov/taxonomy/term/15051?page=37"><span class="s1">7 to 8 percent of their revenues to marketing</span></a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<h2>3. Reputation matters</h2>
<p class="p4">Marketing is the way to attract customers, but the way to keep customers is with a sterling reputation. People don’t buy or consume products anymore without looking at reviews or hearing positive word of mouth. There are just too many options on the market to waste time or money on a company that has a poor reputation. That is why managing your online reputation is one of the most important things you can do as a small business owner. When engaging with online reviews here are several tips:</p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 3.0.1 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135804 " id="quads-ad135804" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">Always Respond &#8211; It doesn’t matter if it is a 5-star review or a 1-star review, always respond so that your customers know that you are paying attention to them.</li>
</ul>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">Respond quickly &#8211; Don’t wait too long to respond to reviews. Not only will it boost customer engagement, but you may find problems that should be dealt with right away. Only responding once a month ads another barrier between you and your customers.</li>
<li class="li1">Respond Politely &#8211; A polite response is necessary for any review, no matter how bad. Other people interested in your business will see your responses and will take note in how professional you are. Bad reviews happen to every company, but good customer service is always important.</li>
</ul>
<h2><span class="Apple-converted-space">4. </span>It&#8217;s hard work</h2>
<p class="p4">Owning a business is hard work. The buck stops with you. There is nobody who can take the blame if something goes wrong. There is no one higher up, and if you fail, that’s it, you are done. To succeed, you will be putting in more hours than anyone else. You won’t get time off, you won’t get tons of <a href="https://www.ncl.com/"><span class="s1">vacation time</span></a>. Your blood, sweat, and tears will go into this until it gets off the ground, and even then won’t be able to let up. It can be rewarding to be your own boss, but that means that you have all the responsibility as well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<h2>5. Be prepared to fail</h2>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-138931" src="https://www.explosion.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Screenshot-2021-03-10-at-07.36.26.jpg" alt="" width="1054" height="766" /></p>
<p class="p4">More businesses fail than succeed. According to the US Bureau of Labor, 20% fail in the first year, 50% fail by year 5, and 66% by the 10th year. A failure of your business doesn’t reflect on you as a person. Just because the business failed, doesn’t mean that you are a failure, it just means that you haven’t succeeded yet.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p class="p4">Why do companies fail? Several of the most common reasons include:</p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 3.0.1 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135804 " id="quads-ad135804" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<ul>
<li class="p8">There wasn’t a market for the product or service offered</li>
<li class="p8">Cash flow issues</li>
<li class="p8">Employee issues</li>
<li class="p8">Outcompeted</li>
<li class="p8">Poor marketing</li>
<li class="p8">Legal challenges</li>
</ul>
<p class="p4">Take some of these factors into consideration when starting your own business and learn from their mistakes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p class="p1">Keep aware of these 5 things to know before you start your own business and you should be better prepared to succeed where others have failed.</p>

<div class="essb_links essb_counter_modern_right essb_displayed_bottom essb_share essb_template_default4-retina essb_344010877 print-no" id="essb_displayed_bottom_344010877" data-essb-postid="138929" data-essb-position="bottom" data-essb-button-style="button" data-essb-template="default4-retina" data-essb-counter-pos="right" data-essb-url="https://www.explosion.com/138929/5-things-you-should-know-before-you-start-small-business/" data-essb-fullurl="https://www.explosion.com/138929/5-things-you-should-know-before-you-start-small-business/" data-essb-instance="344010877"><ul class="essb_links_list"><li class="essb_item essb_link_facebook nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F138929%2F5-things-you-should-know-before-you-start-small-business%2F&t=5+Things+You+Should+Know+Before+You+Start+Small+Business" title="Share on Share" onclick="essb.window(&#39;https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F138929%2F5-things-you-should-know-before-you-start-small-business%2F&t=5+Things+You+Should+Know+Before+You+Start+Small+Business&#39;,&#39;facebook&#39;,&#39;344010877&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-facebook essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_facebook"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-facebook" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M16 8.049c0-4.446-3.582-8.05-8-8.05C3.58 0-.002 3.603-.002 8.05c0 4.017 2.926 7.347 6.75 7.951v-5.625h-2.03V8.05H6.75V6.275c0-2.017 1.195-3.131 3.022-3.131.876 0 1.791.157 1.791.157v1.98h-1.009c-.993 0-1.303.621-1.303 1.258v1.51h2.218l-.354 2.326H9.25V16c3.824-.604 6.75-3.934 6.75-7.951"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Share</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_twitter nolightbox essb_link_twitter_x essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="https://x.com/intent/post?text=5%20Things%20You%20Should%20Know%20Before%20You%20Start%20Small%20Business&;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F138929%2F5-things-you-should-know-before-you-start-small-business%2F" title="Share on Tweet" onclick="essb.window(&#39;https://x.com/intent/post?text=5%20Things%20You%20Should%20Know%20Before%20You%20Start%20Small%20Business&;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F138929%2F5-things-you-should-know-before-you-start-small-business%2F&#39;,&#39;twitter&#39;,&#39;344010877&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-twitter essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_twitter_x"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-twitter_x" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Tweet</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_pinterest nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="#" title="Share on Pin It" onclick="essb.pinterest_picker(&#39;344010877&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-pinterest essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_pinterest"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-pinterest" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" width="32" height="32" viewBox="0 0 32 32" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M10.625 12.25c0-1.375 0.313-2.5 1.063-3.438 0.688-0.938 1.563-1.438 2.563-1.438 0.813 0 1.438 0.25 1.875 0.813s0.688 1.25 0.688 2.063c0 0.5-0.125 1.125-0.313 1.813-0.188 0.75-0.375 1.625-0.688 2.563-0.313 1-0.563 1.75-0.688 2.313-0.25 1-0.063 1.875 0.563 2.625 0.625 0.688 1.438 1.063 2.438 1.063 1.75 0 3.188-1 4.313-2.938 1.125-2 1.688-4.375 1.688-7.188 0-2.125-0.688-3.875-2.063-5.25-1.375-1.313-3.313-2-5.813-2-2.813 0-5.063 0.875-6.75 2.688-1.75 1.75-2.625 3.875-2.625 6.375 0 1.5 0.438 2.75 1.25 3.75 0.313 0.313 0.375 0.688 0.313 1.063-0.125 0.313-0.25 0.813-0.375 1.5-0.063 0.25-0.188 0.438-0.375 0.5s-0.375 0.063-0.563 0c-1.313-0.563-2.25-1.438-2.938-2.75s-1-2.813-1-4.5c0-1.125 0.188-2.188 0.563-3.313s0.875-2.188 1.625-3.188c0.75-1.063 1.688-1.938 2.688-2.75 1.063-0.813 2.313-1.438 3.875-1.938 1.5-0.438 3.125-0.688 4.813-0.688 1.813 0 3.438 0.313 4.938 0.938 1.5 0.563 2.813 1.375 3.813 2.375 1.063 1.063 1.813 2.188 2.438 3.5 0.563 1.313 0.875 2.688 0.875 4.063 0 3.75-0.938 6.875-2.875 9.313-1.938 2.5-4.375 3.688-7.375 3.688-1 0-1.938-0.188-2.813-0.688-0.875-0.438-1.5-1-1.875-1.688-0.688 2.938-1.125 4.688-1.313 5.25-0.375 1.438-1.25 3.188-2.688 5.25h-1.313c-0.25-2.563-0.188-4.688 0.188-6.375l2.438-10.313c-0.375-0.813-0.563-1.813-0.563-3.063z"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Pin It</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_mail nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="#" title="Share on Email" onclick="essb_open_mailform(&#39;344010877&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-mail essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_mail"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-mail" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" width="32" height="32" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 60 60"><polygon points="60,50.234 60,9.944 39.482,30.536 " /><polygon points="0,9.941 0,50.234 20.519,30.535 " /><path d="M1.387,8.5l21.002,21.08c0.121,0.051,0.471,0.415,0.517,0.519l5.941,5.963c0.635,0.591,1.672,0.59,2.333-0.025l5.911-5.933c0.046-0.105,0.4-0.473,0.522-0.524L58.615,8.5H1.387z" /><path d="M38.07,31.954l-5.5,5.52c-0.73,0.68-1.657,1.019-2.58,1.019c-0.914,0-1.823-0.332-2.533-0.993l-5.526-5.546L1.569,51.5h56.862L38.07,31.954z" /></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Email</span></a></li></ul></div>
0 Comments