5 Business Strategies that Work Best for Start-ups

Going to trainings, hiring mentors and coaches, reading books and listening to podcasts are all great ways to learn about running a start-up but be careful about who you’re learning from. What works for the bigger, more established businesses sounds exciting because of the dollar signs but for the average start-up there are some basics that must be mastered first. Here are some simple basics to keep in mind.

1. Sales – With my start-up clients, one of the first things I tell them is to throw their sales books in the trash (sorry, sales experts). Using some of the high-pressure tactics that the larger businesses use usually backfires for start-ups. Most new entrepreneurs are just getting their feet wet when it comes to sales. If you’re one of them, building your sales skills and confidence is most important. This means, simplifying your process so it feels easy and casual. Remove the salesy stuff, take plenty of time and listen well. Find out what your clients really need and do your best to customize your services or products to fit what they need while staying in the zone of what you enjoy and can do well.

2. Marketing – Networking is by far the best way to get started in marketing. Making those critical connections, growing your skills in presenting what you do, seeing how well your products or services are received; all this can happen in this space called networking. Because most people in networking groups are entrepreneurs, they get what it’s like to be new and are willing to help you along. 

3. Packages – Many people sell things ala carte which is fine but the more you can move to packaging your products or services the better. Packages allow you to sell more things at once and allows you to provide more of what your clients are looking for. If you haven’t bunched your products or services into packages, doing so can help to increase your revenue.

4. Pricing – Some people set their prices too high and feel disappointed because they are not making sales. Others put their prices too low and are losing money or are barely scraping by. Both situations yield the same results – low revenue and big frustration. When it comes to business, making sales is most important so if you are going to lean one way or the other, starting out low and raising as you go is a good way to grow your business and build your confidence.

5. Accounting – Budgeting, tracking sales and expenses, entity types, categorizing things, and knowing what to write-off are just some of the things you’ll need to learn. The sooner you learn them the better. This is an area where it is vital to learn how to do this yourself (so you can make sure it’s done right because its your money and your liability) but it’s also a good idea to have professionals teach you. There are some tax experts and bookkeepers that are great with start-ups and will show you how to do this for yourself. Utilizing them and other sources to stay on top of your learning and growth can save you a lot of regret later down the road.

Feel overwhelmed with starting up? As a business start-up coach, I walk people through the start-up process, so you can keep relax and know you’re well on your way to launching your business and making money. To find out more, please set up some time to chat by scheduling a free consult.