For most business owners, many can attest to the fact that some of the most stressful (and exciting) times are during a company’s first year when everything is uncertain but the possibilities are boundless. There are so many directions to go that many startup owners feel overwhelmed by the whole thing.
Without a doubt, navigating a business through its first year can be quite rough, and many companies end up falling short before realizing their potential. Things can get especially tricky when trying to navigate through a competitive business landscape. Here are a few things to consider to help increase your chances of future-proofing a startup.
It all depends on the coverage
The first thing to ask yourself is whether you are happy with your company’s insurance — or if you happen to have insurance at all. The next thing to ask is if you know anything about your insurance plan or your insurance provider.
If you are unsure about any of these questions, it would be wise to look into all of the best possible insurance options for your business. There are few things worse than a company falling short of expectations due to a legal loophole from subpar insurance. It would be best to go for reliable professional liability insurance from insurance companies that have your best interests at heart. Otherwise, you’ll always be wondering if your insurance is enough, or if people could potentially take advantage of specific loopholes. A quality insurance provider is crucial to the success of any business, which is why it always pays to research the very best ones to help you.
On matters of marketing
Startup businesses are much luckier than companies back in the day when all they had to rely on was print/traditional marketing. It’s a hit or miss affair, and one that is more trouble than it’s worth. Digital marketing these days is much easier, as it costs nothing to start a social media account and share information about your company. Spread the word as much as possible, and you’ll have a revenue stream during the company’s first year.
It would also be a good idea to get help from professionals, especially when it comes to matters such as search engine optimization (SEO). SEO professionals focus on ensuring that the Google algorithm notices your company site and takes steps to rank it higher in the search engine results page (SERP). The best part? It’s quite easy to get started as SEO services are reasonably priced — especially at the beginning. It’s the slow and steady path to success, and one that will help startups in particular find its place in its chosen industry.
Building your website the correct way
While a decent marketing campaign is all well and good, if the company website is confusing and takes too long to load, you will lose much more potential revenue than you might realize. It is a shame, as optimizing a website is quite easy due to the emphasis on simplicity and keeping things to the point. Something as simple as making sure that images are not such a high quality that they bring down loading times can mean a lot for a business website.
The next thing to consider when building an optimized website is to consider the content. For example, you would want to explain the purpose of the site and your company’s products, services, and even goals in the front page. However, if you tried that without any restrictions, it will only result in problems as it will be a wall of text greeting online users. To help ensure that they get as much information as possible without being frustrated by having to read blocks of text, think of ways to condense your content. Short and sweet is the way to go, which means thinking of ways to convey your company’s goals in as few words as you can.
For the most part, focus on how best to show online users what your business is all about in under twenty seconds. If you can convey your company’s message as soon as they enter the main page, you’ve won half the battle. After that, you can even make use of content marketing in the form of articles and blogs to help encourage online users to utilize your products.
Aside from the tips above, it would be a good idea to focus on your health alongside the health of your business. Keep in mind that if you do not take good care of yourself, it could reflect on the decisions you make for your business. Get enough sleep, eat healthier, and make sure to adhere to a proper working schedule! Such best-practice methods make it much easier to handle startup management at the end of the day, and increases your odds of experiencing success without stress.
