Launch your start-up – Essential Steps, Tips, and Ideas!

Do you have a great business idea? Are you dreaming of being your own boss? Then, there is no better time than now to launch your start-up.

But did you know that over 20% of start-ups fail within the first 12 months? 

Keep reading to discover the seven critical steps to launching a successful start-up that can stand the test of time – and beat even the fiercest competitors.

1. Make Sure This Is Really What You Want

Launching – and running – a start-up requires a lot of time, effort, and money. Especially in the first few months, you will likely work late nights and weekends and not necessarily see a huge return.

So, the first crucial thing to do when considering starting your own business is whether you are genuinely ready for all of it – and if this is indeed what you are passionate about. Try to stop and picture how challenging it will probably be in the beginning: do you think you will be able to deal with the stress, longer hours, and constant pressure?

If you feel like none of this will be a real issue, then it’s a vital sign that you should go ahead and do all you can to make your business idea a reality!

2. Do Your Research

Now, consider your business idea. To you, it might sound like the best idea ever, but what does the market look like when it comes to demand and competition?

Before launching your start-up, you need to run some thorough market research. This will help you figure out whether or not there actually is a market for what you are planning to sell, who is already selling it, and who wants to buy it.

In an ideal scenario, your start-up will cater to a fair niche audience while still being competitive enough to beat your rivals. What, though, if you realise there is no need for your product or service?

This doesn’t have to be the end of your start-up dream. If your business idea is solid and you are passionate about it, then you can work on creating a demand for your product or service.

Yes, this will be more complicated and time-consuming, but it might result in higher returns and authentic industry leadership.

3. Build a Detailed Business Plan

Creating a business plan is the third, vital step to launching your start-up. In your business plan, try to be as specific and detailed as possible, and include elements such as:

• Your company’s vision, mission, and values
• Your company’s structure
• Your available funds
• Your strategy to achieve your goals
• Your marketing plan
• Your sales and marketing channels
• Your KPIs and other important metrics to track progress

Not quite sure how to format your business plan? No worries – many online tools can assist you with that.

4. Prepare, Practice, and Perfect Your Elevator Pitch

Every start-up founder needs an elevator pitch. Don’t know what we are talking about, exactly? It’s simple. The elevator pitch is a speech that you prepare, practice, and perfect to convince people to invest in your start-up or buy your products or services.

The secret to a successful elevator pitch? It has to be short and sweet. You will need to find a way to describe your start-up and its products or services in just a few sentences.

Keep everything clear and to the point, and try to elicit a sense of empathy and urgency in your audience.

Once you have found just the right words to convey your message, write them down. Every day, practice them – even better if in front of a mirror, so you can also check and practice your facial expressions and body language.

To practice your elevator pitch, try to put together a pitch deck. This document consists of around 15 to 20 slides that visually explain what your start-up is all about.

Practising your elevator speech regularly and keeping your pitch deck always up-to-date are two of the most important aspects of launching a successful start-up.

5. Choose Your Start-up Structure

Now, it’s time to think about how to structure your start-up. For example, will you be a sole proprietor, a partner, or a corporation?

This is crucial in terms of working out taxes and liabilities and what concerns establishing hierarchies, roles, and responsibilities within the business.

During this process, it’s also essential to ensure that your chosen business name has not been taken already. Your company name, in fact, must be 100% free and unique to your company, or you might incur serious legal problems.

6. Consider Your Marketing Strategy

You might find it tricky to plan your marketing strategy when you have not even sold a single product yet. Nonetheless, it’s essential to do so as soon as you can. Why?

Well, having a well-thought-out marketing strategy will help you right from the very beginning to:

• Define your audience
• Establish your brand identity
• Fine-tune your voice
• Select the channels and platforms that you are going to use to promote your brand
• Plan, create and share the right content with the right people at the right time

7. Keep Doing Lots of Networking

Building solid business relationships is something you will want to be doing the entire time – not just when you are launching your start-up.

So, always make a conscious effort to do as much networking as possible. Attend relevant events and workshops, communicate regularly with your peers on social media and other channels, and always remember to practice and perfect your elevator pitch.

Do not be discouraged if someone you are talking to doesn’t know about your business or if they don’t look super-interested. If you keep the conversation going, these people might eventually become clients or offer you funding support.

The Takeaway

Launching and running your own start-up is no easy feat – but it is, indeed, something that you can do successfully if you follow the seven steps outlined in this guide.

Remember that starting a business from scratch requires a lot of time, energy, and dedication and that you will need a bulletproof business plan. Build a compelling elevator pitch, rehearse it as much as possible, and don’t delay creating a detailed marketing plan.

Looking for more business tips like these? Check out our blog today, or contact our team for customised help!