So you’ve done your research and planning, and you’ve now decided to proceed and start your business (or, you may have just signed off on purchasing an existing business). In the early days of your business, there are several steps you’ll need to get across in order to successfully set the tone for the years of business to come.

In your first months after you start your business, these are some of the processes you’ll be undertaking:

Utilise Your Business Plan

In the first part of this series on starting your business, we covered the essential steps to prepare and plan for what your new business would require. A major part of this was creating your business plan – even if it was just a simple outline at first – click here to read Part 1 of this blog series. Now that you’re committed to your new business, you’ll want to review your short and long-term goals set out in the business plan, and get started on those activities that you can easily implement in the first weeks of business.

Develop and Refine Your Product or Service

Moving forward with a new business doesn’t always mean it’s time to just switch on the lights and welcome customers – depending on your product or service offering, you may be spending the first months of your new business creating and developing your specific product. If this is the case for you, alongside product development, now is the perfect time to begin your marketing campaign and activities.

Start Your Business Marketing

Even if you don’t have something to sell, with the power of social media, it’s possible to create and build an audience of potential clients who are keen to learn more as you work in the background to bring your product or service to launch. Utilise your secured domains and social handles, and start to create a buzz around your business – tease any product photos and behind-the-scenes videos, and aim to build your database of customers who you will reach out to immediately once your product or service is available for sale. This is also a valuable period of time to make necessary adjustments to your offering if you are receiving different customer feedback to your initial outreach.

Find Your Team

If you’ve allocated a budget and role for additional team members to support your business in the early weeks and months, take the time to recruit the right people for the open positions. Often, your early team members will need to be agile and work across multiple roles as the business grows, and they will hopefully become core members to support and grow the business alongside you. Importantly, if you can afford to pay others for their work, don’t be tempted to take it all on yourself, as this can lead to burnout and lower quality of output.

Re-Evaluate Your Pricing & Financials

If you are ready to go to market with your product or service immediately, remember that it’s not uncommon to pivot with your financials. The assumptions and research you’ve put into your business plan may not reflect the reality of your market and industry once you start your business, so you may need to increase or lower your pricing, especially if you have had to make changes to product quality or considerations like packaging or delivery pricing. It’s best to get these things ironed out in the early days of your business instead of requiring a big change later down the line!

Network

If you’ve got a small team or are running a startup on your own, it’s essential to find like-minded people who can provide candid feedback and suggestions for your business (alongside a specific business mentor if you have one). Co-working spaces provide a great opportunity to network and connect with fellow business owners, and give you a home base rather than always working from home (especially if you’re an online business).

Stay Realistic

The early months after you start your business can be filled with growing pains and adjustments, so it’s easy to become disillusioned if things don’t go to plan. Keep a realistic outlook about your profits and growth, and return to your business plan to see if you’re on track – and remember, it’s all about the financials in the end, so make sure you’re still on the trajectory to meet your 6, 12 and 18-month goals, and if you feel you’re straying from that path, revisit the critical financial areas to see where you can make changes if required.

The next part in this series will look at the process of buying a business, and what to keep in mind as a new owner to make the most of your first months of ownership.