If you are thinking about starting your own online company then heed this warning. You are in for a tough road. It will be even harder if you do not make an impact straight away. How do you do this? We are glad you asked. All it takes is some determination and initiative. But here are some tips that will help you on the road to success.
How Do I Get Funded?
Funding used to be difficult but these days startup companies are encouraged. You will be able to get a loan from a private company or from your government. The government knows that successful startups will boost the economy, and they are eager for this to happen.
Too much of a risk? Then you could consider crowdsourcing. Put forward a marketing strategy online and wait to see if enough people bite. If they do, you will have the resources to fund your company. Crowdsourcing is competitive so our advice is this. Pay for what you can afford and make the asking price on the rest. This will make it cheaper and people your goal fund will be more easy to obtain. You will need to offer and provide incentives to any potential investors so be aware of that.
How Do I Keep It Cheap?
If you are looking to keep costs cheap we suggest buying used equipment. Do not try and buy the latest laptops and software. You will not be able to afford it. But do look at ways of using software for free. For example, rather than paying for microsoft office use google docs to write word files.
You will want to use all the internet has to offer. This includes cheap marketing, social networking and the ability to set up your own site. For a startup company, a strong online presence is crucial. You will need to gain a base of customers but if you started from crowdsourcing you may already have this.
How Do I Make An Impression?
We suggest you look into a digital agency that you can hire to help you with marketing. You will be competing with a number of companies that already have a big piece of the market. To get yourself seen you will need help. This is where a company like this comes in handy. Their role is to make sure your website is using SEO. If it is not they will quickly adjust it so that your site is more likely to be seen on the first search window a potential customer opens. They will also make your site more user friendly and improve your online profile. You will become a respected company in the industry and gather more investors.
Remember, the companies you are competing against will have advantages. We suggest you organise some of your own. Research an IT support team. They will help you get set up on a big server that you can use to share data and interact with customers on.
If you use these tips your company will certainly have an excellent chance of winning consumers hearts and minds.
