Starting a business involves many steps. The first 90-days are critical. They set the foundation for your business to succeed and thrive in the future.
Here’s what you need to do to get your business launched and profitable in the first 90-days.
Make Your First Sale
Until you make your first sale, you’re not actually in business. This needs to be your first priority in your business. One of the best ways to do this is to reach out to warm contacts and people in your network. Let them know that you’re ready for referrals and that your doors are open.
Get Great At Selling
The art of selling is essential to being successful in business. However, it’s not something that most entrepreneurs know how to do initially. In fact, it’s often downplayed when a business starts up. Understanding the sales process and how to overcome sales objections are important to understand so that your business is assured success. Dedicate a few hours per week to learn to apply new selling skills to your business. Don’t believe the hype that says you only need to know how to market, not how to do sales. Marketing creates interest whereas sales skills seal the deal.
Make Profit
Although your business is interested in making sales, you have to actually earn a profit for your business to be successful. To do this it’s important to do a breakeven analysis first to see how much money you’ll need to make to start making a profit. For certain businesses, profit will begin immediately after the doors open. However, other businesses may be slower to make a profit due to initial investment and start-up costs.
Determine Pricing
It can be easy to make assumptions as to how you should price your products or services when you start your business. However, during the first 90-days, your assumption may be challenged and you may need to shift your perspective.
Be sure to examine your pricing strategy. Take time to understand your competition and potential pricing strategies you can use to your advantage. Don’t make the mistake of being the lowest or highest cost provider. Your competitors have been in business longer and can often afford to provide lower prices for longer. Also, when you’re starting out you don’t have the reputation or experience to support being the highest priced option in the market.
Set Goals
It can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks involved in running your business. But having a 90-day plan can help you be more successful. When you set key goals and objectives in your business to achieve each quarter, you’re far more likely to achieve them.
Reward Yourself
One of the mistakes new business owners make is that they fail to celebrate the small milestones in their business. It’s important to recognize the effort and energy you’ve been expending in your business. Take time off to recharge your energy and revitalize your motivation. This will set you up to achieve your goals in the next 90-days.
If you’re ready to start your business, download the free ebook The Ultimate Guide To Starting an Australian Business.