When starting a local business, you need to understand what you are investing in, what the goal is of that investment, and ultimately, how your investment will earn you cash flow. Each cash flow burst can be reinvested into the company to earn more cash flow.
I bought the concept of my first business in 1991, before you could grow online, and today, it’s a successful business. For me, the best way to fund a small business start-up was to self-fund. This can be from your savings, your money from a side hustle, or utilize credit to leverage yourself into business. I aimed to create constant cash flow and reinvest it into the company while staying true to my bigger vision.
Back in the 90s, I started with a pager, a list of phone numbers, and photos of party entertainers in a portfolio. Along the way, I bought the competitors who were aligned with my vision and were ready to sell.
Knowing that there are risks involved, I was very mindful about how I invested my money in the business. So, depending on your budget and what kind of local business you want to start, you might want to consider taking risks later on your entrepreneurial journey, and first focus on growing and grounding yourself in your community.
Start Gaining Brand Visibility
You need to get out there and let other entrepreneurs know you. This is essential in growing any local small business. Back in the 90s, before the internet era, I needed to build my company from scratch, so I focused on hand-to-hand marketing, word of mouth, partnerships, and strategic alliances with local venues, vendors, and other businesses.
Things are way more manageable now with technological advances. Today, we invest heavily in search engine optimization, social media, email marketing, and podcasts. You build a website, have your business’s social media channels, and hire professionals to manage your online marketing. My tip is to focus on relevancy, for which you need to know your customers well and prioritize quality.
Online Marketing Campaigns
Most of your marketing campaigns will probably be online. Create content marketing focusing on qualitative and informative blog posts, well-structured videos, and relevant content to entertain and let your customers know what sets you apart from your competitors.
Targeted emails build relationships, increase brand awareness, promote your services, generate leads, and help expand your business reach.
Tips for starting any online marketing campaigns:
- Set your goals and your budget.
- Identify your target audience. Think who would need your services – age, interests, location, etc.
- Select the online channel or channels.
- Create a plan for the campaign and see what tasks it will include.
- See what works and what needs to be adapted. Stay flexible.
Grow Your Social Media Presence
Leveraging social media platforms to help grow small businesses is another important aspect. Select the right platforms, post engaging content, respond to customers’ feedback, leverage advertising, and use analytics to monitor impact and effectiveness.
All these methods help increase your brand visibility, improve customer engagement, and drive website traffic. You can try to do all these things yourself, but the key to success is relying on others, whether you’re not alone in this journey or can afford to hire a professional team to manage your online presence.
In case you start alone or with a small team, here are some tips you might find helpful:
- Set attainable goals, which you’ll update in the rhythm of your business’s growth. Growing your social media presence without specific goals can make you have unrealistic expectations. It can even be discouraging, so start small and see how things work.
- Build a plan for when to post and what. This way, you make sure to stay consistent and active on social media.
- Interact with your online audience, answer questions, and be friendly and attentive. This will help you build engagement and loyalty.
- Use relevant hashtags. Algorithms can always change, but you need to do your best to make your posts more easily discovered.
- Cross-promote. If you have a few partnerships with other local businesses, discuss cross-promoting on social media. Don’t be afraid to ask them for help in growing your online presence. They can probably remember how difficult it can be to start a new business.
Working With Pros
Collaborating with a team of pros can help your business become and stay profitable. A bookkeeper, a mentor, a business coach, and a dedicated team will help improve profits and maintain healthy business finances.
As a small business owner, you must learn to manage and keep up-to-date cash inflows and outflows. It is the only way to monitor your growth and know if you have enough funds for your daily operations.
My business, Bad Girl Productions, is in the bachelor party planning industry, a very competitive and fast-changing industry. Therefore, we must always stay updated with new trends and adapt quickly.
By being open to different strategies and adapting to new contexts, you can ensure that your local business always meets your customers’ needs and preferences.
Essential Skills for Small Business Owners
There’s always something new to learn when running a small local business. One of the most essential skills that works for me is using my intuition. I know how this might sound, but when a business deal seemed shady, I trusted that. However, before I switched things up, I discussed my gut feeling with my team. Gaining deeper insights into an uncertain issue always leads me down the right path.
I’ve also learned that to stay in the game for a lifetime, you must lead with passion, creativity, resilience, and integrity.
Staying true to your vision is another key factor in every small business owner’s journey. As an entrepreneur, especially in a competitive industry, you must always follow your instincts, embrace constant change, and seize opportunities. Knowing your assets and limitations is essential in making your business successful.
Start your business in an industry that you know will bring you satisfaction. Building a business is challenging, but this way will also be highly rewarding.
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