Top Decisions To Make Before You Launch Your Business

It’s a sad fact, but around half of all businesses close within around five years of opening. Sometimes, it’ll be due to a reason out of the owner’s control. However, some of the time it will be due to bad decision making. The best time to make key decisions is before you actually launch. If you get something fundamentally wrong here it can impact your business for years to come.

Each business will have different aspects to take into account, depending on their start up budget, long term plan, working condition etc. With that said, there are common themes involved in business start up decisions. Here are a few you should pay extra attention to, to ensure you don’t make a mistake and get it right the first time around.

Find The Right Business Premises

Whether you’re going to be working from home, or a business location, you need to make sure you get it right. Usually, businesses rent premises. Especially when they’re just starting out. But if you’re looking to buy a house to work from or have the money to put down on a commercial premises then a mortgage might be better for you at this time.

If you’re opening a premises from where you’ll conduct business with customers directly, instead of using it for an office, you have to put the research in. Check for competitors nearby. No point in opening a coffee shop opposite an existing one which has a great following. Don’t overstretch yourself. Think about your commute, and the commute of any potential employees. 

Launch Full Time Or Edge Your Way Into It

Some business owners save up enough money, launch their business and leave their current job to spend all of their time doing it. Whereas others like to launch while they’re working part time.

Either are decent ways of working. The pro with going full time is that you can spend all of your time with the business and focus on succeeding. The pro with going part time is that you’ve got some money coming in to hedge you against any financial shortfall.

People who launch new businesses often fall short of money due to waiting for income to start flowing in, or because they’ve underestimated their expenditure somewhere along the line. Focus on your startup capital, get it to a good position and evaluate where you’re at in terms of leaving and focusing on your business full time. Maybe you can do it, maybe not. It’s an important decision to make either way.

Plan Your Customer Reach

You need to know how you’re going to reach your customers before launching your business. Otherwise, you’ll end up paying the overheads with no site of how to start turning a profit. You can plan your customer reach by coming up with ways in which you can make the customer aware of what you’re doing. Whether you want to focus on customer intent data or plan on using various advertisements.

Perhaps you’ve already got an email list built up and want to make the most of it upon launch. The point is, you need some kind of outreach plan otherwise you’re going to find your launch a lot harder.

Create A Business Model

Creating the right business model is important as it’ll give you a streamlined approach to the market. There are many business models out there, you just need to work out what is best for you. It might be that the Shopify dropshipping method of eCommerce works best for you, or you’d prefer to utilise content to bring potential customers into a sales funnel.

There are multiple models you can consider, and you don’t have to follow them exactly, but having a guide can help you make the most out of your launch. It’s an important decision to make so don’t gloss over it. 

Work Culture Matters

If you’re launching with staff then you need to settle on a good workplace culture. It means you have to draw up methods regarding your systems and controls, train your staff so they know what they’re doing and set an example on culture. You need to ensure that your staff can feel relaxed and enjoy their time working with you, so try to have fun too.

A great way to do this is by zoning in on a person’s sense of humour. Perhaps they like anti jokes or silly pranks. Tap into it, ensure people are enjoying what they’re doing and set a brilliant productivity standard for people to follow. If you decide on the right culture, your business will have a better chance of success.