Starting a small business requires a lot of effort. There's a lot consider such as proper documentation, legal obstacles along with marketing and strategic development. However, this can be easily navigated if you have the right skill set and support. 

We have actionable and easy steps to help you get off on the right foot when looking into entrepreneurship. 

Refine your idea

Before you start your own small business it's important to fully refine your business idea. You need to evaluate whether there is a need for your service or product and if the gap in the market is viable for success. For example, will consumers seek out this service or product? Read up on start-up news and whether the idea is sustainable or not. This will give your small business some good foundation and groundwork.

Conduct market research

Once you decide on a viable business idea and works around your current lifestyle, it's time to conduct market research. It's hugely important to do this at the beginning stages of your small business. Work on consumer personas and see who will buy your service or product, who will your competition be. This will help you address the market size and who exactly you'll be marketing your business to.

Make your business legal

Next, make sure you follow the proper channels to make your small business completely legal. In the UK all businesses have to legally register with Companies House. Consider whether you'd want the business to be a sole proprietorship, corporation, or Limited Liability Company (LLC). Once your business is up and running it's important to tackle any branding, logo or outstanding copyrights.

Pick your business location

When you're ready to start your business location is important. Will your service or product be accessible online or in a store? Will you be local or international? It's important to keep this in mind as it'll make a massive difference to the cost of marketing and any laws applicable. 

Evaluate your target audience

Moving on from the previous point, evaluate your target audience. This will be your ideal demographic and customer base, conduct surveys and case studies. For example, what products are already out there and what your target audience thinks of these. Furthermore, how willing are they to try out a new product or service. All this will begin to shape which age, location, personas will be your target audience. 

Research the competition

It's important to research what's already out there and scope out the competition. This will do wonders for your USP and brand development, think about what competitors are not doing and what gap in the market your small business can slip into. For example, your business could challenge high prices and poor customer service. Making your small business the easy alternative for your established target audience.

Write your business plan

After you've done adequate market, audience and competition research it's time to write your business plan. This plan should be in-depth going into your product or service, costs, suppliers and any employees you'd like to hire. Business plans are crucial when looking for outside funding make sure you put in how your business plans to be profitable and future-proof to really reel in investors.

Fund your business

Depending on the scale and size of your venture you'd need additional funding. Most small business start with a business loan or credit card, this is a great way to get your small business up and running with little risk. After a while, you'd like to expand beyond this is where angel investors come into the picture. Keep an eye out for these sort of businesses and make sure you apply yourself fully.

Network, network, network

Networking is a big help when first starting out in the small business scene. Depending on your industry, there will be many events for like-minded entrepreneurs who'd be able to give you free advice on running your business. This will be incredibly important as your business starts to grow and gain influence. Who knows, you'll just find your next business partner!

Final thoughts

Starting a new business can be terrifying but most of all rewarding for both personal development and financial gain. Ensure you're ready to take this next step by following the tips outlined above to make sure you have all the basics covered.

At bOnline, we're supporting small businesses with our affordable landline and connectivity solutions. We're ready to get your business up and running with our services. Check out our packages or give our expert team a call on 0203 697 4166.