Congratulations, you started your own business. Now, after you have gone through all of the steps to start a business, from deciding on your business name, finding a location, selecting your business structure, and you are finally open for business. However, the first 90 days of being in business set the foundation for your business’ future success and in the first 90 days of operation your business must:
Obtain your First Customer:
You aren’t in business until you have a sale and you can’t have a sale without a customer. If you didn’t have a customer at the beginning of startup, make this your first priority. Network with your contacts and reach out to people who know you will want to see you succeed and will give you the necessary business or referrals.
Become a Master Salesperson:
Selling is essential to any business’ success. This is often under focused start-up business that lacks real sales experience. Set a regular time weekly to learn and apply new selling skills in your business. Forget the hype that marketing will do the selling. Marketing is a separate function from sales. Marketing will create the interest to contact your company. Once you have contact, use your selling skills to close the deal.
Make a Profit:
Your business’ sales revenues are highlighted on the top line of your balance sheet. Your business’ profit is shown on the bottom line of the sheet. You may have sales, but without profits, your business will fail. You must completely understand the operating costs associated with your business and ensure you are focused on making a profit.
Re-Evaluate Your Pricing:
When you seceded to start your business you made certain assumptions about what prices to charge customers in order to make a profit. During the first 90 days of your business’ operation, the assumptions that you had originally made will be challenged with the realities of the market place conditions. Take a second close look at your price strategy. Don’t make the common error of trying to be the lowest price provider. If your competitors are established businesses they can undercut your prices longer than you can undercut theirs.
Set Quarterly Goals:
Running a new small business is extremely time-consuming and stressful. You will have to master several business skills and have numerous systems to setup. It’s easy to get caught up in your businesses day-to-day activities. Successful entrepreneurs know seeing the horizon and having a 90-day plan with objectives and milestones can mean the difference between failure and survival.
Discover Your Entrepreneurial Type:
Your business personality type is the traits and characteristics of your personality that blend with the needs of your business. If you better understand your business personality, then you can give your company the best part of you.
Take Time Off:
Recognize the energy you have expended to start your business and take the time out to reward yourself. The time off will recharge your motivation and ensure success for the next 90 days.
By following these tips you should be able to evaluate your business’ successes and opportunities of the first 90 days of operation. Every business has its own quirks, and it’s important to learn what needs to be changed or adjusted to find what will make you succeed.