welcome back a Luxor's there's no doubt
that one of the most exciting things you
can possibly do is build your own
startup and watch as it lifts off the
ground it's also one of the most
challenging things you can do that's why
you need to approach it the right way be
aware of what you're getting into and to
know all the options available today we
have a video especially for any of you
who are thinking of building your own
startup maybe you're about to do it or
perhaps it's something you're thinking
of doing further down the line either
way if you stick with us all through
this video we'll help you cover all the
bases for when you start your own
business journey welcome to a luxe calme
the place where future billionaires come
to get inspired if you're not subscribed
yet you're missing out so let's get
started and look at the 15 things about
building a startup number 1 understand
that it's not easy building your own
startup might sound exciting and it is
but be aware of the hard realities let's
look at a few statistics in the USA over
half of small businesses fail within the
first five years and what about the ones
that succeed keeping a startup going is
tough and involves long working days and
sleepless nights and just because you've
made it doesn't mean it's all sipping
cocktails on a beach actually not much
of that at all
40% of small business owners say they
don't take vacations and have almost all
of their money tied up in their business
the key is to work on something you're
really passionate about which is worth
skipping all those vacations for that
passion is what will keep you going
through the hard times number to
surround yourself with the best people
possible most of the time you'll build
your startup as one of a team of
founders the average size of a start-up
in the USA is 5 people make sure you
have skills that complement each other
and a similar idea of what everybody's
tasks are and that everybody has a
similar work ethic there's nothing worse
than starting a company and finding out
that one person slacking off if they're
a partner it isn't as simple as just
firing them and when you employ staff go
for people that can see your vision and
have a similar passion for your startup
this will make them your best advocates
as well as your best workers
number three find a mentor you can't
possibly know everything yourself or
have all the skills experience and
insights needed to get your startup off
the ground
especially when you're new to it it's up
to your mentor to guide you through your
first steps and beyond in the area you
live in
check out accelerator programs that help
to get small businesses up and running
they'll provide mentor schemes and may
be able to help you get funding also try
local business meetups or groups on
social networking sites and even think
of people you already know you might
have an acquaintance that you've
overlooked who could give you valuable
insights number four research the market
do your homework on the market area
you're aiming at research the
demographics of your customer base and
know all about their habits look at your
competitors websites and see how you
measure up to them and read what their
customers say about them on social media
this will help you understand what's
going on in your area of the market what
customers want and where you'll fit into
it in terms of price quality and what
you offer that's different
number five create a powerful message
for when you're talking to potential
customers and investors you'll need to
clearly express the customer problem
that you're solving a brief statement of
what makes your startup so valuable is
what's called a value proposition
discover what yours is and use it to
make a great sales pitch for more on how
to do this
take a look at our video how to sell
your idea a great value proposition will
help customers and investors see what's
special about your business and when you
spend time fine-tuning it it'll also
help you realize what the core of your
business is and what you need to focus
on most number six write a business plan
this is an essential step of starting
any business it'll help you figure out
what you need to do to get up and
running and statistics show it makes you
twice as likely to get an investment
capital or a loan simply put the
business plan is an outline of what you
want to do and how you're planning on
getting there it'll usually cover the
first three to five years of your
business strategy and some of the key
points that should contain are a market
analysis and how you'll fit in a
description of your management and
organization a breakdown of your
products and services sales and
marketing strategies and forecasts of
sales and cash flow
if it's your first time doing this you
can find free templates online from
Google and Microsoft and once you've got
your business plan in place it'll guide
you every step of the way and let you
know if you're on track number seven
keep your day job if you can but know
when to take the plunge and go full-time
whether or not you can do this depends
on what sector you're in but you may
want to keep your day job early on this
will help you to cover costs while your
startup isn't yet making big bucks but
do you know when to take the plunge if
you don't start investing all of your
time into your business it just can't
grow there are a lot of startups that
show promise but never really lift off
that's because their founders never
really quit their day jobs once you
start to get traction and generate
interest this is the point to take the
jump and go full-time number eight value
your customers customers are your number
one priority you wouldn't be in the
business you're in if it weren't for
them so once you've got them keep up a
great relationship with them and they'll
keep coming back this is true of online
stores as well as physical ones online
shops get 43 percent of revenue from
repeat purchasers can the secret is a
great customer service listen to
everything they have to say about your
business and respond to their feedback
and to really make them feel valued
thank them for their support with a
discount a promotion or a handwritten
note number 9 cover all of your legal
requirements make sure the company is
set up properly with the help of a
lawyer choose the most appropriate
structure for your business in the USA
this could be a sole proprietorship a
partnership a limited liabilities
company or a corporation other countries
have similar distinctions although the
terms may vary get a qualified
accountant to do your accounting make
sure you're complying with the national
tax regulations this will mean bringing
in the professionals and yes it will
cost you money but not doing these steps
properly will cost you a lot more in the
long run number 10 reduce your overheads
co-working spaces could be a solution
spot unnecessary expenses and cut them
out do you really need an office when
you can work from home or a co-working
space co-working spaces or business hubs
can give you all kinds of benefits these
include mentoring networking
opportunities and meet
freelancers who can do jobs for you
instead of hiring staff do you really
need to hire employees outsourcing jobs
to freelancers could well save you money
and the people you're networking with
and co-working spaces can give you
insights and even refer customers to you
number eleven focus on what you're good
at and delegate what you're not it's
important to understand your own
strengths and skills and the time you
have available most of your time should
be spent doing what you're really good
at other things you can delegate to
someone in your company who's better
suited to them yes it will cost you
money but you can justify it like this
do a cost analysis of jobs you're not
specialized in of the time it would take
you to do them then calculate how much
you would earn if you focused on your
core tasks that make money it may well
be cheaper to outsource and if that's
the case then that's what you should do
number twelve become a respected voice
in your field there are a few better
ways of bringing customers your way and
thanks to content marketing it's never
been easier to demonstrate what
expertise you have and to develop a
following online and people who follow
you will support your business and tell
others about it if you've got something
of value you can get featured in
publications either local ones or
leading ones in your industry you can
create content on blog posts content on
social networking sites or host webinars
or appear at industry events these will
work as free advertising and send more
business your way number thirteen know
what options you have to get investment
startups need money to get them going
and you may not have all the money
that's required to get the funding know
about all the options you have available
to you if you've spent a lot of time
watching Shark Tank you might think
venture capitalists or angel investors
are the way forward in fact they often
aren't the best approach as this means
you'll be giving away equity and control
if you've got a great idea that you can
demonstrate how you can make it work you
might see if your friends and family
want to invest first after all that's
how Jeff Bezos set up Amazon or you
could use crowdfunding check out
crowdfunding platforms that are relevant
in your industry they can help get the
word out on your startup and attract
people who want to sign up as investors
or put up cash as a future customer
number fourteen become an expert on
marketing if you're not one yet you need
to become one soon you can have the best
product or service in the world but if
nobody knows about it you won't succeed
get a good knowledge on the different
types of online marketing content
marketing affiliate marketing email
marketing search engine optimization and
pay-per-click advertising and if you
don't know what these terms mean find
out marketing is a crucial part of what
you'll be doing so allocate a budget to
it and if you can't do it yourself you
could hire a team or outsource it and
make sure you're on Facebook Twitter and
Instagram
that's where your prospective customers
are and you should be too
number 15 know your numbers inside and
out numbers that tell you how your
business is doing and what you can
expect it to do next numbers like
start-up costs sales projections cash
flow and more there are two reasons for
this first you'll have to make a lot of
spontaneous decisions without much time
to think does it make business sense to
give a discount to a loyal customer or
to spend more than usual on marketing
campaigns knowing your business numbers
well will help you make the right choice
and second whenever you're talking to
potential investors partners or clients
knowing these numbers will reassure them
that you know what you're doing and the
faith they have in you will grow and
with that a lack sirs we're at the end
of our lists for today whether you have
experience of it or not we're really
interested to know what do you think is
the most challenging thing about
building a start-up and as a thank you
for sticking with us until the end
that's right it's time for today's bonus
so we've talked all about different
kinds of challenges startups will bring
but there's one vital thing you need to
take care of that we haven't mentioned
yet look after yourself
building a startup is filled with high
pressure and uncertainty so you need to
be aware of your mental health it'll
help you keep the clear mindset you'll
need to make a startup a success as well
as being really important in itself
you could try meditation talk to a life
coach to help you through it
or get our mind mastery course all about
meditation if your startup is taking you
on an emotional roller coaster share
those emotions with those who are
closest with you it could also be a good
idea to limit alcohol intake as this
won't help you deal with the pressure
and while startups
require really hard work give yourself
breaks and time to do things you really
enjoy your most important asset is you
so take care of yourself thank you for
spending some time with us a Luxor's
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you back tomorrow