Every new business owner will need to learn some skills of the trade on the way. There’s only so much you can learn from books and listening to the experiences of others - some things you just gotta try for yourself. But to give you the best fighting chance - here is a list of seven things your business simply won’t be able to survive without:

A Good Website

Nothing happens anymore, without it being online. You need to have an online presence, or you just don’t exist. Not only will it be harder for people to learn about your nad reach you, but even if they do know about you, the absence of a website might make your business look sketchy and shady because there’s no digital trail. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or luxuriously designed, just make it organized, clean, and easy to read.

An Accountant

One thing nobody wants to think about when opening a company is who will handle all the things that go on behind the scenes - the endless paperwork of taxes, payroll, and everything else you know nothing about. If you don’t have enough work for a full-time accountant in your company, the folks at this website offer services to small and medium-sized companies that might fit your needs. It will be cheaper and out of your hair if you just find someone else who will do the accounting. This isn’t something you want to just try out and potentially mess up!

A Clear Mission Statement

You might think that a mission statement is just a fancy PR term and not something you actually need - but the root of your entire business stems from here. A mission statement should be a short paragraph that encompasses what you’re trying to achieve. It should be inspiring and clear, something every employee knows by heart. Whenever you have doubts, you should only turn to your mission statement, and it will guide you towards the right decision. Remember that mission statements can change with a big overhaul of the company, but it should be your compass, not your destination.

An On-boarding Process

Anyone new who joins the company needs to feel welcome and a part of the team as soon as possible. This is done through an on-boarding process, which can be done in several stages. For example, they will first be on-boarded into the company, shown around, and acquainted with the pipeline. Then, they are introduced to the team they’re working with and made comfortable to ask questions. The last step is on-boarding onto the position or project that they’re working on, shown all the tools and the way things are done. Without this process in place, people can easily feel excluded and unmotivated to do their best.

Marketing

No matter what the industry, it’s probably saturated. Nobody will come knocking on your door on the first day you open, begging you to take their money in exchange for goods and services. You’re the one that has to go to the people and show what you’re offering. This is done through clever marketing, which you can develop within the company with a marketing team or through an external company that will design a campaign for you.

Business Plan

You can’t go into this blind. You’ll need a solid 5-year business plan, broken down into smaller periods of time that allow you to track your progress. This will prevent you from just throwing money into your business if you’re not getting a return on your investments, and it will tell you if you need to change your strategy. It’s important that you stay data-oriented and trust the numbers. There’s no room for blind optimism in business.

Good People

At the end of the day, every business relies on the people working there. Suppose you don’t have employees that you can trust, who are competent to do their job, and who care about the work they do just as much as you - then you’ll fall. Put in place a comprehensive hiring process and even enlist a local HR company to find and vet the people for you. You really want hard-working, passionate people and, of course, you want to repay their work with good salaries and amazing treatment. You can provide unique corporate awards to your employees for outstanding performance.

Going into a business venture is never without risk, but if you don’t have some of these things listed above - you’re doomed before you’ve even started. So make sure you have all your ducks in a row and the needed boxes checked, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a successful business owner.

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