When you’re working all the hours on the clock to get your business up and running, it can be hard to know what you can cut and what you can’t. To ensure you make the best use of your resources in this crucial first year, we’ve compiled a list of what you can and can’t cut.
That way, you’ll have the edge over your competition, because you’ll be leveraging your resources like never before.
You Can Cut Elaborate Marketing Campaigns: Focus on the Basics
What you really need to do in your first year is to focus on getting the basics right. This means delivering what you promise, when you promised it. It means getting into a routine where excellence is your new normal. And it means putting systems in place that allow you to take and fulfil orders in a timely and professional manner.
As the boss of a new business, it’s easy to get lost in the hype and indulge in an elaborate marketing campaign. You may feel like it’s making a huge impact on your bottom line, but chances are it’s doing that for all the wrong reasons. Marketing is great once you have an established way of getting your products and services made or delivered. Make sure you focus on getting that done correctly first, and you’ll see later on that your marketing efforts will grow naturally with your business. For now social media and local advertising are great ways to get your brand out there on a budget.
You Can Cut New Complicated Products and Services: Master What You Already Know
If you’ve been trading for a couple of months and turning a profit, it can feel like business is easy and you’ve found a new way of doing things. This is a great feeling and is just a reward for all your hard work; but don’t get carried away with your own hype.
Resist the urge to develop ever more complex products and services in your first year. This is the time to experiment with your existing offerings and become the master of them. It may not feel like the most exciting way to go about business, but it’s an approach that works. It also has the added bonus of allowing you to lay the foundations on which you can build your next round of offerings to your customers.
Take your time and don’t rush ahead. If you do that, then you’ll see steady growth in your business from one quarter to the next.
You Can’t Cut Staff Training: You Will Always Need the Right People for the Job
Your biggest resource isn’t your hardware or your real estate, it’s your staff. They’re the ones who will be by your side through thick and thin, and they’re the ones who make the day to day things happen. Staff training may seem like an expense you can easily cut, but fail to invest in progressing your biggest resource at your peril.
People love to stay motivated, so give your staff some stimulus that will make them feel valued and empowered. You’ll be amazed at how much more productive and valuable they become with just a little time and money invested on your part.
You Can’t Cut Security: Anyone Can Become a Victim of Crime
One thing that no startup business can afford to cut is security. Anyone can become a victim of crime in the current climate, which means putting safeguarding measures in place has never been more pressing. Remote monitored CCTV is a proven way to keep an expert eye on your premises that will protect you from crime. Rather than simply recorded a break in or burglary, monitored CCTV is continuously watched by a trained professional skilled in what to do next. If the worst happens, it’s an asset you’ll be glad you had, so contact Resure to see how they can set up a monitoring system.
Hopefully this article has given you plenty of food for thought and given you an idea of what you can and can’t do without in the crucial first 12 months of trading. Now it’s up to you to make it happen.
