Business startup

9 tips for
successfully
launching
your
business

Launching a business is a big challenge, and the way you launch your project, in which context and with which resources will have a major impact on the rest of your venture.

In business, it's important to start out on the right foot! Even though the unforeseen is inevitable, you can take certain steps to help you better face the challenges.

Fortunately, there are more resources and tools than ever to help entrepreneurs (and aspiring entrepreneurs). Regardless of the field of activity or the number of employees, there are tricks to make your life easier.

The business world is open to any audacious person who has a passion to share and who wants to meet challenges, two qualities which you don't learn in school.

That said, knowing certain things about entrepreneurship can prevent you from making potentially costly mistakes. Following a business start-up program is a good way to acquire knowledge that will help you launch your business, but will also be useful throughout this great adventure.

Whether you prefer online or personal training, a number of options that fit your timetable and lifestyle are available. You will learn what a business plan is, why it is useful and how to build it, in addition to a number of sold tips to help you make your project a reality.

Entrepreneurship can be intimidating. Wanting to achieve this goal alone can lead to slowdowns in your process each time you doubt yourself.

That is why many entrepreneurs, who have followed the same path as you, have chosen to turn to a mentor to benefit from the support and experience of seasoned business people to start their business.

If you want to go further than mentoring, business incubators are probably the solution for you. These organizations make office space available to you and provide essential services, such as low-cost printing. It's not a viable option for all types of business, but it should be considered if your project lends itself to it.

Useful link: directory of accelerators and incubators maintained by Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal

And when you are ready to think about your growth, forming a consultative committee could help you to meet the numerous challenges that the business world offers.

A consultative committee is a group that brings together various outside experts that entrepreneurs can consult a few times a year, depending on their needs. These meetings allow entrepreneurs to maximize their productivity, become more competitive and better understand the impact of each of their strategic decisions.

It is a valuable tool to develop a long-term vision and ensure good business growth.

The business plan is used to establish your short and long-term goals and to understand the direction that your business takes. It is common for new entrepreneurs to want to put off making their business plan, but it is important that this step not be neglected.

You can use the business plan to establish your financial needs, show your credibility to potential investors and not lose sight of your short and long-term goals.

Your business plan is a powerful tool. You already know that it is essential for launching your business, but did you know that it is just as important for the growth of your business?

A useful business plan is a living business plan. Keeping your business plan updated will help you to adapt to market changes, set goals and reach them.

Various options are available to launch your business: you can decide to go it alone and manage your business independently or you can go into business with one or more partners.

Choosing a business partner may appear easy at first glance. It is often the person with whom you had the original idea for the entrepreneurial project. However, make sure you don't take this decision lightly: the choice of the right business partner can make all the difference between success and failure.

Here are tips to help you find the best business partner.

You are taking a big step: hiring your first employee. Your business has grown and you are obligated to turn down business opportunities due to a lack of time and resources? This is the first sign that you need to hire an employee.

If hiring an employee is part of your long-term plan, you will want to master this practice in order to hire the best team players. Your employees reflect your business, so it is essential to choose the right people.

That can make you nervous, but by evaluating your resources and specific needs, you will be able to find the person who will help your business grow.

To find the best talent, make sure to highlight your values and expectations when drafting your job offers. Efficient offers help you to attract the appropriate candidates.

Burnout is a reality of the job market which affects a great deal of workers, but which is not limited to employees. SMB owners, who work long hours and tend to take few vacations, are especially at risk.

The growth of a business is always the result of the huge efforts made by the entrepreneur. To avoid burning yourself out, you have to know when to take breaks.

To avoid the worst, it is important to recognize the signs of burnout in order to rapidly implement measures that will help you to manage your stress. The same applies to your health, but the health of your business as well!

When should you find a professional accountant for your business? The short answer: immediately.

Hiring an accountant will be very helpful in managing your business and your numbers (bookkeeping), even when you're just starting out. You will probably be absorbed by a million concerns and your accounting and your tax obligations could suffer.

That is why it is often wiser to leave your bookkeeping to someone who not only has more time than you to do things right, but who also has the specialized knowledge on the subject.

Even if you hire an accountant to help you with your bookkeeping, you should still do your part to keep track of your accounting.

To do this, Excel is often the comfort zone for many people who start a business. It's low cost, easy to use, etc. That may seem like a good choice given the low cost of the software and because most of your employees are probably used to the interface. However, you have to consider the risk of lost information or mistakes that could result from entering data manually in your files.

A number of much more efficient and secure options than Excel exist for SMB accounting. You can use a true accounting software program for invoicing, receiving payments, following-up in real time and much more.

Don't forget why you started your business

Several elements are essential to the success of your entrepreneurial project, but passion is probably the most important of all. Your passion is the basis for your project and will be excellent fuel to help you advance and get through difficulties.

Combined with the knowledge that you have acquired and the appropriate choice of resources and tools, you will have the recipe for success in your hands!

About Acomba

As developers of accounting and management software programs, each day we help more than 40,000 Canadian SMBs manage the essential aspects of their operations.

Whether you are in the start-up phase or growing fast, we would like to work with you by providing you with solutions adapted to your reality and which will help you reap the maximum benefit from your entrepreneurial project.

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