- Who’s behind it? Will it just be you? Will you have a partner, or a team? Will your mom or husband/wife help with accounting? What’s the structure going to look like? Appoint your team and tasks!
- What’s your purpose? Are you providing a service? Selling? Organizing a cause? Once you know exactly what you are providing, you’ll be able to think through the rest of your model more solidly. If you think you’ll have a variety of products or offerings, think about how they could potentially categorize together.
- What will be your “launch”? Does it mean your store is open, services ready to go, ecommerce site ready? How will you phase out your first few months, first few years? How will you tell others you’re Officially with a capital “O”: Open for Business.
- Who is your target market? Who will buy this product, need this service, or support your cause? Once you’re ready to market, there’s so much more to think through in terms of your target, so go ahead and take the extra time to brainstorm now, while you’re in your dreamiest of states! Most solo-preneurs and small business owners suggest picturing your dream client or dream customer. Imagine why they’d need and want to work with you or buy your product. What will it help them do? Who are they in general?
Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post on marketing to your target audience! - Where will the product or service come from? Will you be the maker? Or will it come from a completely different set of providers where you may act as an intermediary? Some brands are completely built on sourcing unique products from an interesting set of vendors. Or, providing unique products from the owner themselves! Will this be a part of your niche? If you’re providing a service, will you outsource to other vendors for part of the work?
- Where will you place it to-market? Will you solely use Instagram or an e-commerce site? Will you plan to own a brick-and-mortar or place the item within brick-and-mortar shops? Whatever it may be, you probably already know the answer to this. Just keep in mind, it’s okay to start small.
- What’s your brand personality, and how will you market it? If you’re starting your own thing, it’s time to get brand-savvy! Your brand will define everything: from what your product looks like, who your customers are (and who you actually attract) to how your brand speaks on social media.
- How will you measure success? Sure, it’s going to be exciting either way after you launch. You’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment with each “push” (be it a post, social update, photo shoot, email) and success (purchase, client, sale) -- but you should give yourself measurable and achievable goals to really think through. Check your status along the way, and assess what you did well to meet those goals, and where you may be lacking. This is especially important if you’re launching something that’s not just a side gig, but something that will sustain you!
- Bookmark your inspiration! This is way more important than it sounds, but get your inspiration organized. Create an inspiration board with imagery or words, clippings and photos that keep you on-brand and moving forward. Download a podcast app and routinely listen in to your favorite business podcasts. Follow others doing something similar and read their blog posts, follow them on social. The idea? Surround yourself with what inspires and charges you, and you’ll always have something to go to when you’re feeling not-so-savvy-n-smart, and probably learn how to do the same for your audience.
- Go! This is the most important, just get going! Realize, that not everything has to be perfect to start. You’ll learn from experience, discover what you hate (and love) and, as a result, will probably change directions along the way. So just get to it!
So, get your pen and paper and number it from 1-10. Share with us below ~ what have you found that helped you get started?
