So you’ve decided to try your hand at being an entrepreneur. Congratulations! You’re amongst the countless numbers of people who want to live life on their own terms. You’ve decided to go against the grain, to do something different, to be your own boss, to make your own hours, and to create a lifestyle that is all about you and what you want. This is certainly a brave and exciting step. You are also aware that to be able to pull of this lifestyle change, you need a plan. Luckily for you, we’re here to help with seven steps that will get you on your way to creating a profitable business that you can grow into an empire. Let’s get started.

Set A Budget

An entrepreneur who decides to go the extra mile and wants to ensure that they are investing in effective marketing strategies, will often set a budget for these strategies. Without a solid budget, you’re setting yourself up for failure. One of the first things you should do is set a marketing budget and stick to it. Your marketing budget should include all forms of marketing, from ads on social media to radio spots to billboards and so much more. It’s important to set a budget because you don’t want to sacrifice quality just to save a few dollars. Remember, effective marketing takes time to see results from. You need to have faith that this time will come.

Hire A Web Designer To Build A Better Website

An entrepreneur who is just getting started and doesn’t have the funds to hire a web designer, will often times go with the simplest and quickest option available. This is usually a basic HTML/CSS template that they bought off of ThemeForest or Shopify, with no formatting and minimal design. While this might be easy enough for someone with little to no knowledge about design or web development, you’d be surprised how many businesses operate this way. They think that just because they’ve settled on a design that something will just appear on their website without any effort on their part. Even more surprising is that many of these businesses make a lot of money! The reason they think this is because people are more likely to purchase goods and services from companies that have a good website. A poorly built or designed website can prevent you from reaching this important audience.

Use Marketing Research To Formulate Your Marketing Plan

An entrepreneur who wants to move quickly and don’t have the time to do extensive background research, will often times rush into starting a business without a formal marketing plan. They think that something will just happen and they’ll be able to attract customers to their business. This is a dangerous mindset to have, especially if you’re relying on unproven hypotheses to support your plan. One of the worst things you can do for your business is to go into business without a solid plan. You won’t be able to make the right decisions in an efficient manner, and it will be difficult to grow and prosper as an entrepreneur.

To avoid this, you must devote some time to research. There are a variety of methods that you can use to conduct research, but the most efficient and effective method is by using a survey tool. When you use a survey tool to answer questions regarding your target audience’s needs and wants, you are able to create a solid foundation for your marketing plan. These answers can then be used to develop products and services that will meet the needs and wants of your target audience.

Determine The Best Locations For Your Business

An entrepreneur who is just getting started and doesn’t have the funds or resources to properly advertise their business, will often times settle on just one location for their business. The reason for this is that they think that a single location is enough to get the word out there about their business. Even more dangerous is that many of these businesses rely on just one location, and if that location shuts down, they’ll have a hard time recreating the traffic that they received from that location. There are a variety of methods that you can use to determine the best locations for your business, but the most efficient and effective method is by using a research tool like Google My Business or Yelp to find out which locations are most successful.