What To Expect When You Open Your Business

Finnegan Pierson

Congratulations: You've taken the plunge and have finally decided to open your own business! This is an exciting time and so much opportunity lies ahead of you, but the hard work is only beginning. What do you need to think about as an entrepreneur that you never gave a second thought to beforehand?

Making It Official

Even if you've had the idea in your head for decades, your business isn't official until Uncle Sam says it is. Time to get online and start filling out the necessary paperwork — your state or county website should be able to lead you in the right direction, but if you are having a hard time, call up city hall and ask for guidance.

How Should You Register?

The options can be a little overwhelming: An LLC or corporation? Do you want to file for DBA certification or leave your name as the business name? Navigate and research all the different registration options so that when tax season rolls around you are in a good, perfectly legal place.

Make Your Name Unique

Assuming that you decide not to keep your business name as your own ("John Smith LLC," for example), you need to come up with a name. Moreover, you need to come up with a name that does not exist in your state! The government will not allow two entities with the same name to exist in the same state, so before deciding on the name, try doing a simple Google search to see what comes up ahead of time. 

Hiring and Managing Employees 

Have you ever been someone's boss before? If not, you're about to have the learning experience of your life when you decide that you're going to hire employees. You already know from experience: It's not just hiring someone that can be a lot of work, but actually managing them and being a supervisor to them. This means a lot of things, but some of the highlights are:

• Figuring out wages and hours, including whether or not you allow overtime
• Personal time off, vacation and sick days
• Dealing with interpersonal issues — disagreements, disputes and everything in between

Advertising and Marketing

Once you've set up your business, how will you let the rest of the world know? Just because you build it, that doesn't mean that they will come. It's up to you as the owner to make sure that the world is well aware that you are open for business and ready to serve it.

Marketing Manager

Depending on where your budget lies, you might consider hiring someone in the marketing industry to help you out. These professionals know how to do everything from creating a snappy tagline to managing social media pages. Not only that, but if you're wanting to change your logo or completely rebrand your packaging, this is something that a marketing manager feels right at home doing. They are experts in getting the public's attention and can be a valuable resource for your newborn company, especially if you haven't the foggiest clue how to begin a marketing campaign. 

A Website That Kicks Butt

Your website is going to be the first line of communication between you and your customers. Make it one that is not only attractive to the eye but is also informative and helps the client find exactly what they're looking for. Don't forget some of the most basic items that customers like to see on a website:

• An About page. Despite what you might think, people are looking for this section and want to know your story.  Where did you get the idea for your business? In what city was it founded? This is your chance to level with your customers and show them where your company's roots lie.
• Easy navigation. Have you ever noticed that almost every website you visit has the navigation bar in the top center of the page? That's because this is an industry standard. Keep your navigation simple and easy to find or you risk losing frustrated users who don't want to hunt.
• Attractive pictures and great product descriptions. You are proud of your products and you want to show them in their best light, and you better believe that customers prefer seeing photography done right too. Don't forget also to write descriptions for your products that are informative and include things like dimensions and weight.

Social Media

You are already quickly learning that social media is more than cat memes — in the business world, social media is a valuable tool that you can use to reach an enormous audience. Create a business account on as many platforms as you can manage and use it to your advantage:

• Tease new products. Clients love a mystery and if they're intrigued, they're more likely to come back and see if there are any updates. For example, you might try posting only a portion of a whole picture every day for a week before introducing your new item.
• Update the public and make announcements. This can mean anything from announcing sales and promotions to informing customers that your hours will be changing over the summer. 
• Show what happens behind the scenes and give small insights into your employees. Did Kendra just have a baby? What about Nassor's promotion to senior analyst? This is a great way to showcase your awesome staff while keeping your followers interested and engaged.

It's work to be a successful business owner, but when you love when you do then it's happy work. Try and anticipate some of the toughest parts of entrepreneurship as you segue into the role.