0207 937 6678 9:00 to 17:30 (Weekdays)
Prefer to talk?
0207 937 6678
9:00 to 17:30 (Weekdays)
Menu
How does it work?
FAQ
Additional Services
Blog
Contact us

Five More Tips for Running your Company

A few weeks ago we looked at five tips for running your company. You can find this post here. So its time that we look at five additional tips thatll get you on your way.

1. Try and Avoid borrowing

This can be hard when youve not long set up, but it could be the best for the long term success of your company. In order to avoid borrowing you should instead:

  • Try to grow your company organically. This may mean using your savings or earnings from another business in order to fund it. But in the long term youll be grateful that your company is debt free.
  • Use bartering, or contra invoicing. This is when you offer your skills and services for free in return for another business doing the same for you. This could mean making a website for a filmmaker if they make you promotional video. Consider: The services being offered should be of a similar monetary value so neither party is losing out.

If you still feel as though you need additional funding then you should put together a professional business plan and discuss your needs with known investors such as banks before potentially stepping into the cloudy world of venture capitalists and angel investors.

2. Where possible - Think passive

Passive income that is. This is income that comes in when you dont do anything. There are several ways you can gain passive income, these include:

  • Incorporating Google Adsense on to your website. This allows Google to to generate adverts relevant to the content of your website. The money you earn can vary depending on a number of factors. If youre interested you can find out more.
  • Write an ebook on the different things that your business does and the different things that are happening in your industry. You can then look at selling this on your website or even through marketplaces such as Amazons Kindle Direct Publishing.
  • Think of a product that you can sell online. This can be anything from canvas prints to air conditioning units. If you also automate the buying process and the way that you process and take payment then you can soon start to see the money coming in when youve done, well nothing really

3. Get an online presence

The majority of business is done, or starts, online, so why isnt your company there? You should be thinking of things like a website and social media presence.

Once you have your website in place you should be thinking about the following in order to get visitors to keep coming back.

  • Creating an online community by providing useful information that will keep people coming back to see any new hints and tips. This can be done through a newsletter or through a blog or support community.
  • Make sure that your tone is consistent. If you have one tone that you use on your website, another that you use on social media and yet another that you use on the phone your visitors and clients will get confused.

4. Dont be pressured into buying advertising

All new companies need to advertise they exist, how else will their customers find them? But dont be pressure sold advertising just because youre told theres a good offer on at the moment.

When youre buying advertising make sure that you have a budget and stick to it. Also make sure that youre targeting the right people with the form of advertising youre using. This will help to eliminate unwanted costs by ensuring your leads are from the appropriate audience for your company.

In order to help you plan your marketing strategy you should follow these tips:

  • Think about who your ideal customers are, where are they, what are their interests, what excites them. Then use this information to target them.
  • Work out your message. What do you want to communicate to these potential customers? If you get your message right, youll be directing them to do what you want, when you want.
  • Think of the best way to target them. Is this through internet advertising, flyers, door drops, etc. Different mediums have different costs involved, some (like digital) can be quite flexible.
  • Dont always listen to marketing calls. If you get cold called by someone offering you marketing services, dont necessarily take them up on it. If this is something you want to look into, then you approach them to ensure the reliability of the service you purchase.

5. Remember its not all roses

There may come a time in the company where youll need to consider what will happen if you were to leave. This can be of your own choosing, or because you ran into difficulty. This transition can be made easier by having an exit strategy.

You should be considering the lifestyle you want to lead. Will the company in its current form allow you to live that way? How will you know when youve achieved the ideal way to live?

If youre taking a wage from the company, how much profit do you need to be making in order for you have the wage you want? How will you direct the company in order to get to that stage of profit?

When youre ready to move on, what will you do with the business? Will you sell it or pass it on to your children? How will this process happen?

As you can see, there are several things you need to consider before youll know when its the right time to move on. Weve focused here on the positive outcome that youll want it to happen when youre ready, but remember, this isnt always the case.

Conclusion

All in all, you need to remember that your business is yours. What may be right for one, may not be right for another. These tips will hopefully help point you in the right direction.

Looking for more tips? Well be posting more soon - watch this space!

Recent Blog Posts