Here Are 4 Tips You Should Know to launch a Veteran Owned Business!
Veterans make for great entrepreneurs because of the attributes of leadership, grit, discipline, and resilience they develop during their time in service. As reported by the Census Bureau, veteran-owned businesses constitute up to 6% of all businesses across the country, employing more than 3 million individuals and generating revenue close to one trillion dollars. To help aspiring veteran entrepreneurs get their business off the ground, this article by Centify explores various resources through which they can develop skills and knowledge in the areas of marketing, accounting, project management, mentoring, and much more.
Research and Plan Ahead
The first step towards becoming an entrepreneur is to create a business plan overlaying all important aspects of the business such as your mission, funding requirements, products, goals, and more.
Given that you may have never made a business plan before, here are a few useful resources to help you get started:
- Veteran Entrepreneurship Portal: This portal created by the Department of Veterans Affairs guides aspiring veteran entrepreneurs regarding creating a business plan, applying for funding, providing resources to grow their business, and more.
- The Veteran Business Outreach Center: Operated by the Small Business Administration, this center hosts numerous workshops through which veterans can learn about common challenges in running a business, leveraging new-age digital tools, and the basics of making and following a business plan.
Find a Mentor
Learning from a fellow veteran entrepreneur having years of experience running a business will provide you with numerous benefits. A mentor will not only provide guidance but will work closely to help you achieve goals through all stages of your business which include:
- Launch: In this stage, a mentor will provide insights on the type of product or service you can sell, how to find the right customer market, and the steps for a smooth business launch. They will also help you decide on whether crowdfunding for startup funds, creating product prototypes, field testing products, and services, or other actions are necessary for the initial startup phase of your business.
- Growth: Securing sufficient funding and utilizing it effectively is key for your business to grow and be successful. Having a mentor by your side will help you stay on track of goals and provide tips on how to land investors.
- Maturity: You’ll reach this stage after years of running the business, however it comes with its unique set of challenges such as maintaining your current customer base, fending off new competition, and having healthy finances.
Delegate Responsibilities
A common pitfall new entrepreneurs face is trying to do everything themselves. A quick search of any successful business in your industry will reflect the fact that it is not run as a one-man show. Rather, successful businesses are built by surrounding yourself with individuals who have the expertise to help you achieve your goals.
As a new business, you’ll need to manage numerous responsibilities of securing funding, handling supply chain logistics, creating budgets, developing a pricing strategy and profit margins, and much more. At this point, having a project manager is key to streamlining projects, meeting deadlines, and keeping all stakeholders in the loop.
Additionally, to make a strong first impression on customers and the market, it’s essential to have a successful product launch, which includes creating a social media strategy, outreach activities, and marketing strategies, to only name a few. . Given how important the launch is for your business, look to outsource this project to experts such as Centify, which has more than 20 years of experience creating product launch campaigns for small businesses.
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Take Help of Software
In addition to hiring experienced professionals, start using software that reduces the need for human intervention through automation and integration, resulting in fewer errors and efficient utilization of time and resources:
- QuickBooks/Freshbooks/Zoho Books: Using their invoice templates, you can send timely bills and reminders to clients, resulting in always receiving payment on time. Plus, the ability to link your bank accounts so that all of your expenses are automatically recorded simplifies tax season a great deal. Plus, linking bank accounts so that any expenses are automatically recorded, simplifying tax season.
- Plaid: When making payments, customers are wary of sharing their card/bank details if they are not confident about your site’s security. Through plaid, you can guarantee 100% protection of customer payment data through using their bank account verification API.
- Zoho: Managing numerous social media accounts manually is a tedious task. With Zoho, you can create social calendars, seamlessly schedule posts across platforms, and gain in-depth analysis of your campaign performances.
The key to running a small business as a veteran is surrounding yourself with experienced individuals, like mentors and project managers, who can handle key projects while simultaneously investing time in improving your business acumen.
Author Katie Conroy from AdviseMine.
