Starting a Small Business in a Small Town
Coming up with a great idea is only the first step of starting a small business and it is often the easiest step. After coming up with your million dollar idea, you need to execute and market it. Many people get scared off by the thought of failure before even trying.
If you live in a small community, this is even more frightening, because you don’t know if your idea can flourish with a limited clientele. But we have some tips to help you launch your business and make it successful.
Measures of Success
For a typical business, the main measures of success are profits and growth. But with a private business, you can define additional goals that signify accomplishment, such as:
- Enjoying what you do
- Getting to choose your own hours
- Selecting your employees
- Not having to report to a boss
- Living wherever you choose
- Supporting the community
Owning your business means that you can decide what goals are most important, so if you want to bring in a steady income but don’t require a lavish lifestyle to be happy, then you can prioritize other goals, such as providing health care and a living wage to employees.
Online Expansion
Another benefit of becoming a small business owner is that the internet allows for a larger client base without needing a tremendous effort.
Even if you believe that your local community is too small to support your product or service, you can supplement your store’s income with online sales.
Obviously, this doesn’t work for restaurants or plumbers, but many businesses can find a new market on the web.
Setting up a website can be a hassle, especially if you don’t have experience, but an online marketing firm, like Trimark, can help you with the process. This is a sunk cost, but will increase profits in the long run.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
The above quote is from the late Steve Jobs, a man who truly loved his job. Just because you are forced to work, does not mean you have to hate it. Find an area of interest and devout your time to making that business successful according to your goals. Remember, there is always a market for an innovative, high-quality product.