Written by: Stephanie L. Padgett-Jackson, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
So you want to start a small business of your own, but you’re not sure where to start. More importantly, you’re not sure of how to strategically jumpstart and grow your small business in today’s inflated economy. It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic caused many companies and businesses across the world to experience a major decline in overall productivity, sales, and profits, thus resulting in countless employee layoffs, and consequently temporary and permanent closures.
Many small businesses were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with governmental aid such as the PPP Loan to help many businesses and corporations survive the financially perilous impact of the pandemic, in many cases it still wasn’t enough to save some of our small “mom and pop” and sole proprietor businesses. According to an article ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Businesses in the U.S.: A Longitudinal Study from a Regional Perspective’ from the National Library of Medicine by way of PubMed CentralⓇ, the reason many small businesses across the world suffered greatly from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is due to not having an established contingency plan for dealing with rare events such as a pandemic, as well as having minimal access to physical and financial capital, not to mention in some cases the lack of geographic diversity.
Now that we’ve moved past the pandemic phase of COVID-19 and the overall economic, as well as socioeconomic ruins resulting from it, the entire world has been in clean up, recovery, and restoration mode. In many cases, it’s more than just about recovery and restoration, it’s about learning to establish and adapt to a new normal. The phrase “It gets worse before it gets better” has become an evidentiary reality for all of us through the obvious decrease in a labor ready workforce, as well as a drastic increase in mortgage and auto loan interest rates, mortgage and auto sale prices, rent, insurance rates, fuel prices, food prices, energy rates, water, manufacturing costs, etc.
The silver lining in all of this is that over 4.3 million new small businesses were started in the U.S. alone during the pandemic. This number is the highest of small business startups in the U.S. since 2005 according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and that number continues to significantly increase post pandemic. So, if you really want to launch your small business, and you haven’t started yet, now is the time to do it. Below I will list a step by step preliminary plan that I designed and share with my clients in my consulting business to help them in strategically launching their first small business.
1. Establish your “Why?” Why do you want to start your own business? Discovering your “Why?” will force you to really be honest with yourself and perhaps seek guidance from a higher power. Discovering and knowing your “Why?” will give you clarity and direction. Now, be very careful with your “Why?” because if your only and/or primary “Why?” is just to make more money then I hate to break it to you, but you're already off to a bad start, and you will not go the distance as an entrepreneur.
2. Establish your “What?” What kind of business do you want to start? What product(s) or service(s) do you want to sell? What do you know about the product(s) or service(s) that you want to offer your clients or customers? What do you know about running a small business? What demographic of consumers do you want to target? What will it cost to launch your business? These are just a few “What?” questions you need to answer for yourself when considering starting your own business.
3. Prepare a detailed and comprehensive “To Do” List. Once you’ve discovered and established your “Why?” and “What?” it’s now time to create your “To Do” list. Now, you may be wondering what your “To Do” list should include. Well, that depends on what you’ve established in steps 1 and 2. Your “To Do” list should consist of step by step practical and legal action items in order of priority. This may require you to first do some research of the business start up laws within your state and county of residence. If you’re not confident in doing this on your own then hiring an experienced certified business consultant such as myself may be very beneficial to you during the preparation and launching phases of your new business.
4. Conduct Market Research. Once you determine your niche, it is imperative that you and/or your business consultant conduct research to determine how saturated (or not) the market is for your product(s) or service(s). You will also need to research and ascertain what your startup costs will be as well as the current manufacturing, distribution costs, and/or vendor fees for your product(s). Conducting the proper market research will also help you to see how competitive (or not) your chosen niche is. It will also help you to determine whether or not there is a real need or demand for your product(s) or service(s). The higher the demand, and less the availability of the particular product(s) or service(s) you want to offer your target customer base, will result in your increased chances of a successful launch, first quarter, and perhaps first year and beyond. Location also plays a significant role in the launch and overall success of your business. Market and advertise your business in ways that will make you stand out among your small business counterparts.
5. Maintain a P.D.P. Mindset. Persistence, Discipline, and Positivity (PDP) are three very important things that will get you through the inevitable challenges you will face when planning and launching your new business. No matter what kind of business you’re starting, and the scale of it, it will most assuredly come with its own set of challenges, and perhaps even setbacks. Having a PDP mindset will give you the courage and tenacity to face and conquer those challenges. Having a PDP mindset will also teach you to have patience while starting and growing your business and brand.
Now that I’ve given you a short strategic and user-friendly formula to successfully launching your small business in today’s economy, no more excuses! Get up, get at it, and do the work! I know you can do it. The world is waiting for you. Whether you’re a new entrepreneur or an established small business owner in the U.S. or across the globe, and you need help on your entrepreneurial journey, contact my consulting business Tigress Consulting and Publications via phone or email (located in my profile). You got this, let’s go!
Stephanie L. Padgett-Jackson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Stephanie L. P. Jackson is the Proprietor of Tigress Consulting and Publications which offers services such as small business consulting, executive coaching, property and casualty insurance, and notary signing. Stephanie has also been working in legal administration for over 26 years. Stephanie takes pride in using her many years of experience, training, and education to help other entrepreneurs start and/or expand their businesses. Whether it's one small business at a time or one novice entrepreneur, Stephanie's mission is to help others achieve their personal and professional goals within the scope of her expertise.
