The Woman Entrepreneur’s Essential Start-up Checklist

Posted on October 27, 2009 by admin

So you’ve decided you are ready to start your business, now what? If you are held back by fear, funding concerns or the lack of a business plan or idea, this checklist is for you.

1. Get Clear About Your Vision

To get clear about your vision, spend time dreaming about your business and write it down. Doing so will increase your odds of success by as much as 80%! Visualize what your business will look like 3-5 years from now, and it will help you make decisions differently along the way. The clearer you are about your vision, the more likely it is to happen. Be honest and realistic and let your ideas flow! Let your vision be an inspiring statement of what you intend to become and to achieve in the future!

Is your perception about where you are going realistic? Are you interpreting the economic conditions correctly? Your business vision not only describes your dream, but it is also the foundation upon which you base all of your business goals. Your business vision incorporates elements of your financial goals, the relationships you want with your clients, and the core aspects that create your business success strategy.

2. Pay Attention to The ‘Business of Business’

Choose a Business Name
Find a lawyer to protect your business and your brand
Hire a CPA or financial coach to advise you on financials and record keeping
Set up a database of your prospects and clients. This is your list.

3. Get Noticed: Marketing and Promoting

Marketing

Get clear about your offer and how you will communicate it to your prospective clients. Then your marketing efforts will be far more targeted and effective right from the start.

Draft a one-year marketing campaign that includes the following areas.

Brand identity: do this first so you narrow your focus onto your target market and so you can be clear about how to communicate your offer effectively
Content: you will need attention-grabbing, persuasive content for your website, blog, social networking sites, email campaigns and promotional products
Web design: blog and/or website, logo and banner that express your brand

Promoting

Consider what will stimulate your prospective clients to take action towards a buying decision.

Business cards: Does your business card stink?How can you make it memorable and interesting to ensure it doesn’t get thrown in the trash as soon as the person walks away!

Use a professional photo on all of your marketing material
Consider relevant methods of advertising (online and offline)
Use social networking sites to your advantage
Promotional marketing – webinars, freebies, forums, contests, coupons, free samples.

4. Pay Attention To Sales

Are you afraid to sell? It seems that even though we all know we need to “sell” our products and services, many of us feel fearful or anxious about actually doing so.

The trick is to know the source of your fear and take action to address it. Here are some hints:

Find enthusiasm for what you offer
Realize you are solving a BIG problem for your target market, and are doing them a favor by bringing your products or services to their attention. Don’t hide! You are doing them a disservice otherwise.
Shift your perspective from ‘selling’ to ‘earning a living through sharing your passion
Share your business with a few friends first, then gradually expand your circle of sharing
Have fun with it instead of thinking you have to do it
Practice, Practice, Practice (it gets easier…)
Build a list so you can communicate to your clients via email.

5. Do Your Market Research

Market research helps you define and market your offer so you can create a brand identity and communicate effectively to your market.

Have a marketing plan so you know if your offer is viable
Know what pain point you solve in the market so you can determine how to solve it?
Ask yourself: what makes me unique?

6. Your Social Media Strategy

One mistake entrepreneurs make using social media is not linking their profiles together. It helps to have a plan for what you aim to achieve through each of your social media channels. Here are some hints to using social media:

Avoid participating in too many sites – focus on ones that suit you
Find out which tools and communities your clients use and sign up.
To get results you have to do more than just set up an account.
The point is to connect with people so… ‘Connect with people!’
The way to grow your influence is to sustain your connections (i.e. keep connecting with people!).

7. Other Things To Think About

Hidden costs
Building your website
Sales
Marketing and PR (build a press kit)
Understand your industry and competition
Pick a legal structure