Starting a business can be an exciting time for you and anyone else invested in making your idea or startup come to life. While the concept of starting a business is nothing new, it can be quite a challenging process for anyone starting out for the first time.
The good news is that there are plenty of resources available on the internet to help get through the startup process. And one of the best ways to get information is to simply learn from others who have already gone through the process.
That is exactly what we are going to be looking at today. When starting any type of business, there are always going to be challenges and obstacles around every corner. At the same time, if you want to find success with your business, you need to actually treat it like a business. This is a common obstacle in itself for many online businesses, as they focus solely on content, and expect that to be enough to create a viable business.
If you are currently in the process of starting a business or struggling to find success in an existing one, read each of the following business and finance tips. Not only does the advice come from entrepreneurs who run their businesses in different areas throughout the world, but these people also have their own expertise and skill set for their individual markets and target audience.
Read through each of the expert tips to better prepare yourself and your business for the many decisions and challenges that may come in a startup.
1. Understand your best options for financing your startup or idea
When starting any type of business, you are going to need some investment money to get it off the ground. How you acquire this money is going to play a major role in the overall growth and success of your business. Consider different options, such as getting a loan from the bank, borrowing money from friends or family, self funding, or even running a crowdfunding campaign.
Expert tip: “Always raise more finance than you initially consider being sufficient, when running a business there’s always hidden costs you can’t account for & see coming.”—Codie Vincent, founder, Finance District
RELATED: How to Create a Great Investor Pitch Deck for Startups Seeking Financing
2. Adapt to changes in the industry and how customers want to pay
Thanks to the power of the internet, it’s not only easier to connect with customers throughout the world, it’s also easier to accept payment from them as well. PayPal completely changed the way payments were made online years ago, and now blockchain and cryptocurrency are starting to do the same. While we are only in the beginning phases of these two components, the businesses that are first to adapt to these models are sure to benefit the most.
Expert tip: “Blockchain is quickly changing the way online payments and information between parties is being processed on the internet today. Even though it’s only in its infancy, the benefits and opportunity here are much too large to ignore. For our business, we’ve not only been able to adapt both blockchain and crypto into our renting platform, we’ve also been able to use the technology to facilitate ‘smart contracts,’ which allows us to keep all party transactions and data private and secure. We’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible with blockchain and crypto, and are looking forward to seeing more businesses do the same.”—Alex Lubinsky, CEO, RentBerry
3. Your business is global—don’t think it’s country based
No matter where your business is located, it’s likely doing business around the world. This is especially true when you have an online business. It doesn’t matter what state or country you are currently based; it’s important that you can accept payment and orders from customers throughout the world.