You don’t need a college degree or experience in the corporate world to start a company. You don’t even need a lot of money in the bank. Some of the world's most famous entrepreneurs dropped out of college (or high school), started tinkering with ideas in their garages, and built empires that are still thriving today.

So, what does it take to start a business that succeeds long-term? It can be broken down into three elements:

1. A great business idea

2. A drive to succeed

3. A practical strategy for achieving realistic goals.

Let’s assume you already have the drive (and maybe even an idea). Below, The Pink Ink has shared 10 simple tips for developing a strategy that positions you to win!

1. Brainstorm Possibilities

If you have a stellar business idea ready to go, you are already off to a great start. But it’s essential to recognize that you have much more work in front of you. And you may have to modify your idea to ensure it is truly unique or at least offers something that is missing in your target market.

If you have the entrepreneurial drive but have not yet settled on a specific business idea, dedicate time to brainstorming and researching the possibilities. Look for caps in the market, and think of how you can use your skills and knowledge to fill them.

2. Research the Market

Market research is a critical step in starting any type of business. Even if you are confident in your business idea, you must confirm that it can make a profit. It can only do that if you have a strong unique selling proposition (USP).

Whether that means you are creating a one-of-a-kind product or providing a well-established service that your community is missing. Look into potential competitors to see how they are solving consumer problems; this is also an excellent way to get inspiration and ideas for how you can market your brand to stand out.

3. Learn Marketing Basics

Too many business owners underestimate the power of an effective marketing strategy. The quality of your product or service will play a vital role in your company’s success, but marketing is how most people will learn about you. In other words, it will be how the majority of your customers first learn about your products or services.

While you don’t have to develop a full marketing strategy in the early stages, it helps to start thinking about what you will need so that you can observe other businesses and entrepreneurs, and start learning the basics. That way, when it is time to write up a strategy, you will be well-prepared and ready to jump in quickly.

Much of your marketing strategy will involve using the right tools. Today, there are a plethora of technologies that allow entrepreneurs with minimal experience to successfully promote their brands. For example, you will want a tool to convert JPG to PDF online so that you can easily add images to marketing materials and communicate with any designers you choose to work with.

If you work with freelancers or agencies, chances are you will send them ideas through email. While compressing a JPG file will allow you to send more files more quickly, you can significantly degrade the quality of your images. By using a JPG-to-PDF converter, you can convert several JPGs into a single PDF while preserving image quality.

4. Knock Out Legal Responsibilities

Legal tasks are a hurdle for many entrepreneurs. But if you know what you are getting into, you can prepare and complete all your legal responsibilities to ensure your company starts off on solid footing. For example, you will need to select a business structure that will determine how you pay taxes, your level of liability, the amount of paperwork you must keep up with, and many other factors.

5. Create a Business Plan

Your business plan is one of the most important documents you will ever create for your company. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs and small business owners neglect to write a business plan because they don’t see the value in it or because they feel too busy. But taking the time to draft a thorough business plan can save your company a lot of time and money in the long run. Here are a few factors to include in your business plan:

• An executive summary

• The pain points your company will solve

• Your target audience

• Your promotional strategies

• Your fundraising plan

• How your company will make money

• Milestones you can achieve along the way

With a detailed business plan in hand, you will be well-equipped to take on many challenges that come your way. Plus, lenders and investors are drawn to entrepreneurs who know what they want and how they will get it.

6. Start Raising Funds

The amount of capital you will need largely depends on what type of business you are starting. For example, if you are launching a dog-walking business that will eventually expand to a full-fledged pet care business (e.g., grooming, boarding, daycare, etc.), then you may not need hardly any money to get started. You can also look for ways to help keep the costs of running your business low, which can keep the need for raising capital at bay until you have no other option. As an example, if you have a great idea for a planner that you think will benefit a lot of people, forego the physical product and instead focus on creating something digital — something people can use on a wide variety of devices. The Pink Ink, for instance, can hep you create a smart, engaging digital planner that skips the cost of physical product but still gives your potential customers something that can take their needs one step further.

But if your company requires more startup capital, you will need to figure out how to get it. Unless you have the money to bootstrap your business, start looking into your options. Armed with an impressive business plan, start applying to as many small business grants as you can, and find loans that cater to your niche and goals. If you need significant capital, you could also arrange meetings with investors and even start a crowdfunding campaign. There are many funding options, so do your due diligence in compiling a list of potential fundraising ideas.

7. Hone in on Your Product or Service

If your business idea centers on a product, you will need to bring that product to life before launching your business. If possible, try to maintain full control of product design, and if you must bring other people on board, make sure they are specialists (you don’t want generalists at this point). If you are developing a unique app, you will need someone with the experience to help you get it up and running, whereas you will need a manufacturer if you want to release a mass-produced product.

If your company will be focused on services, make sure you meet all educational and training requirements. If you need to get a degree, certifications, or any other credentials, focus your time and energy on that before starting your business. If you are a writer, web designer, graphic designer, virtual assistant, or another type of service-based entrepreneur, you might find online job boards helpful for getting a good start in finding clients.

8. Build a Website

You will want an eye-catching and easy-to-use website ready to go before you launch your company. Besides creating a logo and choosing branding elements for your marketing materials, building a website will be the first step of your marketing strategy because your site is what all of your promotional efforts will point to.

Many factors make for a good business website, but here are some of the fundamentals:

• Attractive design

• Simple, clean, and easy to navigate

• Valuable written and visual content relevant to the industry

• Clear descriptions of your products or services

• An effective contact page

• Concise and compelling calls to action (CTAs)

• Fast page loading speed

• Optimized for SEO

Though anyone can start a company, you won’t get very far unless you prepare and strategize every step. Going through the steps above will get you off to a solid start and prepare you to unleash your marketing strategy and hire your first team members. But keep learning as much as you can about what it takes to build a business that stands the test of time. And most importantly, stay true to your mission and keep that entrepreneurial drive alive so that you can weather any storms that come your way.

Would you like to read more helpful content or learn about our digital planner program and services? Visit The-PinkInk.com today!

Blog post is written by a guest blogger:

Courtney started Gig Spark to be a resource and the first step for people who are looking to join the gig economy, either to supplement their income or as a way to fulfill their dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

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