{"id":30460,"date":"2017-02-21T10:24:46","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T10:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sbnn.co.uk\/?p=30460"},"modified":"2024-04-09T13:45:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T12:45:36","slug":"yekemi-otaru-50-tips-50-days-since-starting-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aberdeenbusinessnews.co.uk\/yekemi-otaru-50-tips-50-days-since-starting-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Yekemi Otaru: 50 tips from 50 days since starting a business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The first time I sold something for profit, I was eight years old. I knitted my first jumper and it was too small for me. So I knocked on the doors in my neighbourhood to offer it for sale. I think it was at the fifth house that I sold it. The buyer bought it for his daughter who was a couple of years younger than me. Those were the days&#8230; I got a thrill. And it felt easy and natural.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Starting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sbnn.co.uk\/3jri\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YO! Marketing<\/a> is different. It has required a lot of research, preparation and a lot to decision-making. While it has been a natural career progression from me, I&#8217;m learning that it&#8217;s not easy. But everyday, the thrill grows&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Here are 50 tips I&#8217;ve gathered in the 50 days since starting a business full-time in Scotland:<\/p>\n<p><strong>You have an idea<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. Contact your local business support office e.g Business Gateway, Scottish Enterprise, Elevator UK<br \/>\n2. Get a business mentor<br \/>\n3. Leverage your professional network<br \/>\n4. Write a business plan (detailed for first year, and indicative for up to 5 years)<br \/>\n5. Quickly spot what you can&#8217;t do then give it away<br \/>\n6. Practice explaining what you do in detail and in short, especially if you intend to pitch for funding<br \/>\n7. Approach every prospect as a chance to test your idea or solution, whether or not it ends up in a sale<br \/>\n8. Start with one idea and build on it when starting a business<br \/>\n9. Research your competitors and be clear about why you are different<br \/>\n10. Consider a part-time gig to fund your business at the start<br \/>\n11. Always leave well with previous employers. They could be one of your very first clients<\/p>\n<p><strong>Communicate your idea<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>12. Get your 30 secs, 2 mins and 10 mins pitches crafted early on<br \/>\n13. Be clear about what your value proposition is for your target audience<br \/>\n14. Use trademarks, copyright and\/or Intellectual Property to protect your ideas where possible<br \/>\n15. Don&#8217;t be afraid to ask associates and\/or new hires to sign an NDA<br \/>\n16. Google yourself, would you do business with this person? If not, fix your online profile<br \/>\n17. Test your ideas through blog posts and articles &#8211; invite feedback<br \/>\n18. Write a book that documents your idea. It&#8217;s one of the best ways to copyright your solution to the market<br \/>\n19. Get a website &#8211; WordPress, Wix and SquareSpace are great to start with<br \/>\n20. Get business cards. Have them on you all the time and don&#8217;t be shy to give them away<\/p>\n<p><strong>Make your idea visible<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>21. Your business&#8217; sales cycle could be three months or more depending on your target market, product or service<br \/>\n22. Consider office space &#8211; Will you work from home? For how long? Will it matter to your customer base?<br \/>\n23. When securing office space, consider where your customer are. Location is key for easy commute to meet people<br \/>\n24. Co-working spaces are a God-send. There are several e.g. Regus, i2, Elevator UK, depending on location and your needs. This might be a better option to begin with, then gradually ease into a full blown office accommodation when you feel ready<br \/>\n25. Consider using a PR firm<\/p>\n<p><strong>Build an audience<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>26. Grow your Twitter following<br \/>\n27. Use Twitter polls as a mini market research tool<br \/>\n28. Use Twitter and LinkedIn ads to elevate your key messages and drive traffic to your website<br \/>\n29. Be clear about your goals in your first year, including revenue, number of target customers, cost structure, partnerships and recruitment<br \/>\n30. Create a LinkedIn company page<br \/>\n31. Promote your book through speaking engagements, blog posts and social media<\/p>\n<p><strong>Open your mind<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>32. Look outside your city for opportunities when starting a business<br \/>\n33. Look outside your industry for opportunities when starting a business<\/p>\n<p><strong>Make digital tools your friend<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>34. Use Skype or Zoom for meetings instead of phone calls. It personalises your interactions when you can&#8217;t do a face-to-face<br \/>\n35. Use Evernote (or a similar tools) to build a library of resources that you can share on-the-go with potential and existing clients<br \/>\n36. Leverage Google My Business and Google +<br \/>\n37. Submit your website to webmaster tools e.g Google, Bing etc.<br \/>\n38. Discover Fiverr for help with small online jobs<\/p>\n<p><strong>Organise your life<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>39. Keep track of your finances from Day 1<br \/>\n40. Learn double entry accounting. It helps in the early days if you want to do it yourself<br \/>\n41. Get an accountant if you are a limited company<br \/>\n42. Use your first few projects as case studies and testimonials. You might have to negotiate with the client but it&#8217;s worth a try<br \/>\n43. Aggregate your emails in one place using Thunderbird (or a similar tool like Sanebox)<br \/>\n44. Establish a CRM system early on. Highrise is a good start<br \/>\n45. Check out FrontAccounting, a free accounting system<br \/>\n46. Consider using free word processing software such as Libre Office as an alternative to Microsoft<br \/>\n47. Save money if you currently work elsewhere. A few months of living expenses is a good buffer for the early days<\/p>\n<p><strong>Take care of yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>48. Build an exercise routine into your schedule<br \/>\n49. Be patient &#8211; time goes much more slowly when you&#8217;re working for yourself. Whether you are waiting for your next client or expecting a response from a prospect, it will not be a 48-hour wait. More like 2 weeks&#8230;<br \/>\n50. Create a schedule that allows you have social (fun) interactions where you are able to speak frankly. Working for yourself can be lonely so you deserve the fun and downtime.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Yekemi Otaru is managing director of YO! Marketing\u00a0which is a marketing and strategy consultancy working at the interaction between business strategy, digital and marketing strategy. They work mainly in the B2B advanced manufacturing and engineering sectors.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>She is also the author of\u00a0The Smart Sceptic&#8217;s Guide to Social Media in Organisations<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first time I sold something for profit, I was eight years old. I knitted my first jumper and it was too small for me. So I knocked on the doors in my neighbourhood to offer it for sale. I think it was at the fifth house that I sold it. The buyer bought it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,20,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Yekemi Otaru: 50 tips from 50 days since starting a business - Aberdeen Business News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aberdeenbusinessnews.co.uk\/yekemi-otaru-50-tips-50-days-since-starting-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yekemi Otaru: 50 tips from 50 days since starting a business - Aberdeen Business News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The first time I sold something for profit, I was eight years old. 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