Starting a Small Business that Serves Your Community

Starting a small business in your local community is an exciting and rewarding experience. You’ll have the opportunity to create something that meets the needs of your community, provides jobs for other members of your community, and helps to boost the local economy. Today, the Brown County Chamber of Commerce shares some tips and resources to help you get started on your entrepreneurial journey.

Why Start a Small Business?

Starting a local business in your community is an incredibly beneficial move for both you and the local economy. It can boost the economic growth of your town by providing much-needed services, products, and jobs to make life easier or more enjoyable. Local businesses also contribute to the culture of a community by introducing unique products and services that are exclusive to that particular area. 

Every dollar spent at a local business goes back into the economy, so not only do these businesses help boost the wealth of their towns, but they also provide helpful resources to citizens. By investing in a local business yourself, you can help fuel your own local economy and create more opportunities for other entrepreneurs.

Craft a Business Plan

Your business plan should include the purpose and goals of your business, a market analysis of your industry and target customers, as well as financial projections. This document will help you organize your thoughts and provide direction for success.

Calculate Startup Costs

Estimate how much it will cost to get off the ground, including legal fees for registering as an LLC, marketing expenses, and inventory costs. This way, you can ensure that you have enough capital to jumpstart your venture without running into financial trouble down the road.

Registering your small business as a limited liability company is a great choice for your fledgling venture. It provides helpful security from potential legal and financial liabilities, you’ll have access to tax benefits, and the process itself is straightforward. You'll just need to fill out the necessary paperwork and keep it in order so you can easily access it if needed. 

Look Into Cost-effective Marketing

Social media marketing can be very effective for small businesses because it’s affordable and provides easy access to potential customers through targeted campaigns and content creation strategies. While you can use paid ads, simply creating accounts for your business on Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms and posting regularly is a great and inexpensive way to get the word out about your local company.

Remember, word-of-mouth advertising remains one of the most powerful tools in marketing. Encourage existing customers to spread the word about their positive experiences with your product or service. You can incentivize them to do so by offering referral discount codes or physical coupons, which is a small price to pay for bringing in new business.

Observe Healthy Accounting

Proper bookkeeping is essential for any business owner who wants to stay organized and understand their finances better. This also comes in handy when tax season rolls around. Keep track of income versus expenses by creating accounting spreadsheets and holding onto your business-related receipts. Scanning your receipts to hold onto them digitally is a better way to stay organized than keeping paper copies; you can scan a document with a mobile app that will upload it onto your device as a PDF.

You should also consider hiring an accountant. If your budget is tight, investing in accounting software is a more cost-effective option for keeping your finances on track.                                                               

Take Business Courses Online

Educating yourself on topics like customer service, sales techniques, and operations management can equip you with the skills and knowledge needed for success in business ownership. And thanks to the flexibility afforded by online learning platforms, earning a business bachelor degree is easier and more convenient than ever, so consider taking online classes to brush up on these necessary skills.

Starting a business requires plenty of hard work, but doing so can also bring great rewards. By writing a business plan, calculating startup costs, registering as an LLC, beefing up your marketing game, and instituting sound accounting practices, you’ll set your venture up for success as you embark on this exciting entrepreneurial journey!