Starting a business is no easy task. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, only about half of all businesses survive for at least five years. This doesn’t mean that it’s a hopeless task, however. After all, there’s no reason why your startup shouldn’t be one of the 50% that survives.

The Importance of Organization

To increase your chances of success, you need to start as you mean to go on. Before you even set up your business, you need to plan things out. Winston Churchill famously said that “he who fails to plan is planning to fail.”

While a great idea is a good start, a business lives and dies on the business plan. You need to have goals to reach for, and strategies in place to reach those goals. This way you can track your progress and, if need be, make adjustments as your startup develops. 

When you first set things up, it can be tempting to take the quick and easy route and neglect setting some things up. You may reason that, while things are small, you don’t need to organize everything as they’re manageable as they are. However, while you might be able to keep track of things at the start, you’re only making a rod for your own back.

It’s much easier to set up an organizational structure and plan first, rather than having to reorganize things on the go and move things around. This way, your business will run smoothly from the get-go and you won’t have to take time away from earning money to sort out an inefficient and unorganized business.

Separate Your Finances

One important part of running a business is keeping your personal and business finances separate. Sole proprietors can use their personal bank accounts for their business, but it’s easy to lose track of purchases this way.

This means that, when you fill in your tax return, you may not have an accurate account of your business spendings, as they’re mixed up with your personal spendings. This is why keeping track of every purchase is important, as you could be paying too much on your taxes, missing out on tax breaks, or even worse, paying too little and risking a fine.

As well as keeping a record of your business income and expenses, you should also consider separating your accounts. Credit Union business credit cards provide excellent buying power for your business, so that you can develop it as you wish.

Organize Marketing Early

Another mistake that many startups make is to neglect their marketing strategies. You may feel that you have enough to keep track of already, but if people don’t know about your business, then they won’t buy anything.

Marketing early cements you as a potential player in your industry and can boost your business growth by exposing it to more people. Develop relationships with customers early, so that you can build on them. Social media is a great way to set up a marketing campaign, as it can be inexpensive and very effective. Check out the Key2Success Communications Planner to get started!