The steps for a start-up business can be all the feels: exciting, nerve-wracking, scary, fulfilling…I am sure that I can go on and on. Launching Boomerang Consulting has been quite the journey after years running departments and executive teams. Soooo many people have tips and tricks and everywhere you turn there is conflicting advice. Create a blog? Affiliate Marketing? Post daily on social? Post 3-5x a day!? Resell course programs-get rich quick? Is this a scam? Honestly, I had to tune out the noise and get down to the basics.

I’ve combined my go-to steps below to serve as a compass to get your start-up business set up on the right foot. From there, you can build off of each step specific to your own goals. Let’s check ’em out!

The Start-up Strategy

Start by outlining a clear and concise business strategy. Okay, so what does that really mean? You have to define your niche, mission, vision, and unique value. A few questions to ask yourself:

• What problem are you solving?
• Who are you solving them for? Business owners? Providers? Non-profits?
• What goal do you want to accomplish for others?
• How do you see yourself solving those problems?

The next thing you want to do is identify your target audience. Who do you want your outreach to extend to? Essentially, outside of your own personal “WHY”… what audience are you trying to reach? For example, my target audience for Boom are entrepreneurs, those seeking to start their own businesses, and those already in business but without a clear path to get to where they want to go. The start-up business strategy for one person may not be the same as that for another. Some people don’t even know where to start, so that’s one thing we help them do.

Always think in terms of what problem you are able to solve with your offerings.

Host With the Most

Choosing a reliable web hosting provider is super important for your start-up business. This isn’t an ad, but a convenient host to sign up for as it includes your domain, hosting, maintenance, emails, and more. Hostinger.com offers affordable and efficient hosting solutions, ensuring your website is secure and accessible. It’s user-friendly. It simplifies the process of managing your online assets. It allows you to focus on growing your business. Basically, what more can you ask for?

Identify Your Identity

Okay, this is one of the most important pieces of this to me. Your brand is your…everything. Developing your brand identity has to resonate with you, but also your audience. It is what all of your online material and print material is based on. This is what you need to do:

• Brand colors (HEX codes are important!)
• Logo (1-2 will do)
• Font suite (you want your fonts to be able to marry each other)
• Elements (what is the vibe you want for your brand?)

A strong brand establishes trust and loyalty among customers. It establishes consistency so that your social platforms and website and print and decor (if you have a brick and mortar) all jive. It’s like peanut butter and jelly… it just goes together.

The Boomerang Consulting team can create your branding guide so you don’t have to.

Date Your Audience

Not literally, but you need to know your audience inside and out. Conduct thorough market research to identify your target demographic’s needs, preferences, and pain points. Tailor your products, services, and marketing efforts to address these specific requirements.

A few pointers:

• Market research: this is where you study behaviors and trends of consumers in your niche industry. If you are opening a French restaurant in a high-end part of town, you want to understand peak dining times, the trends of the client base, and then tailor your business plan around that. You may have to tweak it as trends change, so know this isn’t set in stone.
• Pain Points: What are issues encountered by customers? To stick on the hypothetical restaurant train, what are issues dining-out customers face in your area? Wait times? Poor service? Aspects of the customer experience are HUGE when it comes to running a business.
• Marketing: Understanding who to market to is really important, like suuuuper important. If you don’t know who you are advertising to, you can’t tailor your marketing strategies correctly.

Building a Comprehensive Marketing Plan

Craft a marketing plan that encompasses both online and offline strategies. Use the sh*t out of social media, content marketing, and email campaigns to reach your target audience. Leverage both digital and traditional marketing channels to maximize your business’s visibility. The marketing strategy for a start-up business can change over time, but you want to be sure that the previously mentioned suggestions are infused into the strategy, particularly your brand and target audience.

Strategic Website, Strategic Plan

Invest in a professional website. That sentence is short and sweet and its #facts. A website that reflects your brand and offers a seamless user experience is critical whether you are selling services or products. The ease of use of what people look for, particularly on the mobile view. Optimize for mobile responsiveness and ensure that your website is easy to navigate from one section to another. An engaging and functional site is crucial for converting whoever visits your website… because at the end of the day, your goal is to drive revenue.

At Boomerang Consulting, website development is one of our specialties. Creating a custom website to highlight your uniqueness is vastly important to us, so we are here to help with that.

Content is Queen

They actually say its “King” but Queen just seems fitting here for us female entrepreneurs.

Another important aspect of your website is the copy. Your specialties and services copy is important in describing what you do, invoking the emotion that comes with selling a service. Back to the French restaurants example… by describing your dishes, how they are made, etc. this invokes a feeling for the consumer. Think about this as you are writing the copy, or hire someone to do that for you who understands how to grab the attention and drive home the details.

Developing a content strategy that includes regular blog posts is huge to piggy-back off of the your regular content. SEO-focused copy that provides value to your audience establishes your business as an authority in your industry will attract and retain customers. The devil’s in the details and the details are where people want to know more about your business.

Show Them You’re Special

Highlight your unique offerings or specialties. Whether it’s a niche product, exceptional customer service, or a groundbreaking solution, make sure to communicate what sets your business apart from the rest. If you’re opening a French restaurant, odds are you are one of few. But, if you are opening, say, a burger joint, what makes your burgers different? What makes the experience stand out? Why should they come to your place and not Joey’s around the corner? Emphasizing your specialties will help you carve out a distinctive place in your market.

Launching a business involves a meticulous combination of planning, execution, and adaptability. By implementing start-up business growth strategies, you’re well on your way to crafting a business model that is sustainable. As the leader of an executive team running a multi-million dollar start-up, we’ve got your back at Boomerang Consulting with branding, copy, website development, 1:1 Coaching. Let’s launch your passion.