Start your business on the right path...Year 1 tips

By Paige Arnof-Fenn

Founder & CEO of Mavens & Moguls

I started a global branding and digital marketing firm 24 years ago in Cambridge, MA. To set your company up for success I believe that great businesses have strong/memorable names. Market Research is more important now than ever! Whatever we thought we knew/understood before Covid about our customers/market must now be checked because the world has changed so much since March ‘20. If you don't have a unique story to tell/new approach/idea that excites you, go no further. Every great idea is built on a great story so start telling yours to potential audiences and see if they buy what you're selling. Testing should always be done with real customers, not family/friends (who may only tell you what they think you want to hear/don't hurt your feelings). Market research will take risk out of the decision, let the data drive you instead of emotions. 

Branding is what helps your new business stand out from all the noise/competition. The single most important ingredient to creating a great brand is authenticity. It has to be and feel real for it to work. Don’t let social media drive you crazy, you do not need to be everywhere, it does not matter which platform you choose just pick 1-2 that are authentic to you. It should look/sound like you and the brand you have built. Whether yours is polished/informal, chatty/academic, humorous/snarky, it is a way for your personality to come through so that for the ones who would be a great fit for you they feel/keep a connection and you give them a reason to remember you so that they think of you first when they need your help. You don’t exist today if you cannot be found online. Your online presence is only growing in importance. Make sure your site is keyword rich/mobile friendly/loads quickly/produces meaningful content. That also happens to be a great, cost-efficient foundation for effective SEO. 

My biggest challenge early on was that the people you start with are not always the ones who grow with you. The hardest lesson I learned when I started my company is not getting rid of weak people earlier than I did in the first few years of my business. I spent more time managing them than finding new customers. I knew in my gut they were not up to snuff but out of loyalty to them I let them hang around much longer than they should have. It would have been better for everyone to let them go as soon as the signs were there. They became more insecure and threatened as we grew which was not productive for the team. As soon as I let them go the culture got stronger and the bar higher. “A" team people like to be surrounded by other stars. It is true that you should hire slowly and fire quickly. I did not make that mistake again later on so learned it well the first time. I wish I had known it even earlier though but lesson learned for sure! 

I also recommend NOT spending money on things like fancy brochures, letterhead, business cards, etc. Until you know your business is launched I would say to put your budget into things that help fill your pipeline with customers. Getting your URL and a website up and running is key. 

I created online stationery for proposals and invoices, ordered my cards online and made downloadable materials as leave behinds for people looking for more information to help me find clients more quickly. I know other business owners who spent thousands of dollars on these things and found it was a waste of money. Your story will evolve as you find your market, you need to look professional and have a web site to be taken seriously but embossed paper with watermarks and heavy card stock is not going to accelerate your sales cycle. Find those reference customers quickly, use them to get testimonials and referrals. There is plenty of time later to dress things up!

Connect With Paige

www.linkedin.com/in/paigearnoffenn

www.mavensandmoguls.com