Getting your small business off the ground is a trying time. You have already invested a lot of time and energy into making your dream of being an entrepreneur a reality, and sticking to a projected timeline is critical if you want to succeed in opening your business’s doors without going (too far) over your budget.
There is so much that goes into the logistics of starting a small business that you simply can’t do it all by yourself. It is also not possible for you to have all the education and experience to properly handle many of the particulars of a small business startup.
For this reason you will need to consult and hire professionals with different areas of expertise. If you want to get your startup off to the best and most efficient start possible, here are four experts to bring on board.
1. An Accountant
Navigating the world of taxation can be a difficult task. This is why one of the first people that you need to find is the right accountant. As a small business startup, your tax rate will be largely dependent on whether or not you are operating as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation. That being said, there are a number of other factors that contribute to the level at which you are taxed.
An accountant is only necessary during tax time, however. The right accountant will help you with various other areas of your business’s financial management. Don’t waste too much time before starting your search for your new accountant.
2. A Lawyer
Since you haven’t even officially opened the doors of your new business yet, you might be wondering why you need to hire a lawyer. After all, no one has brought up any lawsuits against your business entity and perhaps you haven’t even started thinking about contracts with suppliers. Let it be known that having the right lawyer on board is about so much more than all that.
Articles of incorporation and the like will need to be drawn up by an experienced attorney. Partnership agreements as well as ensuring that all your paperwork, including anything that is required by the government of startups, need to be handled by the right attorney. Furthermore, there might be many legalities of the industry in which you are entering that you are as of yet unaware of.
Certain law firms, like wh Law, have divisions entirely dedicated to helping you navigate the legal ins and outs of starting your business. Make sure that the right lawyer is among your first hires so that you can avoid any costly legal missteps that can occur in the early stages of setting up your small business.
3. A Marketing Manager
No matter how much groundwork you lay for your small business, it can all come to nothing very quickly if you are unable to successfully market your brand. You need to alert potential clients and customers about your business in order to attract attention. Your business will need to be equipped with a functional and SEO friendly website that is easy for people to find as well as other features of an online presence.
There is so much strategy and expertise that goes into a successful marketing campaign, especially for new businesses, that you can’t really afford to try to take it on all by yourself. Perhaps you want to host events to get the word out about your company, or maybe you are thinking that an email campaign will be the best tactic.
No matter what marketing strategies you are considering, you will need someone who knows how to manage them all on your team. This is why it is critical that you hire the right marketing manager or marketing firm.
There are so many different marketing platforms available to use in order to reach out into the community and alert people about your business. All of these platforms need to be used with succinctness and consistency so that your brand becomes recognisable to anyone who needs the services you offer. The right marketing manager will be able to not only design a campaign to introduce your brand, but they will also continue to manage that brand throughout the life of your business.
4. A Recruiter or Recruiting Agency
It might seem like an unnecessary luxury, but hiring a recruiter to help you find the right employees can prevent you from hiring the wrong people right off the bat. When you are starting your small business, the last thing you want to deal with is employee turnover as a result of making the wrong hire in the first place. Recruiters can help you bring the right people on board the first time around, saving you time, effort, and potentially money in the long run.
Another reason to go this route when hiring your first batch of employees is to save yourself the large amount of time it generally takes to hire multiple employees. From vetting resumes to conducting interviews, the entire process can take months of precious time. This is particularly troublesome if you are on a strict timeline leading up to the day that you are officially open for business. Do yourself a favour and delegate these tasks to someone who knows exactly what to look for in the perfect employees.