How To Start Your Own Business
We live in extraordinary times. The Internet changed the game and social media brought the game to a whole new level. There has never been so many tools available at our fingertips. Geography is no longer a restriction. The list could go on and on. The point is, it has never been easier to start your own business. Here are some initial steps for building a strategic foundation.
1. Pick a name that works. Something simple, memorable and available.
2. Design a simple website. Make sure to use a decent content management system (CMS). The structure and features of a CMS are going to be important someday. Trust me.
3. Setup a twitter account . Use your name. Even if you doubt the value of twitter, go ahead and create a twitter account anyway.
4. Get a nice logo. Make sure you get the vector file (Illustrator or EPS file) as part of the final deliverable.
5. Setup a Facebook business page (known as a “fan” page). Add a simple description of your business, link back to your main website. Facebook doesn’t allow simple/vanity URLs until you establish a required number of fans. So, setup a sub-domain and redirect it to your Facebook page.
6. Kick off a blog. You can use one of the free hosting tools (like WordPress.com), but do NOT make it yourcompany.wordpress.com. You want to control all the SEO authority for your blog and channel it towards your main website.
7. Write a blog article that describes how you got to this point. What problem you’re hoping to solve. Why you picked this problem.
8. Setup Google Alerts for at least the following: your company name, link:yourdomain.com, your name.
9. Update (or create) your LinkedIn profile Mention your new business, and add a link to your website.
10. Get business cards printed. Don’t go overboard, but don’t use a free option. You need them when people ask you for one at conferences and meetings and such.
11. Use the Twitter Grader search feature to find high-impact twitter users in your industry. Start following them. Listen. Share. Connect.
12. Create a StumbleUpon account. Spend 10 minutes a day stumbling and voting things up/down. Don’t submit your own stuff — just start contributing.
13. Subscribe to the LinkedIn Answers category that best fits your area of interest. Answer one question a day. Don’t self-promote. You’re seeking to build credibility and trust.
14. Find the bloggers that are writing about your topic area. Subscribe to their feed, and read their stuff regularly. Leave valuable comments and participate in the conversation.
15. Start building contacts on Facebook. Organize your contacts into groups. This will come in handy later.
16. Grade your website on Website Grader . Fix the basic things.
17. Get Some Analytics: Install web analytics software and start watching your traffic.
What have I missed? List other steps in the comments.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=aec6f1dc-c3fc-40f3-a41e-a1585a618daa)
I'm always open to your thoughts...