Business

Blog Series: How to start, launch and scale a Small Business (Part 2)

4 Mins read
How to start a small business

Welcome back to our blog series on how to start, launch, and scale a small business. In Part 1, we discussed the essential prerequisites for embarking on your entrepreneurial journey. Now, in Part 2, we’re going to delve into the crucial phase of preparing for your business launch.

If you’ve not read Part 1 of the series yet, we highly recommend you go through it once and then come back to read the second part.

Preparing for the launch of your small business is an exciting and pivotal moment. It’s the phase where your ideas begin to materialize, and you take the necessary steps to turn them into a reality. This stage requires careful planning, meticulous attention to detail, and a strategic approach to set yourself up for success.

In this article, we will guide you through the essential elements of the preparation phase, providing you with valuable insights and practical tips to ensure a smooth and impactful launch.

Prepare your business for launch

To launch a business, you need to ensure a few factors which we will discuss point by point.

Select a business name

Selecting a business name is one of the most crucial steps in starting a business. A well-thought name can help your business stand out from the competitors. It also plays a key role in creating a strong brand identity and establishing trust with customers.

A good business name should be unique, memorable, easy to pronounce and spell, and should accurately reflect the nature of the business.

Once you have thought of a business name, the next step should be to establish your business online.

Did you know that 71% of small businesses have a website, while one in four small businesses that do not have a website are at the risk of missing out on making an impression on potential customers? (1)

A domain name is an important starting point as you begin the process of creating your business website.

A domain name is essentially the web address that people will use to find your website online. Thankfully, you’ve got plenty of options to buy a domain name.

A good domain name should ideally have the following features:

  • Relevancy to the business or product
  • Easy to spell, remember, and pronounce (avoid hyphens, special characters, and numbers)
  • Unique, distinctive, and memorable
  • A relevant and appropriate domain extension like .com, .net, or .org.

When selecting a domain registrar for your domain name, you can take the following points into consideration:

  • Domain pricing: Check the domain pricing offered by the registrar and compare it with other registrars. Make sure that the pricing is transparent and that there are no hidden fees.
  • Domain extensions: Make sure the registrar offers the domain extension you want for your website. Some domain registrars may offer a limited selection of extensions, so make sure to check before registering.
  • Customer support: Choose a registrar that offers good customer support, including phone, email, and chat support. This will ensure that you can get help when you need it.
  • Security: Look for a registrar that offers security features such as two-factor authentication, SSL certificates, and domain privacy protection to keep your website safe from hackers and spammers.
  • User-friendly control panel: Choose a registrar that offers an easy-to-use control panel to manage your domain name, including DNS settings, email forwarding, and renewal options.
  • Domain transfer: Check if the registrar allows domain transfers in case you need to switch to a different registrar in the future.

By considering these points, you can select a reputable and reliable domain registrar who can help you register and manage your domain name with ease.

Select a web hosting service provider

Once you have purchased a domain for your site – it is time to move on to the next step i.e., selecting the web hosting.

Web hosting will ensure that your website is accessible to the internet with a unique address. As a beginner, you should be aware of some common web hosting options available in the market.

  • Shared hosting: This is the most common type of web hosting, and it is usually the most affordable. With shared hosting, your website is hosted on a server along with other websites, sharing resources such as CPU, memory, and disk space.
  • Website builders: These are platforms that allow users to create and host websites without any coding knowledge. They usually provide drag-and-drop editors that make it easy to build a website from scratch, with pre-designed templates to choose from. Some popular website builders include Builder.ai, Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace.
  • WordPress hosting: WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) used to build and manage websites. WordPress hosting is a type of hosting optimized specifically for WordPress sites, with features such as automatic updates and backups, one-click installations, and specialized support.
  • VPS hosting: VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is a type of hosting where you have your own virtual server with dedicated resources, offering greater control and flexibility. It is a good option for websites that require more resources than shared hosting can provide but are not yet ready for dedicated hosting.
  • Ecommerce hosting: This is a type of web hosting only that is specifically designed for online stores and businesses that sell products or services online. The hosting plan is optimized for the specific needs of ecommerce websites, such as high traffic, secure payment processing, and inventory management.

If you need more privacy and exclusive resources, you can also go for dedicated server hosting. Look for a good web hosting services provider who will help you with the selection of the right hosting.

A good web host should provide reliable and fast website performance, a high uptime guarantee, excellent security features, and good customer support. Additionally, it’s important to consider factors such as pricing, scalability, and flexibility to ensure that your website can grow and adapt to the changing needs of your business.

Once you’ve selected the domain name and web hosting – you can go forward and launch your business website.

However, remember that your small business journey has just started. To position it for growth, you’ll have to ensure the successful execution of crucial business functions – which will be discussed in the next part of the blog series.

Winding-up

Congratulations! You’ve now reached the end of Part 2 of our blog series on starting, launching, and scaling a small business. We hope this article has provided you with valuable insights and a roadmap to prepare for an impactful business launch.

By carefully planning and executing the necessary steps, you’re setting yourself up for success in the entrepreneurial world. Remember, preparation is key, and the foundation you lay during this phase will significantly impact the trajectory of your business.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of our blog series, where we will focus on the exciting stage of growing your business. From marketing and sales strategies to scaling operations and expanding your customer base, we’ll delve into the essential elements of business growth.

Meanwhile, if you want to unlock more small business growth strategies, you can explore our comprehensive guide on “Starting a Small Business”.

Download it, here.

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Priya Abraham

About author
Priya an ambivert by nature, believes in giving shape to her ideas through her write ups. She is an intellectual person who loves exploring and researching about new things. In her free times she loves reading novels along with some soft music.
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