How Starting a Small Business Does More Than Make You Money
You have likely already heard the term, “Buy local, or bye local.” This is simply a way of saying that supporting your local businesses is a great way to support your community. But, as a future business owner, your business also plays a role in bolstering your hometown. How? Keep reading for the answer and for a few quick tips from Julie Taeko on how to get started.
Economic Health
There’s a lot of talk about the global and national economy, but not nearly enough about local economies. Having a small business is one of the best ways to boost your local economy, which is important on many levels. Your local financial state consists of everything from jobs to housing prices and vacancies. As a business owner, you are in a unique position to create jobs for the people that already live where you are.
Just as importantly, when people have an opportunity to buy local products and services, more money stays close. Money spent at small businesses stays in that town at a rate of approximately $0.67 per dollar. Where does it go? It pays your employees. It pays city taxes. It’s used as donations. It goes to pay other small businesses for their products and services. Having a small business creates a positive ripple effect.
Entrepreneurship Encouragement
Something else you can do as a business owner is to encourage others, particularly young people, minorities, and those with special talents, to start their own enterprises. Furthermore, by supporting your up-and-coming minority-owned businesses, you empower your local community and, more importantly, help close the racial wealth gap.
Promote Diversity
Local businesses not only drive healthy competition, but they also offer a valuable opportunity for people to experience a diverse range of locally-made products. For example, if you own a specialty food shop, people will have access to ethnic or unusual cuisine or ingredients that they might not otherwise. This can help instill a sense of respect and value in other cultures, as it helps us gain a sense of understanding about unfamiliar areas.
How To Start A Business
Starting a business means handling many moving parts. Some of these include:
Forming your LLC | An LLC is a legal business structure that gives you some tax advantages each year. Additionally, you’ll have management flexibility, meaning that you can change your hierarchical organizational chart at any time without government interference. You’ll need to establish an LLC operating agreement, which is a fairly straightforward and inexpensive process if you use a formation service instead of an attorney.
MASTER MARKETING | Marketing is where many new business owners get caught unaware. While it’s easy to hope that your products will bring people in on their own, this isn’t always the case. Partner with a marketing agency to help you get your name out into the digital world. Not only can they help with social media management and email marketing, but also content, reputation management, and web design.
GO BACK TO SCHOOL | If you want a thorough understanding of how your business operates, as well as the tools and skills you need to succeed, consider going back to school. These days, you can take courses at home on a variety of subjects related to your business, such as accounting. Of course, you don’t need to go back to school to start a business, but having extra tools in your arsenal, is never a bad idea.
KNOW YOUR NICHE | Your niche is an area that you specialize in and basically, your focus area. Identifying this keeps you from suffering the frustrations of being the proverbial Jack-of-all-trades but master of none. Your small business should not be generic but instead, serve your target demographic with curated products and services they want and need.
DON’T SKIMP ON THE EQUIPMENT | Having an office with all of the right tools is always a good idea. If you haven’t already, fill your workspace with the things you need to succeed, including a reliable computer with a good webcam (invest in a great headset if you do a lot of calls). If you’re having trouble finding the right equipment, or you want to do a little research before you start spending money, check out sites like Tech Pro Daily for reviews and recommendations.
You obviously need to earn an income and turn a profit, otherwise, you would not have started your own business. But, you can do so much more than benefit your own bottom line.
When you create jobs and impact your community, you pave the way for others to do the same. The small business that you start today may be the very beginning of a domino effect that has a lasting, positive impact on the place you call home.
Guest Article Series written by author Dean Burgess
