How to Start a Business in 10 Days
Jeremy Ostermiller didn't need a letter to know that he had to get
his Denver-based media-tech startup, Altitude Digital, into the black
fast or watch his future take a dispiriting U-turn. "I knew it had to be
profitable," he says. "I had put my last $500 into it, and I definitely
didn't want to move back in with my parents."
A lightning-fast rise to profitability by their respective
startups spared Fish and Ostermiller from going belly up. Neither has
looked back since. Now a decade old, enjoying seven-figure annual
revenues and flush with Fortune 500 corporate clients, Integra Staffing
is the third-largest female-owned business in Charlotte, according to
Fish. Meanwhile, 4-year-old Altitude Digital, which matches online
content publishers with advertisers using an eBay-like bidding platform,
is on target to generate $20 million in revenue this year.
Chances are, neither venture would be where it is today if not for
the strategically sound groundwork laid by its founder prior to and
right after launch. Trying to start a business and make it profitable in
a matter of weeks isn't for the squeamish. Nor is it always advisable.
But it can be done. In fact, we've condensed the process into 10
intense, highly focused days. Call it our DIY accelerator to launching a
business.
Read on to learn how Fish, Ostermiller and a handful of others did it fast--and, more important, did it right.
Day 1
Draw up a business plan
When launching College Hunks Hauling Junk in 2004, the first move for
friends Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman was to dust off the business plan
they'd written in college a couple of years prior. "Ultimately, it was a
really valuable guide for us," Friedman says. In fact, it helped turn
their $80,000 initial investment ($30,000 of which was their own money)
into a powerhouse with some 500 employees and 47 U.S. franchises.
Whether written on the back of a napkin or a highly detailed 25-page
document, a business plan is critical for startups seeking the fast
route to profitability, asserts Ken Yancey, CEO of SCORE, a
small-business mentoring organization that offers free, generic
business-plan templates on its website.
Day 2
Study the market
Market research
is vital to a startup looking to hit the ground running, according to
Yancey. You want to create a snapshot of the competitive landscape
you're entering: how your products or services compare to what's
available, who your target customers are and what government regulations
and licensing requirements to expect. The SBA's SizeUp tool provides
access to meaningful demographic data, mapping potential customers,
competitors and suppliers, as well as identifying possible advertising
avenues.
When he was preparing to launch National Storm Shelters in 2010,
company president Jeff Turner conducted market research at trade shows
and held discussions with potential customers and competitors. This
confirmed what his instincts told him: that he had a winning product.
The Smyrna, Tenn.-based company, which designs, manufactures and
installs above- and below-ground safe rooms and storm shelters, was
profitable virtually since day one and now generates about $1.5 million
in annual sales.
As valuable as prelaunch research and planning can be, beware of
paralysis by over-analysis, especially when you lack the luxury of time,
cautions Fish from Integra Staffing. "Defining your sandbox is
important. But don't over-think or over-plan, and don't put a lot of
stock in sales forecasts."
You're bound to have questions about strategy and practicalities
leading up to launch. To get answers without ringing up an expensive
consulting tab, enlist someone with the acumen and willingness to
provide advice, coaching and skills to augment those you lack. A former
boss provided free advice to Ostermiller initially, then became a paid
advisor once Altitude Digital could afford the expense.
Day 3
Build out your brand
A brand identity,
including a name and a professional-looking logo, can bring instant
legitimacy, even before launch. For DIYers, online tools like LogoMaker
offer libraries of icons, color combinations and other elements to help
develop a logo fast--no design expertise required. Services such as
Logoworks are available if you want the work done for you quickly and
inexpensively. Once you have your logo nailed down, take your file to a
quick-turnaround print service for letterhead, business cards and
marketing collateral such as posters, mailers and sales sheets.
In most cases, startups need some kind of web presence to solidify
their brand identity (see "The quick-start startup" on page 20). Don't
forget to stake out a position on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
Instagram and LinkedIn. You may not use social media right now, but you
want to plant your flag ASAP.
Day 4
Incorporate the business
The nature of the startup dictates the extent to which it should rely
on an attorney to incorporate, trademark ideas/products, formalize
partnership agreements, etc. While it's best to let an attorney tackle
any complex legal matters, Friedman of College Hunks Hauling Junk
suggests considering some of the numerous online tools available to help
you handle simple undertakings yourself. "Our first bill from an
attorney to set up an LLC was $1,500. Little did we know we could have
done that ourselves for $300 online," he says.
Day 5
Set up a lean machine
With the clock ticking toward launch, Ostermiller needed help. He
found it on Craigslist, taking on two unpaid interns (both recent
college grads) whom he immediately put to work--one on sales and one on
operations--with the promise to hire them full time after 90 days if
things went well.
With no office yet, Ostermiller's interns worked from coffee shops
while he did so from his kitchen table. Likewise, Friedman's parents'
basement served as the first office for College Hunks Hauling Junk. For
Fish and Integra Staffing, a modest office, spartanly furnished with
used furniture, sufficed. From the outset, she says, the goal was to
"minimize the monthly burn."
Another tip: Beware the glowing promises of efficiency and speed from
shiny new technology and software. "Unless technology is part of your
core competency, you need to be careful how much you invest in
technology early on, because it can become very expensive very quickly,"
Friedman says. "You really need to fine-tune your model before
investing a lot in technology solutions."
Day 6
Start selling
Bringing in profits means making sales. Ostermiller and his interns
chased leads even before his company launched officially. Fish's sales
efforts began with tireless networking. "I didn't have any money then,
so I got my ass out of the chair and into the community," she says. "Any
event in town with more than 25 people, I was there. Breakfast, lunch
or dinner--it didn't matter."
To lay the marketing and sales groundwork for his startup, Friedman
let people in his personal network know about his new venture. "We had a
support network, a group of cheerleaders who were really inspired to
help us with our idea before we launched."
Day 7
Work the media
To generate buzz and sales, make media relations
a priority. As Turner and Friedman discovered, media outreach by a
business owner can pay quick and substantial dividends. "I called
different TV stations the first day we went to market to tell them about
[National Storm Shelters] and ended up on the 5 o'clock news," Turner
says. "That was huge!"
Similarly, right around the time of its launch, College Hunks got a
major boost from an article that landed in The Washington Post thanks to
Friedman placing a call to a reporter there. "We shot high, and it got
us on the front page of the Metro section," he says. "Our phone rang off
the hook from that article."
Day 8
Fake it to make it
Success is often a self-fulfilling prophecy. However modest your
beginnings, however short your track record, think big and act like you
belong. "We were scraping by, but we walked, talked and acted like a
bigger company," Friedman says.
College Hunks launched with an 800 number, a memorable logo and a
website that provided e-mail addresses for a range of company
departments (pr@…, marketing@…, HR@…), all of which funneled back to
Friedman and his partner. "It made us look like we were an established
business," Friedman says. "Having that image not only gave us
confidence, it established a level of credibility and confidence in the
consumer's mind. I think that's what got us those large corporate
accounts early on."
Fish took a different tack. She says she invested in a receptionist
prior to launch, primarily to impart a sense of professionalism to
callers.
Day 9
Work in and on your business
For startup entrepreneurs, the fast route to profitability often
means working in and on the business concurrently--at least in the first
days and weeks. It's a constant battle for time between hustling up new
business and taking care of new customers with outstanding service. "We
were at the dump at 5 a.m., doing all the physical stuff, while also
doing all the customer-facing stuff whenever we could," Friedman says.
When the day-to-day workload from the business becomes t
oo heavy--a
good sign, because it means you have customers--it's time to move tasks
such as strategic planning, hiring and marketing programs to the back
burner. Focus on generating cash flow first, Friedman suggests.Day 10
Throw a party
With the foundation for your business set, invite your network of
contacts, vendors, friends, family, customers and prospects to a
grand-opening celebration to generate buzz and goodwill within your
community. Doing so solidifies your image, telling people you're open
for business and you mean it.
At the party, take a breath, sip some champagne, make a speech
thanking everyone who's helped and seek feedback from your guests. In
short order, you've created your first focus group, one that will likely
provide you with a laundry list of tweaks, ideas and improvements that
you can start on tomorrow.
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