How To Start a Start-up

In this Article, we prepare a business strategy that shares 21 strategies for the start-up of your business.

Learnings

Poor mindset:

अपनी भाषा में कबीरा दिए समझाय; काम करो बस उतना जीतने में सैलरी मिल जाए I

Private company में वही कुछ कर दिखाता है; जो मेहनती गधे से company का जीजा बन जाता है I

Golden statement:

छोटी सोच और पाओं की मोच आगे बढ़ने नहीं देती I

Following are the 21 strategies for a start-up business:

1. Freelancing

Poor mindset:

सोमवार के दिन बस शरीर ही दफ्तर जाता है आत्मा तो घर रह जाती है,

यही वो मानसिकता है कि रघुपति राघव राजा राम, जितनी तनखव्वाह उतना काम I

Freelancing is all about:

अपनी मर्जी की जगह
अपनी मर्ज़ी का समय
अपनी मर्ज़ी का काम
अपनी मर्ज़ी का दाम
दुनिया लेगी सुबह शाम , पूरे सम्मान से आपका नाम
You should take into consideration the following 3 points about freelancing:

What excites you?
What is your skill set?
What is THE market demand?

If you have these 3 combinations, the money will come automatically to you.

• Golden statement:
• आज तुझ पर हस रहे हैं, कल वही लोग तेरा गुणगान करेंगे ,कर के दिखा कोई कमाल, लोग तुम पर अभिमान करेंगे I

Before starting up generally, people do is:

Fire, ready, and wrong aim.
Instead, it should be ready, aim, and then fire.
You should consider these points about freelancing:

i. Know why you are freelancing?

First, you need to identify your goals and be clear about freelancing.

• Golden statement:
• जो अपने लक्षय में खो गया, समझो वही व्यक्ति सफल हो गया I
• लक्ष्य जितना बड़ा होगा, उतना बड़ा बलिदान चाहिए, ज़िद्द जुन्नून और निशाय का स्वाभिमान चहिये I

You should do introspection as you are freelancing for:

Work-life satisfaction
Flexible schedule
Additional family income
Grow your career or taper it down
Make time for family
Poor mindset:

काम करो या न करो काम की फिक्र जरूर करो फिक्र करो या ना करो काम का जिक्र जरुर करो I

These are the employees who discuss only work and take their salary.

Poor mindset:

जो काम करे उसकी ऊँगली करो और जो काम ना करे उसकी चुगली करो I

ii. Access your aspiration:

You should match your dreams with reality.
You should assess aspirations and your today’s action.
Golden statement:

सपना एक देखोगे मुश्किलें हज़ार आएंगी लेकिन वो मंज़र खूबसूरत होगा जब क़ामयाबी शोर मचाएगी I

iii. Took exit or laid off?

Have you quit your job for a startup or you are being laid off by a Covid-19-like situation?
Are you searching for freelancing only because you are not getting a job?
You need to define a purpose and take some time out to sort out your things. You should do small tests.

Poor mindset:

ये सच है कि कड़ी मेहनत ने कभी किसी की जान नहीं ली है पर मुझे लगता है कि खतरा क्यों उठाया जाए?

You should take this risk. You should identify your key strengths as to how sharp are at your skills. The greater are your skills the higher the price you can ask for yourself.

• Golden statement:
• ये हुनर जब आ जाए तो आपका जमाना है पायों कहाँ पाओं छूने हैं कहाँ सर झुकाना है,
• ज्ञान प्राप्ति के लिए किसके पास जाना है I
• So, you should take learning from where that helps in achieving your goal.
• You should not copy the others and work on your skill set.

If you are new to freelancing you have to choose the model of:

Price badhaoà Customer ghataao
Price badhaooà Customer bachao
You should know the earning potential of your time.

You should make a list of your skills and divide them into two sides. On one side you have to write the skills that you love most and use daily.

On the other side, you have to write the skills that you have but you don’t use them daily as the skills that are used daily are on top of the mind.

You should find the achievement that you did in a fast and efficient manner and see:

Did it save your money?
Did it help you in getting new customers?
Did it create a new market for you?
Did you get any awards?
Did you achieve anything?
All these points will give you an indication of your skillset. Your top skills will create a reputation that will drive your marketing message. Your negotiation leverage will increase and your pricing will also change.

Your skill set can be the following:

Editing brochure
Press release
Ad copy
Project management
Transcribing
You can become a super-specialist of your subject such as a heart specialist who becomes popular in the whole city.

• Golden statement:
• जुनून का नतीजा जरूर निकलेगा हुनर के समुन्दर से ही नूर निकलेगा I

So, you should identify your trait such as:

Communication skills
Good leader
Problem solver
Curious
Positive & calm
This will build your reputation and distinguish you from others because reputation is the new currency.

iv. Finally, you should do your SWOT analysis to know:

Strengths:
What are you doing now?
What can you do?
In which thing you are excellent?
Where can you utilize your full potential?
Weaknesses:
Where are you losing?
What are the issues you can’t handle?
Where is the client’s feedback for improvement?
Opportunities:
What are other freelancers doing?
What are other Startups doing?
What is the scenario of the market?
What is the extra work they provide you outside your skillset?
What is the opportunity with competitors that you are missing?
Threats :
What are your competitors doing?
What are other freelancers doing?
What is their skill set?

• Golden statement:
• सफलता एक चुनौती है इसे स्वीकार करो देखो क्या कमी रह गई और सुधार करो I
• Therefore, you should identify the opportunity and reduce threats. You should diversify as the famous quote “Don’t put all eggs in the same basket.”

v. Always strive to improve as a freelancer

You should build an extra skillset. For example, if you are a content writer, you can be a graphic designer. The Internet provides you with immense options for improving.

You can join an online course because the more you know, the more valuable you become. You can increase your prices with extra knowledge.

• Golden statement:
• जान लेना प्रकृति है मान लेना संस्कृति है और सुधार लेना प्रगति है I

2. How to Set Up Your Office?

Don’t spend too much on the office setup, because it’s not about where you work it’s about how well you work.

But some people feel that working from home means isolation and he should go office and meet people.

• Golden statement:
• अपने होसलो के दम पर हम अपनी प्रतिभा दिखा देंगे, भले ही कोई मंच न डे पर अपना मंच हम खुद बना देंगे I
• Try to work from home but still if you have to make an office you should keep in mind:

Is there the right renting space?
Can you afford it?
Can you work at night?
What is the minimum deposit?
What is the service or lease rent?

You should consider these points for your office set-up:

Make the office in such a manner that there is space to keep the computer monitor at least 20 inches away from the eyes.
Use a comfortable chair where you can sit for 8-9 hours.
Keep a smartphone with you.
If you are not a tech-savvy person you should keep a savvy freelancer.
Get the best internet service deal.
You can sit and work but when you feel tired you can move around because it is very important to give a two-minute break to your body.
Don’t ignore the warning signs of your body such as joint stiffness, cramps, pain, blurred vision, etc. while working for long hours.
So, you should invest in yourself because your learning is the engine of your earning.

3. Priority Management

Poor management:

बने रहो पगला काम करेगा अगला बने रहो cool सैलरी मिलेगी full I

You should change this thought through the process.

Nobody is too busy it’s all about priority.

You should do the following things:

Split your project into micro-tasks
Group similar tasks together
Do your self-review daily about:

What went well?
What went wrong?
What can be improved?

Save time for training.
Set priority for 3 things, not time-based but task-based.

• Golden statement:
• काम करते रहने को काम करना नहीं कहते काम खत्म करने को काम करना कहते हैं I

Schedule your breaks
Plan your day and start your day with the hardest task
Turn off WiFi first to avoid WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram messages
Create and connect your deadlines
Keep a tracker of your time and maintain a digital environment
Check the ideal and actual time
Maintain the sheet of how long do you work
Describe your morning work time
Maintain your project work, marketing, and administrative time
Describe when you socialize with people
Describe your afternoon work time
Check your exercise time, dinner time, and bedtime
Therefore, you should work towards the betterment of your schedules because the entrepreneurial journey is quite hectic.

• Golden statement:
• Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.
• You should have an addiction to learning. If you emphasise 1000 days on extraordinary learning, you will become a super-specialist.

• Golden statement:
• Until a contract is signed, nothing is real.
• It is almost impossible to unsign the contract, so do all the thinking before you sign the contract.
• So you should make a proper contract.

4. Contract and paperwork

You should follow these things:

In the contract, you should do try to take the down payment from your customer first.
You should outsource your accounting or bookkeeping.
You should automate your invoice reminders.
Build financial forecasting for your startup.
You should charge a fee for late payments.
You should invest in accounting software.
Also, you should save money for taxes and savings.
Even if you work free for someone, make a contract for that also.
You should plan a late payment in the contract.
You should plan various types of payment options and maintain a cash reserve as well.
Also, make a budget.

• Golden statement:
• The budget tells you where your money goes instead of wondering where it went.
• The budget will give you a direction.
• You should collect your chequebook, bank statement, and credit card statement for the last 12 months and check where you have spent.
• Make a checklist of your family vacations, rent, medical bill, etc, and see how much you can earn per month to cover your expenses.

Example:

Your expense is Rs. 30,000 per month.
You should do the business of at least Rs. 50, 000 per month to cover your expenses.
Freelancing doesn’t bring the same amount each month. You might earn more or less. So, when you earn more, you should save for expenses, taxes, and retirement planning. Also, you should separate your personal and business expenses.

Golden statement:

जब कमाई और खर्चे का हिसाब रखोगे तभी जीवन को लाजवाब रखोगे I

You can contact Starter’s CFO for your accounts and finance and it will help you in:

Automate accounting process
Government schemes benefits
Expansion strategy
Fundraising
So, they work like a virtual accountant. If you hire an accountant, you might have to pay him a salary of Rs. 20, 000 but this might work for you at Rs. 5,000-10,000. So, they do the work of 2 accountants for you.

So, you should work on paperwork.

• Golden statement:
• किसी की झूठी कदमों की आहट मेरा भरोसा न कुचल दे I
• You do paperwork not because you win the court case, rather you do it so that you don’t have to go to court.

So, you must hire a knowledgeable lawyer and accountant for:

LLP
Partnership
Proprietorship
Private limited
You can contact Legal Leo for:

Business permits
Taxes
Licenses
Registration
Necessary paperwork
Contract drafting
IPR(Intellectual property rights)
Money recovery
Trademark & copyrights
Online platform for legal sheets where you can get legal sheets at a low price
Contract advantages & disadvantages
Legal entity
Registration of intellectual properties

5. Market Segmentation

• Golden statement:
• Market segmentation makes it easy for marketers to personalise their business campaigns.
• Startup success happens when you see through the eyes of the customer, not through the perspective of the company.

Therefore, what you see doesn’t matter all that matters is the viewpoint of the customer and you should design your campaign from the customer’s viewpoint.

You should do the following things to know the consumer viewpoint:

Market survey
Organise research
Meet end user
Understand application
Also, you should know about:

Who is your customer?
What are its characteristics?
Who can be your partners?
What is the market size?
What is your competition?

What complementary assets do you need?

So, you should narrow down your market to satisfy the people because you will know the number of people.

• Golden statement:
• A startup does not hire people, build products, or hire developers. It begins by fulfilling the unmet needs of your customer.

You should identify the problem that customers could not solve earlier and if you solve this problem, your business will grow automatically.

You should segment the market to know if your customer is well funded, easily assessable.

• Golden statement:
• Learning is not a product of schooling but a lifelong attempt to acquire it.

6. Customer profiling

There are 4 types of customers:

i. Blue-chip

Blue-chip gives you a good amount and they are the core of freelance portfolios just like Bluechip stocks.
For example, Maruti and Reliance are blue-chip companies.
They are called “major priority clients” which is a source of regular income for your business.
So, you should maintain blue-chip clients in your business.
You should maintain at least 2 blue-chip clients so that one leaves others will help you to survive.

• Golden statement:
• When you serve your customer better, they will return your investment later.

iii. One time project

You will get a time project say an annual project or a four months project.
They can never be your primary source of income rather they should be quick incremental supplement income for your business.

• Golden statement:
• The time you invest should be in proportion to the income potential.
• You should consider these 3 pillars in case of a one-time project:
  Cost
  Scope
  Timeline
  You should make a balance in the portfolio in the starting only. You should ensure to prepare the following things in the beginning only:
  Direction
  Deliverable
  Payment procedures
  Dispute policies

iv. ARPU:

This model will give you a monthly income.
For example, Airtel where you pay some amount every month which is ARPU (average revenue per user).
If you have such clients you will sustain for a longer period.
You should do the following things:
Focused pilot market: You should do a focused pilot market and after winning your pilot market you should go for expansion.
Narrow down market: You should narrow down your market to make high initial profits. You become king of the initial market and then you have to enter the other markets.

• Golden statement:
• Ignoring multiple market segments increases the focus on value creation.

professor Mr. Lalit Aggarwal, chairman of V-Mart, explains that initially, you don’t have to run behind many things. Instead, you should build focus on a particular thing and become a super-specialist.

Why should you do a focused pilot market?

Dominate small market
Learn from the mistakes of small markets
Use limited resources
Word of mouth
For Example:

a. Keventers

Keventers started with a focused market.
When it becomes popular, it expanded its market through franchisees.
b. Amazon

Amazon-focused market was of books.
First, it won this market, and later on, it introduced the other categories.
But initially, it focused on revenue, profits, infrastructure, product category, portfolio, the portal through its focused market.
Later on, it used its logistical and technical infrastructure in other categories such as electronics, grocery, fashion, etc and now it has become a multibillion-dollar company,
c. Tinder

A startup named “Tinder” was started in the year 2012.
Its focused pilot market was college students.
It hired them as representatives and asked them to promote the product.
These students organised parties and allowed people who had the Tinder app on their mobile.
So, this way Tinder became famous in colleges.
Later on, it spread in 196 countries and made millions of followers.
d. LinkedIn

LinkedIn focused pilot market was recruiters.
If the person who will help in getting a job will first be added, the job seekers will automatically follow them.

e. Bada Business

Bada Business focused on its pilot market.
In 2019 they focused on the franchisee and in 2020 they focused on IBC.
When IBC became successful it focused on backend, technology, training, infrastructure and learning & development, channel management, payment & support.
Now they are scaling and growing in thousands number of IBCs.
They have 90% month-on month-end compounded annual growth.
So, they focused on their pilot market, solved their problems, and many IBC has grown from 10 to 100 times,
Also, you should make a user profile of your customer for a focused pilot market.

• Golden statement:
• If you don’t focus on your end used immensely, your brand will die continuously.

You should know the following things about your user profile:

Age
Gender
Income
Fear
Geographic location
Newspaper/ websites
Motivation to buy
Growth stories
For Example:

a. Ola/Uber

Ola /Uber provided ride sharing.
Generally, these are used by young professionals or college students.
People with high incomes generally use their car, they don’t share the ride.
b. Bada Business

User profile of Bada Business IBC is as follows:

Occupation: Freelancer/ Professional/Part-time/ Student
Characteristic: Smartphone user
Personality: Hyperactive
Reason: Earning/learning/networking/ brand image
After the user profile, you have to find the TAM (Total addressable market) which is a revenue opportunity for you.

TAM = Number of end-user profile X Annual revenue each profile

• For example:
• TAM for a Bada Business IBC can be calculated as:
  TAM = Price ( Rs. 30, 000) X Businessman/Student (Rs 50, 000)
  = Rs. 150, 00,00,000
  Also, you should find the customer’s persona which is a mini-biography of your customer.

You should find out his goals, strengths, motivation, description, and send him a marketing message to him and influence him.

7. Decision-making unit

You should identify the decision-maker.

You should identify the following things about your decision-making unit:

Needs
Secondary influencer
Media publications
Outside contractors
Friends & family
Industry
Websites / blogs

• Golden statement:
• जिंसके शब्दों में भाव होता है उनके शब्दों में कुछ तो प्रभाव होता है I

You should identify that veto power means the decision making power of your customer. Also, if you are selling a product to a company you need to identify the veto-power of the department such as the purchasing department.

You can ask the following questions from your customers:

Besides you, who takes the decision?
Who is the most influential?
Who can stop you from making a decision?

For example:

In Bada Business to become IBC, the end-user is the customer.
Decision-makers are parents in some cases.
He is the buyer and influencers are the successful IBC s.

8. Market research vs. validation

You should do market research and not an institution.

For example:

OYO researched that a middle class can pay Rs. 1000- 2000 for a hotel room stay.
Ola researched that person who finds difficulty in parking and driving but wants a good experience can become their customer.
All these were outcomes of the research and not intuition.
Urban clap owner, Mr. Abhiraj started his company named Cinema Box to provide internet facilities in the train, bus, auto, airplane, etc, but it failed due to lack of research.
Later on, he started an Urban clap and it became a multibillion-dollar company.
Bada Business research that there is a need for relevant Hindi content by wantrepreneurs and entrepreneurs.

• Golden statement:
• Customer की needs से मिलती है आपको busienss की lead I

9. Product Development

Now you have understood your customer and you are moving from freelancing to business and you have to develop the product.

This is known as MVBP (minimum viable business product).

You have to make a viable product that provides value to the customer. Your product should be sufficient that get feedback as well. This will help in building an improvement cycle.

• Golden statement:
• सारी चीज़ें काम की सबका अपना मोल जो सच्चा फायदा बाताए वो सबसे अनमोल I

You should also do a measurement of your MVBP as follows:

Is the customer repeatedly using and paying for your product?
Is he advocating and giving the positive word of mouth about your product?

Look for trends
Understand and scale the feature that is repeatedly used by the customer

• Golden statement:
• The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.

You should ask yourself these questions:

How to collect data about consumer preferences?
How to decrease initial investment?
How to identify and fit bugs?
How can you faster a product in the market faster?

You should collect data about the following things:

User ratings
User engagement
User download
User retention
User repurchase
Percentage of paying user
Average revenue rate per user

10. Build your brand You should make your portfolio of your brand.

• Golden statement:
• A brand is no longer what we tell the customer it is. it is what customers tell each other about you.

As a freelancer, you should build your brand by:

Uploading full-page images on the website
Writing about all skills in the portfolio
Add testimonials about customer positive feedback about you
Link all social media channels to your website
Give personal updates about your work through e-mails
Represent yourself on social media in such a way so that people view you as an expert in your field
Keep your portfolio completely professional

• Golden statement:
• Excellent presentations get sold without hesitation.

Your business card should stand out differently. You should mention these things in your business card:

Who are you?
What do you do?

Unique value
Contact details

11. Customer acquisition

You should make a balanced portfolio that consists of:

Optimal clients
Steady cash flow
Income goals

Golden statement:

When freelancers are asked their biggest problem in the freelancing business they said “ Finding clients.”

You don’t get paid for the time you spend, you get paid for the value you create.

How will the customer know about my brand?
How will customers analyse my product?
How will the customer acquire my product?
How will the customer pay for my product?

• Golden statement:
• The best freelancers follow consumers empathy.

ii. Build a network:

You should join a professional association.
Join events
Give a small talk about your expertise.
Create a loved bank account of relationships.
The combination of networking is client referrals, freelancers, and your prospecting.
Tap your existing network and build relations with them.

iii. Pre-qualified prospects:

Make sure that you connect with the right customer
Don’t ask for the job to ask how you can help them
Stay in touch without being creepy

iv. Choose your prospect:

What makes them ideal?
Are they fit with your skills?
What are their size, pay scale, and reputation?
Do they have blue-chip potential?
Which organisations do they join?
Which website/blog do they follow?

For example:

Johnson& Johnson’s target customer was in major cities.
They placed their advertisements on Youtube and Google because people in these cities used them to get knowledge about child care.
v. Start with industries where you have already worked

vi. Don’t be obsessed about how to say it

vii. Follow up, follow up, follow up

• Golden statement:
• Not following up with your prospect is the same as filling your bathtub without putting a stopper in the drain.

viii. Know when to persist or resist

ix. CRM to track the conversation

• Golden statement by Mr. Bill Gates:
• How you will gather, manage, or use information will determine whether you will win or lose.

Also, you should do following things for customer acquisition:

Sharing lead as investment
Consistency builds recalled value
Common connections
Build authority
Build your trusted inner circle
Job portals
Cold calling
Local agencies
Freelancers & entrepreneurs
Create compelling business cards
Google alerts for relevant news
Sample portfolio
List & get introduced to agencies
Build an online reputation
Export of new tools
Case studies on your expertise
Targeted ads for the ideal client
Directories list
Join a co-working space
30 minutes phone conversation
Partner with people who complement your skill
Monthly newsletter
Register to freelance newspaper
Use websites for startup

• Golden statement:
• The struggle you are in today is developing the strength you need tomorrow.

Also, the sales cycle of customer acquisition should cover the following points:

Number of days required to acquire a customer
Length of the sales cycle

12. Pricing strategy

• Golden statement:
• Your goal shouldn’t be just to pay your bills but to be paid what you are worth.

You should do the following things for pricing:

Always ask for a budget before giving a price
Always say “we”
Always shows bundled price
Call yourself a consultant
Don’t lower the rate for the hope of future work
Do free work for testimonials
Exclude revision from your scope
Learn to say “no”
Listen more than you talk
Decide shorter days at a higher rate
Schedule work with a milestone- track your time
Use value-based pricing
Know how much you will charge
Plan your fee structure
Calculate your fee structure
Know your lowest price-don’t go below that
Know the benchmark for rates in the industry
Calculate and communicate the worth to the client
Don’t fear price fluctuations
Add a special budget for change in scope of work
Calculate COGS (Cost of goods sold)
Break down the decision-making unit
Pricing should be based on the life cycle of the product
Predatory pricing
Define end consumer profile
Milking of skimming
Barrier pricing
Penetration pricing
Loss leading

• Golden Statement:
• The moment you are making a mistake in the pricing, you are eating your profit.

Freemium pricing
Premium pricing
One time upfront charge + maintenance
Cost-plus model
Hourly rate
Subscription
Licencing
Consumables
Upsell –high margin product
Advertising platform- media/YouTube/Google
Operating and maintenance
Transaction fee
Usage base
ARPU(average revenue per user)
Franchisee model
Offer flexibility in the pricing model
If you do overprice it will reduce sales, if you under price it will reduce profit, so you should do the right pricing.

• Golden statement:
• जंगल की अर्थव्यस्था चाहे कुछ भी हो शेर कभी घास नहीं खाता I

13. Negotiation

• Golden statement:
• Freelancing doesn’t mean work for free. If you are good at something, never do it for free.

You should keep in mind these points for negotiation:

Never go blind when you go for negotiation. You should read about following things:
Read financials
Press release
Compliances
Website

14. Quantify your value proposition

You should create and show value by explaining:

Every skill has a price.
Value creation is the foundation of the pyramid.
Benefits of quantifying value proposition are:

More compelling and data-oriented.
Selling ammunition.
Easy to price.
Differentiator.
Don’t sell the product rather sell the outcome.

You should consider these points:

The critical success factor of the customer.
The critical success factor of customer’s customer.
The critical success factor of your customer’s competitor.

Key Learnings

Identify your goals for freelancing
Narrow down your market through market segmentation
Conduct SWOT analysis to know your customer
Develop minimum viable business product
Quantifying your value proposition
Enter in the next new market