10 Things You Must Do Before Launching Your Business

Are you wanting to start a business? First of all, I’m so proud of you! Starting and running a business is not an easy thing to do, so good for you for getting started. There are 10 things you must do before launching your business that will help you get started off on the right foot. These 10 steps will help you get everything organized and feel more confident when you make your business official.

If you’re new here, welcome! I am so happy you’re here. I am a Brand and Marketing Strategist and I work with some of the best of the best clients. One of my absolute favorite things to do is cheer you on (and teach you everything you need to know) every step of the way. And these 10 things you must do before launching your business will give you a good direction on how to move forward with your new business! Alright, let’s get started.

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Pre-Business Launch Step #1: Start with why.

Simon Sinek says to always start your business with your why. He recommends this because when things get bad in your business, you can come back to your why to push you through those hard times. Your why is also a way for your people to connect with you in a deeper way.

So, figure out your why, and do not shy away from it. If your why is just to make more money, that is a great why for your business! Businesses make money, so totally own that and roll with it. This will be so helpful for you because knowing your why will help you show up on the days you don’t want to. (Click HERE for my favorite exercise for finding your deep why.)

However, I do have a caveat to this. Do not get stuck on your why. I’ve met so many women who can’t get past this step because they are trying to dig really deep into their why. But if you are a mom in business then you probably already have your why ingrained in you. So instead of trying to figure out and analyze every piece of your “deepest why” just make sure you know what it is and are able to verbalize it to yourself.

Pre-Business Launch Step #2: Get your brand messaging down.

I start with brand messaging with every single client I help. We always start here because when you get really clear on your brand messaging then everything else gets easier. There are 5 P’s I want you to build out that will make up your brand messaging.

The 5 P’s

Person (who is the person you are serving)
Problem (what problem do they have)
Product (how can your product be the solution to that problem)
Promise of Transformation (what to promise your people if they will use your product)
Personal Authority (why your person should choose you to solve their problem)

Starting with these 5 P’s will make a world of a difference. Getting a super clear understanding of these 5 things for your business will help you suddenly niche down to one person and one problem, and be able to naturally solve their problem through advertising your product. It’s a really beautiful strategy that WORKS! If you want to know more, I talk more in-depth about the 5 P’s HERE.

Pre-Business Launch Step #3: Figure out your customer journey.

A customer journey is how you attract clients and how you turn a follower into a buyer. Seeing that journey and understanding the checkpoints along that journey will help you know where to spend more of your time in your business.

It’ll also help you as you are creating your content marketing plan. You’ll be able to use words you know your target audience would relate to which will help make them want to stay and eventually buy your products. You can learn more about how to set up your customer journey map HERE.

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Pre-Business Launch Step #4: Do a S.W.O.T analysis.

S.W.O.T stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. To complete this analysis, go find people who are in your industry who sell something similar to your product. Compare your business to their businesses using the S.W.O.T analysis to determine what makes you stand out differently from your competitors.

Your unique value composition is what makes your business stand out. And people connect with things that stand out. Putting an emphasis on your uniqueness as you post your content will speed up the process of finding your people.

For example, I am a mom to 5 and am running a 6-figure business from my home. This is my unique perspective so instead of hiding that I use it to find other business moms who can relate to me. So, find what’s special about you and use that to connect with your people.

Pre-Business Launch Step #5: Create a product and figure out how to get paid.

Maybe this is an obvious one, but too many women I know have grown a following on Instagram but they haven’t figured out how they are going to get paid. I want you to go into your business with intention, so make sure to know what your product is and how you will get paid for it right from the beginning.

There are four ways you can get paid/four different types of products you can sell:

Influence
Digital
Physical
Services

Once you nail down your actual product, write out the system/process that will take place when someone wants to purchase your product. Will they purchase it through your Instagram links, on your website, etc? How will you manage your clients? These are the type of questions you want answers to now rather than as they are happening. (I use HoneyBook for my clients and it’s an AMAZING client management tool. Click HERE to get half off when you sign up!)

When someone says they want to buy your product, what are you going to do? What does that purchasing process look like? Having those systems in place that help you get paid is a big deal! Click HERE to learn more about how to set up these systems and my favorite tools to help make your business run more smoothly.

Pre-Business Launch Step #6: Research and test your product.

When you’re just starting out you may need to gift your product to a few potential customers or sell it to them for a really cheap price. This is a good way to invest in your business because it’s part of the process of you becoming a better business owner and improving your products.

Get your product out to people so they can test it out and tell you what they do and don’t like about it. Choose people who will give you honest feedback, so you have an honest understanding of how helpful your product is and what tweaks you can make about it too.

Pre-Business Launch Step #7: Set up a marketing plan.

There are two different types of marketing: paid and organic. Organic is when you post on Instagram, TikTok, etc. for free and someone finds you and wants to hire you or buy your product. Paid is when you pay to be seen, so that’s Instagram ads, Facebook ads, etc.

Decide which places (YouTube, podcast, Instagram, etc.) you are going to show up and market your business. I recommend choosing one long-term piece of content like a podcast, YouTube video, or blog, and then choosing where you are going to show up on social media.

When you are just starting out, choose one short and long-term piece of content. Do not try and start on all the places all at once. That’s just too much and you won’t be able to keep up with all of it. Just start with two and get a feel for it, and then build up from there.

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Pre-Business Launch Step #8: Set up internal systems.

These internal systems are what will help you make sure your marketing strategy happens on schedule while you are taking care of the content creation and other aspects of your business.

For example, one of my internal systems is my content marketing strategy. This is where I choose the two places where I want to show up for my content marketing. Every month I make some goals of what I want to accomplish, what I want people to buy, etc. and then I create my content marketing around that goal.

Creating this list of internal systems will help you know how often you want to show up and where to show up, and what content to create. I love doing this step because you get all of this planning and brainstorming done at the start and then it leaves you all this creative space to create all the fun stuff afterward. (Learn more about how you can convert this process to work for your business HERE.)

Pre-Business Launch Step #9: Set up your email list.

I know you’ve probably already learned this. (If you’ve been following me for a while, I know you’ve heard me say this multiple times.) But do you have an email list set up? Do you have an email marketing strategy set up that you feel confident about? This is super important to have because you do not own your followers on social media, but you do own your email list–and that is a big deal.

Your email list can be one of your main money-making machines–if you do it right. Click HERE to learn more about how to set up a successful email marketing strategy.

Pre-Business Launch Step #10: Adjust and pivot.

This is the most important step of them all! I want you to know that it is completely normal for you to change your business as you keep learning and growing. Heck, I started out selling little girl hats and dresses on Etsy and now I am an expert Brand and Marketing Strategist. Who would’ve ever guessed, right? (And I had hundreds of pivots in between.)

You do not need to be ashamed when you feel the urge to adjust and pivot because it’s actually just good business to do so. It’s a good thing when you try something that doesn’t work out and then you shift it into something that will work. Doing this process over and over again is how you serve your audience better and how you make more money.

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