John Donne is not the only person to realize that no one is an island. And while there is some debate over whether it takes a village to raise a child, the fact that we can’t go it alone in business is indisputable.
Even the most successful business people of our time had help getting to the top. Steve Jobs did not build Apple by himself. Bill Gates did not singlehandedly fashion Microsoft. These things are never accomplished by one person and a dream. The idea may be the product of a single individual. But the execution requires a team.
Seldom does the one with the idea have all the money necessary to pull it off. Silicon Valley runs on venture capital and angel investors. Crowdfunding is the new model for getting consumer electronics off the ground. The point is, experts need other experts to be successful in their ventures. Here are some of the experts you might need along the way.
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Internet Marketing Firm
Marketing is a specialized field that requires proper training and experience. It is the thing new business owners tend to need the most help with. Internet marketing is a subset of that discipline that is even more specialized. There are few startups that will not need some help from an internet marketing firm at some point in the process.
Your expertise may not be sufficient to navigate the ever-changing world of search engine optimization (SEO). Do you know what Google AMP is? Do you know if it is still in favor at Mountain View? What about those things that will get you delisted from the world’s largest search engine?
We haven’t even scratched the surface. Internet marketing is a challenging field. When done right, success stories are written. When done poorly, good dreams come to a bad end. Be sure to get help with your internet marketing.
Business Coach
Great ideas don’t always come from accomplished business people. They come from ordinary people with life circumstances that forced them to come up with an unusually good idea. They still need help executing that idea. The recipe for the best pizza in the world does not guarantee success. What you need is a good business plan to get things started and a good business coach to keep things going on the right path.
Short of obtaining an MBA, it is a good idea to bring someone on your team who can advise you in challenging business situations that have no clear answer. A business coach will have experience in many such areas and will have a better idea of what to do. Should you hire or use a temp service? Should you stay independent or accept a buyout? Should you expand operations, or way for a better time? Getting a business coach is the next best thing to getting a business degree.
App Developer
The Yellow Pages are dead to a very large part of the population. This means you need other ways for people to find and interact with you. At a minimum, what you need is an app in the two biggest app stores. Many people use the app stores like they once used phone books. But apps play an even bigger part of the business process.
Once found, potential customers will need a way to interact with your brand. The web page is being supplanted by apps. Everything from insurance quotes to furniture options can be handled via an app. The purchase can be made from the app. And customer service and followup can be handled the same way. Choosing the right app developer may be the most important choice you make as a new, small business.
Modern startups need help just to get out of the gate. It won’t be long before you need an Internet marketing firm, a business coach, and an app developer. After you have achieved a certain level of success, you are also going to need a good accountant.