Things to do before launching your business

Andrew Stephenson founded AV Marketing Inc. a London, Ontario based audio and video advertising company in 2012. Since opening his doors, he has learned some valuable, fundamental lessons about starting and running a business. Here are a few business tips from Andrew.

• Plan for the unexpected: When starting a new business, look at all the necessary capital expenses required to start up. However, remember that the unexpected things will happen along the way, so you have to plan for them. In your start-up budget, add some contingency expenses to help keep you on track when the unexpected occurs.

• Know when the right time is to launch your business: Choosing the right time to launch your business can sometimes make or break your cash flow. Think about the seasonality of your business and consider the prime buying time of your potential clients – plan to start your business around that. Don’t start your business in your business cycle’s “slow time”. Sometimes you don’t know how seasonal your business is until you dive in so plan for the unexpected.

• Be passionate: Before you start a business, it is very important to be passionate about what you do. Passion will translate into positive work quality and will make the long hours feel like a labour of love. Your potential clients can tell if you love your business and will want to do business with people who love what they do.