Do you have the mind of an entrepreneur? Do you dream of exiting the workforce and pursuing your own business venture full time? Are you looking to add some income on the side with a new idea? Then there is a lot that you need to know about starting a small business. Millions of Americans have had the same dream that you do, but not all of them get to experience success. Being a business owner is hard. When it comes to decision-making, the buck stops with you, and if you make the wrong choices, the brand could fail.

Now that all sounds pretty negative, but being an entrepreneur can be incredibly exciting as well. The ability to provide a product or service that you are passionate about is within reach. You can make your own schedule. You can hire people that you want to work with and bring additional skillsets to your team. Eventually, you could make a decent living out of this venture, or at least supplement your current income.

Before you take the leap, there are a few things that you should know about starting a business. This kind of endeavor takes planning, so hopefully these ideas can give you a better understanding of what you will face.

Know Your Brand Inside and Out

Lacking vision can cause many businesses to stall out and never make it past first base. If you have an idea about what product or service you want to provide, that is not enough to plan a business around. Understanding what your business will be is one of many crucial strategies that every first-time business owner should know. What is your mission statement? Do you have a growth plan? What is your unique selling proposition? Who is your target audience? Why do people need your product as opposed to your competitor’s?

A solid business plan is the key to carving out a space in your niche where you can be successful. Though the brand should be able to adapt to change, a clear vision at the beginning is necessary to provide a path forward.

Understand Your Ideal Customer

Speaking of your target audience, you better know who they are and what they are like. Just as you need a vision for your business, you also need a clear perspective of who you are selling to. To do this, you should build some buyer personas based on audience research. These are fictional characters that match the traits of a person who would most benefit from your product or service. Having a handful of specific and well-informed personas can guide your messaging efforts to create a more effective marketing campaign.

Ask questions that help you understand the behaviors and emotions that drive the ideal customer’s decision-making. What type of job do they have? How much money do they make? Where do they live? What does their family life look like? Where do they spend their free time? With these answers to guide your personas, you will have a stronger focus for marketing.

Your Success Depends on Marketing

No business will succeed without an effective marketing plan. Though it may look different for every company, it is simply impossible to build a customer base and generate sales without connecting with audiences.

There are many marketing methods you can employ to get the word out about the brand and its products or services. Social media marketing is a huge aspect of people’s lives, and you can use those channels to build a community and connect with customers. Promotional products like branded t-shirts, custom tote bags, stadium cushions, and office supplies can display your company name and logo to the public. Printed materials can give people a tangible message about the benefits of your product. Plan a marketing strategy that leverages the channels that your audience is most likely to engage with.

Use Your Network

Whether it is to learn business acumen or to get the word out about your new company, relying on your personal network can be the best way to get a head start on growth. Your friends, family, coworkers, and other connections can be a valuable resource as you begin your entrepreneurial journey. Ask other professionals that you know how they reached success in their industry. Tell your friends and family to share about your new business with their networks, (if they really care about you, they will be thrilled to help). Seek out fellow business owners to find out what softwares or applications helped them build their brands.

Keep an Open Mind

Part of being a successful business mind is being willing to learn. You don’t have all the answers because nobody does. Everyone started out from square one and had to learn certain skills or educate themselves about their industry before they became successful.

Be open to learning from every circumstance. Embrace the failures and figure out how to do better next time. Look to your competitors to see how they are connecting with audiences and what gaps exist in their marketing that you could exploit. Don’t assume that the way you are building the brand will work for the next ten years. If you keep an open mind about everything, you will be positioned perfectly for achieving your goals.