Making Your First Year Count

Starting up a new business is a huge step to take in life. Many entrepreneurs plan for years before setting up shop and opening the doors of their brand new company for the first time. Needless to say, it takes a great deal of planning and most certainly a sizeable amount of money to get things going.

Freelance writer and University of Albany journalism major, Anne Lempereur recently wrote an article for Gaebler.com – a resource of entrepreneurs – discussing the importance of a business’ practices during its first year to ensure that it is successful.

The first year is crucial, says Lempereur, as this is the time a business owner will spend most of his or her startup money. It is a time when there are many bills to pay but not necessarily enough profits being made from the business to cover all of them. The first year is also very important because owners must work diligently to build up customer recognition and loyalty as quickly as possible.

“Success does not happen overnight,” writes Lempereur, so it should be expected for things to move slowly once the business has gotten itself off the ground. Some first-year business owners run out of money quickly by not pacing themselves while trying to grow their new businesses. Monitoring the spending of money is critical to the business’ success.

Lempereur also notes that one of the most common problems that entrepreneurs face during their first year in business is “falling behind on payroll taxes or failing to budget for taxes on business income.” Running into tax problems usually sets owners on a destructive path that is difficult to recover from.

Another common dilemma, she writes, is the setting of expectations that are generally too high during the first year. Expecting unrealistically high levels of success so soon can hurt one’s progress within the marketplace. “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” she reminds us.

Lempereur does however, bring to our attention that the first year of running a business does have its perks. It is a time when owners get to really come to know their products and markets allowing them to learn and get familiar with their industries. Finding good employees is also another benefit. These relationships, of course, can last a lifetime.

Keeping a positive, yet realistic attitude is most certainly an asset. Stay focused and mindful about your spending are keys to prosperity. The next thing you know, your first year of business will have gone by in what feels like a flash.

It is at that point, of course, that your business then becomes eligible for a merchant cash advance. And you know who to call once that becomes the case.