What Does An Ideal Business Look Like In 2021?
Make sure to include these 5 key characteristics.
We are in the midst of a very aggressive phase of the global pandemic. With a steep economic downturn upon us and a long road to get the world to recovery you may be wondering if now is the right time to start a business?
The answer is YES. In fact, I exited one business and started another in 2020 and both had these traits in common. There has never been a better time to build an online business. With an unprecedented set of problems, there is a greater need than ever before for entrepreneurs to solve them. But with the ongoing restrictions and closures, there are a few key factors to consider when building your ideal business this year.
1. Your business is digital
If there is anything the pandemic has taught is it is that selling online is no longer an option. Mom and pop shops were forced to build websites in 2020, traditional industries were forced to adapt to changing technology preferences quickly, and office environments became obsolete. It’s a no-brainer that your business has to be digital — you need to have a way to sell online.
With public health concerns high and vaccine rollouts largely uncertain, the trend to shop online will continue this year and beyond as entire generations have learned to find their essentials online.
According to Nasdaq, it is estimated that in 2040, 95% of purchases will be made online. In 2021, global e-commerce is forecast to be $4.97 trillion — an approximately 400% increase in seven years. Companies like Amazon and Shopify have enabled this trend to continue well into the future with everything available at home with the snap of your fingers.
When planning to build your product or service-based business in 2021, remember to make online shopping your primary point of sale.
2. Your business is automated
In order to succeed especially as you start out possibly as a solopreneur, it’s imperative to think about systems and processes. How will you streamline the interaction you have to have with your customer in order to make a sale?
Automation includes everything from back-end software for operations and accounting to your customer relationship management and marketing funnels. With the plethora of online software providers, starting a business has never been easier. Every aspect of running a business online can be taken care of by a number of service providers whether that be Mailchimp for email marketing, Squarespace for your website and Zendesk to handle customer inquiries.
3. Your business has a recurring revenue stream
Turn on Netflix lately? Yes, I thought so. The beauty of subscription is that companies like Netflix make money around the clock without having to constantly beg you for your money. It recurs each month from the moment you start using the service adding more consistency to the bottom line.
It’s important to find a way to build a recurring revenue stream into your business. This may be a product box if you have a physical product, which you could ship out every couple of weeks or it could be a premium membership fee, which entitles those customers to higher quality service.
The biggest problem for many businesses is to retain its customers more than to attract them. And for this reason, keeping them coming back for more has to be baked into your strategy. If you have a one-off sale, is there an upsell — something of more value they could benefit from once they have consumed your current offer?
4. Your business has an evergreen offer
Make money while you sleep. Ever heard people tell you that? This is often what generates passive income. An evergreen offer is always available — it’s usually a digital course or membership or anything you can buy anytime and start consuming. Typically it costs the maker nothing more to have you there because the work has already been done. Hence this income is considered passive.
This is highly desired as a business owner because time is finite. As such you have to find ways to attract more customers without your schedule limiting you from making a sale. In the case of a product, this could be an ongoing promotion or deal to get a customer to make a purchase.
5. Your business is scalable
Typically by ensuring you can do all the four steps above you will be poised for scale. When your business is online, automated, has recurring revenue and has something on offer 24/7 scaling becomes easy. You officially remove yourself from the equation because you have built a well-oiled machine that can serve a growing audience each day.
In order to scale it’s important to adopt a CEO mindset and learn to delegate where necessary. A CEO who still engages in every sale or delivers the service him/herself can keep a business from growing fast.
Encompassing these 5 factors into your business will position you for success in 2021 and beyond. Some of the world’s most successful businesses came out of the last recession — from Airbnb to Uber. If you can be resourceful and prove a market need in a downturn, you’ll only be so much more successful in a booming economy.
This is the time.
About the author
Natasha Varma is a tech founder, writer and coach. She inspires entrepreneurs around the world to build winning businesses that they are passionate about.
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