As founder and CEO of PayBright, Dustin Magaziner launched the company while attending college with a code of merchant services done right.
Turning a business idea into a thriving, million-dollar company is a dream for many. However, the journey from inception to success can be riddled with challenges and uncertainties.
So, you have your money-making business idea: What’s next? The typical response might be to develop a business plan, map out key milestones and do some market analysis to see where the company might fit within the industry. But that takes time, money and other resources before you can even start making money, and oftentimes, paralysis by analysis sets in.
To clarify, the following guidance is based on the premise that you’re bootstrapping your business and aiming to kick-start revenue generation. However, if your business is starting out with a large investment and plans to raise money, you’re operating in a different context. If your business isn’t bootstrapped, you’ll likely need to allocate tens of thousands of dollars toward crafting your operating agreement right from the start. This expenditure extends to other necessary documents, as well. Without these professional documents, you may face challenges in attracting potential investors.
For bootstrapped businesses, I’m not implying that information is unimportant, but I don’t believe it should be your primary focus initially. Instead, sometimes the best option is to just start.
Getting Started
Whether you have a groundbreaking idea that has never been explored or you embark on a side gig to generate extra income, starting a business is no easy task, and the initial stages can be particularly daunting.
It’s crucial to focus on the essentials at the beginning. Begin by figuring out the absolute minimum requirements to get the business off the ground. If you plan to enroll clients in agreements, ensure you have a well-drafted contract, a means to process payments and a dedicated bank account. Avoid getting caught up in unnecessary complexities, such as investing in expensive software-as-a-service or customer relationship management tools, especially if revenue has yet to start flowing. The key here is to establish a viable product or service without overcomplicating things in the early stages.
In my experience within the merchant services industry, it’s imperative to act decisively. Instead of spending months meticulously analyzing different companies and their offerings, take a proactive approach. Selecting a company and getting started is often more productive than overthinking every option. Real-world experiences can also vastly differ from theoretical scenarios, making it difficult to predict which companies will be the best fit.
On a similar note, try to avoid endless research and meetings with professionals such as CPAs, lawyers and bookkeepers before even commencing operations. If you’re trying to choose a lawyer, for example, any local lawyer with experience is probably enough to get you off the ground. Rather than extensively researching and interviewing each of them—which only takes up more of your time—just pick one.
Prioritize action over exhaustive preparation, and dive into client acquisition and revenue generation, reserving specialized tasks for later stages of business development. It’s easy to get bogged down in the pursuit of perfection, but in reality, the most significant progress comes from taking that initial leap into the market.
Your goal should be to get out there and start making income as quickly as possible. The longer you delay that process and try to plan for everything, the longer it takes to start making money—which will make the uphill battle ahead more challenging. Sure, you might make mistakes along the way. But those mistakes will become learning lessons. They will help you tackle future challenges and show you how to do it better the next time.
Knowing When It’s Time To Bring On More Staff
Many people start incredibly successful businesses, generating profits of $100,000, $200,000 or even $300,000-plus per year. But what comes next? Are you content with your current situation, or do you aspire to achieve even more? Engaging in this internal dialogue is crucial as growing the company becomes progressively more challenging and demanding.
If the goal is to continue climbing the mountain and you wish to build the proverbial empire, it will be essential to consider how adding staff will change your job.
When considering whether to hire a new employee for a new business venture, it’s important to understand that as a business owner, your main focus should be on generating revenue and expansion. While founders initially handle a lot on their own, there comes a point where the workload becomes overwhelming for one person, and without hiring, the owner will spend the majority of their time keeping the ball rolling. That’s when it’s likely time to look at bringing in help to free up time.
You must also identify and dedicate your time to a core focus, as any time spent on tasks outside your primary goal can impede business growth. For example, if your time is best spent in your business as a software engineer, your business is better off if you’re working on software development and not customer service. Hiring someone to cover the tasks that pull you away from your primary tasks can enable you to focus on the most important items, which will fuel growth. The additional staff can handle these non-core tasks, freeing up your time to concentrate on what truly matters.
When you decide to finally hire someone, don’t rush the process, as it has the potential to hinder both the individual’s and the company’s progress. A premature hire can place all the company’s hopes in one basket, risking failure if things don’t pan out.
Getting your business off the ground is exciting, but remember, not every decision needs to be made in a rush. While I do encourage business owners to “get to revenue,” there will be decisions down the line, such as hiring, that will require more time and analysis. As important as it is to “get to revenue” in a bootstrapped business, rushing critical decisions later on can also be the catalyst for failure. Finding the right balance between swift action and careful consideration will be key to growing your business from a startup to a long-term viable company.
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