Month: March 2022

Project Management Software For Your Startup

Project management software is designed to assist in the logistics of collaborative efforts, allowing for task assignment and oversight, communication between workers, and real-time status review and suggestions. It makes the order of operations clear and keeps contact with key players fluid. So what are the practical benefits of adapting this software into your workflow and what are the best apps available?

Generally, most management apps will handle almost any project imaginable and allow for multiple projects to be handled at one time. They will display completed tasks, every task needed to be done, and the estimated amount of hours needed to complete. 

Trello offers a board that features “To Do,” “Doing,” and “Done” sections, and they feature cards for timelines, calendars, task assignments, and productivity metrics. They boast a “no-code automation” intended to reduce tedious clicks on the back end. Trello works well on projects that have a clear process and may also need to maintain working lists of ideas.

Basecamp is great for those who want to centralize their projects in a simple streamline format. Their interface can be used by unlimited users, without any training. Their straightforward board displays a message board, group chat, schedules, to-do’s, automatic check-ins, and a tab for docs and files.

Asana comes with a heavier price tag, but also more ability. It’s perfect for work that’s done primarily remotely. It’s designed to not only streamline tasks, it also oversees marketing campaigns, product launches, sales, operations, and more. Their boards feature “To-do,” “In-progress,” and “Review-ready” sections, that “define each stage of work to see what’s important and where things are getting stuck.”

Free project management apps are available with a slimmer selection of features, but still prove useful if free is what’s affordable. Trello and Basecamp are budget-friendly and popular with smaller businesses. Asana offers a basic service for free to startups as they get off the ground.

There are countless management platforms on the market. When shopping for the ideal fit for your company, consider the size of your workload and number of people working, as well as the organization for your operations. Investing project management software can show you specifically where your efficiency can improve when assigning and executing tasks. Additionally, by allowing for instant tracking, improvement, and group communication the programs themselves are a serious quantum jump in efficiency for all of your projects. 

Logos And Branding For Startups

So you have the amazing ideas, the awesome product, and all your ducks in a row. You’re ready to launch, but how are your future buyers going to recognize you as something new and different, and how will they remember you later? Have you developed a clear brand identity that will make people gravitate towards you once they know how great your company really is? Before adventuring in advertising, you need a strong brand that naturally feels familiar to your target customer. 

Beyond graphics and icons, what is at the heart of your business? What is your mission that sets your venture apart from the competition? How does this impact the client, the community, the world? How do you view and nurture your relationship with your customers, and even your suppliers? All of these pillars make up the framework of the company your logo represents. 

Your brand tells the story of your business and why it exists. It should be consistent and authentic in all platforms. Once you have a dynamic logo, and spend some time creating an overall mood using colors, typography, and compelling visuals, it’s vital to amplify your message through engaging content. All of this should speak to your prime demographic and echo your company as an authentic voice and an authority in your field. By being clear in what your company does, and delivering on the promise of service it provides, you gain customer trust and loyalty.

As you uncover your brand identity, which will inevitably become the personality that ambassadors your company, make sure it is consistent and tangible. You want to present an idea, and a look, that can be transmitted fluidly between social media, print outlets, as well as when you hire freelancers for promotional work like photos, copy, and design. Though it’s important to not become repetitive, you also want to have basic materials ready for fast turnover, and not need to spend extra hours preparing content from scratch. 

With this, you have a strong foundation for marketing campaigns to form themselves upon. A sentiment has been created for people to connect with on an emotional level; they already like your brand. Even when first introduced to your product, its slick label and sustainable package attracted a new buyer. Or your site is super user-friendly and subscribers enjoy great bonuses and excellent customer service. Have a clear and concise mission, cohesive yet innovative messaging, and cover your cornerstones that act as guidelines for your company to abide by, then promotion becomes more about announcing news and information, as the brand itself attracts the business.

​​Where Do Startups Get Money

With the rise in popularity of venture capitalism and the emerging world of angel investors, it would seem that the bulk of new small businesses are getting their seed money from private sources, but a recent study shows that traditional methods of funding are still the dominant source. 

Research by the Kaufman Foundation found that around 65% of financing comes almost equally from bank loans and personal savings. About 6% relied on friends and family, and just over 10% of startup cash comes from private investment. Surprisingly, another 6% of entrepreneurs use credit cards despite the high interest rates, and only 2% take advantage of available government programs.

It is highly recommended for any small business owner to consult with the Small Business Administration (SBA). Even if you are only at the stage of just thinking about starting a business, or have been a fixture on the block for years, it makes sense to find out what your best options might be for optimized borrowing or possible grant money, in order to materialize your goals.

Resources for those with the next big idea that will have the investors bidding, can post their profiles or companies on pages like Gust and AngelList. These are sites where investors can shop for you. BusinessLoans.com is a service that, like the SBA, will review your information and help determine what’s most suitable for your needs. They can connect you with their network of partners who offer long or short-term loans, lines of credit, or merchant cash advances.

As much as we love those amazing stories of angel investors and the skyrocketed success for starry-eyed dreamers, and it does happen, that story is still not the norm. The most proven route to a strong foundation and promising future is still through modest means of small loans and personal investment. Gain grassroots word of mouth through good service and effective social media, and work smarter not harder with efficient spending and operations. While it is possible to become the next venture star, and there’s no reason to not shoot for the moon, but for the vast majority of thriving small businesses their story was of hard work, smart choices, and giant leaps of faith.