Starting a Small Business

Whether you are starting a home-based business, small business or even the incubation of a business you think will eventually aspire to Fortune 500 status, having that business recognize the impact it has on the environment and world at large will go a long way to improving your chances of success. This has spawned the concept of “Conscious Business.”

In this article we cover:

What Is a Conscious Business?

A Conscious Business can take many forms ranging from a simple mission to be more aware and conscious of the footprint and impact your business leaves on planet Earth, to the other extreme of achieving B-Corp certification and strictly adhering to those tenants, to every variation in between.

No discussion of Conscious Business would be complete without an introduction to a new level of corporation that exemplifies this ideal. B Labs certified the first 82 B Corps in 2007 and according to bcorporation.net there are now 2,788 companies across 150 industries in 64 countries with one unifying goal:

“Certified B Corporations are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. This is a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using business as a force for good.”

The number one reason most people don’t succeed in developing their business idea, conscious or otherwise, into reality is usually lack of execution. Where do you start and how hard is it to actually get a business off the drawing board and into reality?

How To Start A Conscious Business in 5 Easy Steps

Whether or not you choose to take your organization all the way to B-Corp status, you can still adopt the principles of a Conscious Business. Simply start by taking action with the following 5 steps:

  1. Establish a mission statement and business plan: Every business starts with a vision. Conscious businesses account for environmental and/or humanitarian impact in addition to delivering a good or service. Once you have developed your idea, then crafting a business plan is best to keep you organized. The U.S Small Business Administration has a number of templates for your use based on the type of business you envision.
  2. Secure a name and web presence: Every business needs a legal entity and in today’s digital world, a website as well. Websites like LegalZoom can make starting your business easy and websites like Wix or GoDaddy can get you on your way to a professional website in no time.
  3. Get a phone number and set up professional responses: We live in a mobile world and everything seems to be done via your mobile phone nowadays. Having an easy to recall phone number with local areas codes can expand your reach and make it easier for everyone to communicate with you. Having professional greetings will give confidence to your prospects.
  4. Build your team and choose vendors: Unless you plan on being your company’ sole employee, then the choice of who you add to your team can have major impact on success or failure. Hire only when you find a perfect candidate and don’t rush into a less than perfect hire for the sake of expediency or current candidate availability. The same can be said for any vendor you require to partner with to deliver on your business plan.
  5. Launch and grow your business: Launching your business may just take word of mouth and the activation of your website, or it may require some level of advertising or Pay Per Click (PPC) to generate your first customers. Ultimately, it is how you communicate with your prospects and customers that will make or break your long-term success.

Answer Smart

Communication is key to the success of any business. Specific areas of communication that require you to answer smart include:

  • How you greet your prospects
  • How you avoid wasting time with robocalls
  • How you handle calls when you are not available
  • How you support your customers
  • How you manage your voicemail and long-term storage of every message

Another huge issue is how you will handle the onslaught of robocalls. Given the current epidemic of spam calls, the elimination of robocalls will ensure you won’t waste time on calls that just want to sell you something or scam you into something fraudulent.

A key to a conscious business? Not unconsciously ignoring phone calls from customers, just because you’re worried it’s a robocall.

Bottomline, you can start your home business and make it a conscious business in just five steps, and it is easier than you think to get started. Dealing with Step 3 doesn’t have to be traumatic, in fact, it can be one of the easiest steps to handle if you download YouMail today. And yes, it is truly free forever and you can get started in less than 5 minutes. If you decide to expand your business, then YouMail can help with that as well with our premium offerings.

Let us know what step you are most looking forward to conquering!

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