Most newly married couples build homes or have babies. Our approach was, let’s build a brand first. It’s the perfect opportunity. We’re young and we have little responsibility. We thought long and hard about this. We’ve spent long hours and days doing our fair share of research. It certainly wasn’t a decision made in haste. We listed the pros and cons. The benefits definitely outweighed the cons. My husband would have the autonomy he wanted and that was something very important to us. It was a huge leap of faith for both of us. Our plan is to start out small with the dermatology practice and then add the spa. We would combine the dermatology and spa creating a mixed use medi-spa. Later adding multiple office locations.
1. Make sure you’re passionate about your business decision. Its going to take a lot of long work hours so make sure you’re invested for the long haul.
2. Research your market and demographics. Is the city you plan on opening a business heavily saturated with competition? If the answer is ‘yes’ it’s time to look elsewhere. Be open to new cities and research up and coming towns. The city we chose our practice in, has the 2nd highest population growth rate in Michigan.
3. Research start up costs – this is very important. You need to have the funds to sustain your business. Especially for the first couple of months.
4. Get a unique logo and start your branding. There are so many designers out there, options are limitless. Or if you’re techy you can download adobe illustrator or photoshop and create your own.
5. Plan the layout and start the interior design process. This is the fun part! We’re going for a contemporary feel and we chose colors that were meaningful to us, our customers and what the brand represents.
6. Choose your buisness colors carefully. You want your space, logo and marketing materials to flow.
7. Get your business license, tax identification number early on. As soon as you decide where your location is. Start this process. If your business is online you can list your home address as the business location when filing for the license and tax identification number.
8. Start marketing. Once you have your logo, get started on your business website. You can also start a Facebook page to promote and advertise in your city or surrounding cities. Create custom brochures and business cards. Make sure you keep a stack of business cards with you at all times.
9. Advertise, advertise, advertise. Utilize your local newspaper, network with other businesses and find out what they do to draw in clients. Get on the local news or magazines in your area.
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