If you’re about to open up the doors to your business, no matter if you’re running a small stationary shop or you want to be the next big food business on the block, there’s going to be a swift ‘opening day’ checklist you’ll need to go through first of all. And of course, you’ve already put one of these together yourself! But in all of this excitement, it’s easy to forget a few things off of the list, especially if they don’t immediately draw attention – the devil is in the details, after all, and that’s what this post is here to help with.
Create Your Prototype
You’ve got an idea for your product, but do you have a simple and literal example of it sitting on your desk right now? If not, it’s time to create your prototype! You’re going to need this to bring people in, especially investors, and opening up your doors before you’re sure how your product works (even if you plan to only take pre-orders right now) will simply never work out.
You need to be able to promise both investors and consumers alike a few things. Most of all, you need to deliver on what you originally marketed to them, and you can only do that when you’ve got a minimum viable product to work with. In creating one, you’ll also be able to iron out any problems ahead of time, and also ensure your focus groups hit the mark every time.
Solidify Your Space Needs
The next thing to do is take a look around your physical premises, if you’re working out of some. Is there enough room for everything you want to get done? Have you set out allocated areas for each task? And of course, are the fire marshals happy with your plans? You always need to keep health and safety in mind!
So, if you’re about to open your very own restaurant, could you do with getting a bit more restaurant seating available? Opening night can be a big deal in the local area, and you can bet there will be at least 20% more guests to your restaurant than you were originally expecting! You’ll want to be able to seat them all in order to pull off the best impression.
Hire an Accountant
Finally, it’s time to bring an accountant on board. You’re going to need their services from day one of operating, to ensure the books are balanced from the offset, and that’s hard to manage when you’ve got a million other things to do!
Of course, you can also invest in accounting software to make this job easier on you, if you’ve not got the budget. However, there’s nothing quite like having an experienced professional on side to explain things in person.
If you’re about to open up shop, stop and double check your list contains the above suggestions. You really need the ducks to line up right now, and that’s hard without foresight!
