Authority Domains Learning Experiences
Most people start their own business, because they are perusing a career path in which they love, don’t have to take orders from someone else, work their own hours, and take a vacation whenever they want. Really? I wish!
I am the co-owner of Authority Domains, Inc. an internet marketing company that specializes in link building, SEO, PPC Management, and Social Media Consulting. In the past we’ve struggled to maintain a successful business with the usual ups and downs and growths and declines. Here are a few tips that I have learned from the “experts” that I believe may have helped us grow into the success we are today.
1. Have a business plan – Yes, we hear this all the time: “Have a business plan” What is it really, because we started this company without one, and we still survive. Sure we had it in our minds as to what we planned on doing, but it was never really defined in writing till almost a year after Authority Domains started as we were forced into the situation when we changed from a partnership to a Corporate structure.The idea of a business plan really does work, but not to the extent that everyone else tells you. It’s really a great way of brain dumping all the aspects of the business by thinking deeply about your income, growth, spending, advertisement, etc… Hand scratch it on a piece of paper, it’s really a way figuring out problems within your structure before they become a problem. What are you selling, to whom, how much is it going to cost us, how many employees….all this planning comes down to the dollar. What is it going to cost, and will I be able to make money from it?
Our first fail at not having a business plan: “Authority Domains” originated from the idea that we were going to buy and sell domain names that were established. To this day, we haven’t even sold one such product. Had we pursued that avenue, we’d be in a different place. I’m happy with what we have achieved, but having a solid business plan would have been beneficial to ground us from the start.
2. Be adaptable -As with our first failure to buy and sell any domains, we still wanted to pursue a path that was within our extensive knowledge of the internet. We knew internet marketing, and we knew it well. However, we didn’t want to be just a link provider. We scoffed at the idea for months at selling links to clients, yet it did start to bring us income to the business that was required for us to grow into what we are now.
I believe our ability to change and adhere to trends has given us the growth. The internet is ever changing, and still in its infant stage. Without our ability to change would have stifled our growth potential.
3. Plan for a Hurricane – What happens when you have one bad month and begin to lose all the profits you’ve been making. Now multiply that by 36. Most business planning consultants say that you need to plan for a 3 year struggle. In simple terms, you’ll need enough money to support your company for the next 3 years. Is this necessary? Yes! The owners of the company are considered ‘employees’ and if your business is financially struggling, then guess who doesn’t get paid. Just think back to the days of going to college, eating top ramen noodles, and cafeteria food while living in a room filled with three other people. Starting a business is almost a repeat. We officially started Authority Domains early March 2006. Our first payment to ourselves was not until November of the same year, which I promptly spent most of it just celebrating our first take home income.
4. Get help! – We knew how to get people on the first page of Google, drive targeted traffic to their site, and make them happy; however, we didn’t know anything about managing our employees, organizing the work structure, paying taxes. Listen to your accountants, banker, Management consultants and build a relationship with them. After all, that’s why you pay them.
If your really having troubles setting up your small business, consider contacting Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to help you with an effecting plan. They provide management assistance to owners with companies earning less than $50 million annual revenue, and it’s all free. After all it helped us.
Owen Andrew
Accounting & Production
Authority Domains Inc.
Cell Phone: (714) 350-9575
Fax: (661) 309-9822
Owen@authoritydomains.com
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Fantastic advice, Owen! I think my favorite piece of advice is ‘be adaptable’. You may have to change directions once you are already on the road. I am sure many new / prospective business owners will find your advice very useful.