What should you consider when starting a small business?

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (Mipymes) represent 90% of enterprises in the country and create 60% of jobs, according to data from the Administration for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (AMPYME).

Many of these companies have faced financial and management challenges to consolidatewhile others had to completely rethink their strategies.

In the last 3 years, this sector has had to diversify in order to maintain its profitability, invest in the digital transition and adopt tools that improve its productivity.

Giovanna Cardellicchio, CEO of APC Intelidat an Experian gives 6 recommendations so that small and medium-sized enterprises can lay a solid foundation from the very beginning.

1. Do your research before opening a business: The first step in creating a company is knowing the sector, finding out what the competition is doing, and finding out what the client needs. All these elements will enable a much better presentation of the business idea for offering a product or service that provides added value to the end consumer.

2. Objectives of the plan: After you have clarified what you want to offer to the market, you need to define the goals and the time to achieve them. In this sense, it is recommended to define specific goals that are attainable so that, even with the challenges that may arise, it is less complex to direct efforts to respond to the proposed purposes.

It must be taken into account that these goals must be aligned with the financial profile of the person or company, i.e. supported by the budget and/or income that can be achieved.

3. Choose the best financing option: It is common to take out a loan to start a business, which is why you need to find a financial alternative that allows you to make a good investment, but is also adapted to your debt capacity. It is recommended not to exceed 30% of income for payment of liabilities and financial obligations.

4. Define the budget and clear the accounts: It is important to carry out financial planning that includes income and expenses in order to make a profit projection that can be realized, even knowing that the profit will certainly not be reflected in the short term. In expenditures, it is recommended to keep operational costs and additional contingencies in mind. The key is to calculate the ROI (Return on Investment) to define when you will get back the money you invest.

5. Constant training: Learning must be continuous, in accordance with the changes required by the market and the interests of customers. What may be successful today may be obsolete tomorrow. So, you have to train, learn new skills, according to the trends, depending on the growth of the company.

6. Digitize your business: In a world where digitization is involved, it is necessary to think about the presence on the Internet and not to miss the opportunity to reach potential customers who are looking for their needs on the web. Social networks and e-commerce platforms are the main channel for sales and customer loyalty for many companies.