For our July blog, we’re celebrating Twin Raven Marketing’s 4th birthday. Twin Raven Marketing was created in July 2020 and, since then, co-owners Katherine Frye and Mel Santiago have learned a lot about running a business, from what help to outsource to how to make your remote work environment fun. We’ve compiled our top 7 tips for anyone starting a new service-oriented business – so you can benefit from our learnings too!
Tip 1: To start a business, register with your Secretary of State.
While it can seem daunting to do this part alone, we don’t recommend spending money on third-party services here. Registration is simple and straightforward, and it takes about thirty minutes. To get started, search online for your state’s name and “Secretary of State.” Then, look for business resources. There’s usually a webpage or entire site dedicated to businesses (here’s Mississippi’s). When you finish registering, you’ll get your formation docs and EIN assigned. Congratulations, you’re a business owner!
- Mel: We’re commonly asked if it’s necessary to create a business plan to start a business. While a business plan is not required to register as a business, a business plan is helpful for clarifying your business’ value proposition, getting aligned between owners, and – duh – planning. Also, you will definitely need a business plan if you’re applying for a loan!
Tip 2: Build your network like it’s part of your job.
If you have the cash, get involved in local groups like your city’s Chamber of Commerce (they typically require some annual membership dues) or – if you’re in Hattiesburg – The ADP.
- Local organizations catered toward small businesses
- Look for organizations specific to your industry or general business organizations that promote community involvement
- If you’re a minority business owner (e.g., women, LGBTQ, Black, veteran, etc.), look for groups that cater toward uplifting minority-owned businesses.
- Facebook groups
- Look for groups that allow self-promotion of your small business
- Tip: read the rules thoroughly, as some only allow self-promotion on certain days!
- Small Business Administration
- Utilize free mentors you can connect with on a variety of topics and an easily searchable database
- Some cities have local chapters where you can attend networking events to learn great information.
Tip 3: Utilize free and cheap resources when starting out.
Remember how we said to build your network? Find Facebook groups for small business owners in your industry and see what tools they’re using for things like bookkeeping, project management, etc. while you build the funds to purchase more robust tools and services.
- Our toolkit:
- Wave: our bookkeeping software imports and sorts transactions from our connected bank account, runs payroll, generates 1099s, and allows us to add our CPA as a contributor for visibility during tax season (oh, and we learned about this in a FB group!).
- Wrike: if you’re managing projects with lots of moving parts and collaborators, consider getting a project management tool early in your business. We use Wrike because it’s great for collaboration and emphasizes support for marketing agencies. There are tons of options like Asana, Monday.com, ClickUp – and the list goes on. What’s important is that you feel comfortable using the platform, so don’t be embarrassed to get on a sales call and ask for a demo of the platform before committing to any one solution.
- Google Workspace: At TRM, we are Google fans. It’s more affordable than Microsoft Office 365 with better features for our team (e.g., real-time collaboration, stricter spam filters and more third-party integrations). They have flexible plans that are perfect for any small business.
Tip 4: Use paid resources for things that are out of your scope.
Know when you need to hire outside help! Yes, you might have the tenacity and the intelligence to figure out how to build a website or do your business’ taxes – but you’re a business owner now and time is money! If it would cost valuable time you could be spending gaining clients, consider hiring a third party.
- Mel: We struggled with our taxes our first year in business because we assumed it would be easy to figure out. The reality is that you’re juggling so many things during your first year in business that it’s much easier to employ outside help to relieve that decision fatigue and help you learn.
- Kat: Also, as tempting as it can be to pay yourself out with all the money coming in, if you have no frame of reference for when you’ll be profitable or how much you’ll pay in taxes, be safe: overbudget for your taxes – and do that anytime a fundamental structure change happens like one of your co-owners going full-time instead of part-time.
Tip 5: Know your audience.
We work with many small business owners who make their decisions by acting like they’re their own customer. In reality, though, your customers may not like the exact same colors, styles, or advertising strategies you do. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to your actual customers’ preferences, hobbies, and likes. You may have assumed that your brand would be most popular amongst college students, for instance, but maybe it’s actually more popular among new moms. Lean into that! Stay tuned for more information on how to identify your target audience.
Tip 6: Start budgeting for marketing early.
Many new businesses experience a honeymoon phase where they see increased demand from their audience because they’re the new kid in town. Unfortunately, most businesses will reach a lull and need a little TLC from a marketing strategy.
- While you’re shopping around for marketing support, remember not to fall for scams!
- Logo and Brand
- This is where you really start seeing your business come to life. Creating a brand is more than just the logo. It’s the warmth or coolness of the colors, the words your brand uses to express itself, the values your brand brings to its audience and more. These steps set the tone and direction for what you want to create for your audience.
- Mel: You don’t have to include “LLC” or similar legal entity names in your logo. It’s unnecessary and takes up too much visual space. You only need “LLC” or similar legal entity names on legal documents.
- This is where you really start seeing your business come to life. Creating a brand is more than just the logo. It’s the warmth or coolness of the colors, the words your brand uses to express itself, the values your brand brings to its audience and more. These steps set the tone and direction for what you want to create for your audience.
- Online presence
- Social Media: Facebook and Instagram are your basic building blocks – and they’re free! As you grow your brand and learn your audience, you may want to move into other platforms like TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Threads, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. Tip: if a regular posting strategy is too overwhelming, remember that consistency is key! Posting consistently – even just once a month – will show your audience that you’re active and reachable online. Ready to start a social media package? Contact Twin Raven!
- Online listings: We work with businesses all the time with no business listing – that is a business profile on sites like Google, Apple Maps, and Yelp. If you don’t create your business listing on Google, you effectively don’t exist to most of your audience. This is how most people find your business’ directions, website and phone number. It’s also how you solicit reviews to rank better in search. Take a few minutes to create your business listing. It’s free, and Google will help you.
- Website: one out of every three small businesses in the U.S. doesn’t have a website. While you can opt to have a presence on social media only, it’s still not advisable because Google is the largest search engine and it looks to websites for your business validity and ranking in search. If hiring a website designer is out of your budget (plan for about $1,500 on the low end and be wary of cheaper offerings than that), consider using Google’s free website builder or software like Squarespace or Wix while you save up.
- Kat: Remember that even if you build your own website, you need to budget for both hosting and your domain. A domain is your website name (twinravenmarketing.com) and hosting is basically like renting a spot on the internet for your website.
- Merch is expensive! While it’s fun to see your logo on something physical, merchandise can be expensive, so plan accordingly. There are minimum quantities on many orders, there’s a lot of trial and error involved, and PLEASE don’t choose the cheapest option unless you have to! If it feels like it should go in the trash to you and you LIKE the business, your customers will think that way too.
- Mel: How many koozies have you received from random companies over the years? How many have you actually kept? Yep, we thought so.
Tip 7: Build patience.
Running a business is a marathon, not a sprint. Be kind to yourself, because success takes time, effort and patience.
Twin Raven Marketing Milestones
These are some of our favorite moments in our journey so far!
- July 2020 – Twin Raven Marketing was created
- May 2022 – Katherine began working full-time for Twin Raven Marketing
- August 2022 – Emily joined the team
- December 2022 – Madison joined the team
- January 2023 – Gabriela joined the team
- July 2023 – Katie joined the team
- October 2023 – Awarded our first government contract
- January 2024 – Katherine selected as one of Pine Belt News’ 20 Under 40
- July 2024 – Mel began working full-time for Twin Raven Marketing
