What is relevant now and at any time for a new small business is that most people need support and encouragement, which you may find hard to reach if you are setting up from home. What is as important is the type of support that you receive. It may be all well and good having a loved one believe in you, but you may also need the advice of someone who knows what they are talking about and who is able to give you some practical advice i.e someone with accounts experience, or someone who has been there and done it, or even someone in the same field as you that you can possibly collaborate with to create an even better business.

Networking is so important to a new or small business. You will meet like minded people and people who can spread your message for you. People know other people and they talk. They can’t talk about you if they’ve never heard of you so the more you get out and about the better. Don’t let it detract from your day job though – that still needs to be done, but there are networking groups out there who meet at various hours such as 6.30am or at 9pm at night – you just have to find one that suits you.

As a small / startup business most marketing budgets are fairly limited so for the cost of the meeting it also means that you have reached out to a number of people for little expense.

Don’t just turn up to sell your product/ business. People don’t like being talked at, it’s about building relationships. You’ll soon turn someone off if all you talk about is yourself.

Another tip is to always exchange contact information or business cards and follow-up. These contacts can be the start of your database for marketing contacts, building relationships and promoting your business. Here at www.thepureemporia.com every person, even a business contact could be a potential customer or they may know someone who could be.