The serial entrepreneur offers 3 tips for small business owners just starting out

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Small businesses are the backbone of the United States economy. According to the Small Business Administration, 99.9% of all US firms are small businesses, creating two-thirds of new jobs between 1995 and 2021.

Although small businesses play a key role in the economic stability of the US, starting one is a daunting task. Phaon Spurlock, a serial entrepreneur who founded Prototype Marketing and clothing company BKLYN LEAGUE, is no stranger to the struggles of starting a company from scratch.

“It’s so rewarding and you can really benefit a lot [starting a business]you have to put effort and energy into it,” Spurlock said (watch the video above or listen below). “You have to put time into it.”

On Yahoo Finance’s Living Not So Fabulously podcast, Spurlock shared his top three tips for young entrepreneurs just starting their businesses.

The first thing a person should do when creating a small business idea is to know their potential customers. More than that, it’s about knowing “how to best serve your audience with your product or service,” Spurlock said.

“You have to do demographics and psychographics,” advised Spurlock. “I tell most of my clients all the time to have at least 25 data points about your audience.”

Although this may seem like a lot, determining the finer details is helpful for more successful marketing campaigns. Spurlock argued that many sources are available to collect those data points.

“Also just do your job [or whoever you hire’s job] much easier when you’re actually looking to do an ad or a digital ad campaign,” he said. “You can really connect a lot of those key points and those data points in your Facebook Ads Manager, or Facebook Ads Manager your Google Ads, [or your] TikTok Ads Manager.”

Palestinian university graduate Diala Qawasmi sells chips at a food truck to fight unemployment in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 7, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman · REUTERS / Reuters

Starting a small business “is always going to cost more than you think,” Spurlock warned.

He detailed some of his experiences finding himself unprepared for a certain expense and said that those who are not careful with their budgeting and planning for their small business can find themselves compromising personal funds for their business. theirs, or vice versa.

“Definitely have a budget and think about it,” he said. “But I would definitely think about having a backup just in case, because there’s always going to be something small that happens.”

Spurlock noted that it’s also important to have funds set aside from your emergency savings when starting an entrepreneurial venture. For those who are able, holding down a full-time job while building the business can be a great way to keep yourself afloat.

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