Chances are you’re like all average first-time startup creators; you probably have at best a vague idea about the tools you’re going to need in order to properly manage and run your dream. And in truth, that’s totally fine. No one who knows what it is like to create a startup will think any less of you for not knowing exactly what you’re doing and asking questions. It, just like all great things in life, is a learning process and should be treated as such.
Well, here’s a lesson for all you crazy startup junkies: you’re going to need to outsource a good deal of business processes. Do what you do best, and outsource the rest. Now that may be a cliche phrase in the business world, but that doesn’t take away from how incredibly, undoubtedly, and irrefutably true it is. If you try to develop all the software you’ll need to manage a business, you’ll never actually get to the business. Luckily, the tech world is riddled with the tools you’ll need, from full software to backend code you can easily integrate into your systems.
What is business processing?
If you don’t know what business processing is, don’t dare fret mon frère. You’re still learning after all. Business processing defined is simply: a series of logically related activities or tasks (such as planning, production, or sales) performed together to produce a defined set of results. Your activities are whatever it is you do in order to achieve your results, which is to deliver your end product or service. You’re going to track things like your revenue, expenses, purchases, sales, shipping, hours spent working, lead generation, inventory, resources, production, etc. Sounds like a lot, but once you get into the swing of things, it will become a second nature to keep up with the meticulous records you need.
What this means is that business processing is the processes by which a business tracks its activities in order to better manage these activities to yield the best possible results. For example, let’s say you’re trying to be the next Facebook, you’re going to want to track your users and the analytics of their use in relation to the streams of revenue and expenses in order to better understand how well your platform is doing. If you can keep track of all this, you can provide a better service to your users while ensuring the highest possible profits.
Why you need it
It’s pretty clear that having business processing software helps you manage your startup better and also helps you to create the best possible version of your product. However, good record keeping through business processing will help with another enormous aspect of running a startup: getting seed money.
When you create your product, chances are you’re going to need some kind of seed money from investors. Any serious investor is going to ask questions beyond what your product or service is. They are going to want to see your records. The more you have, the more detailed they are, and the more kinds or records you have the better. You want to go into an investor meeting with everything they are going to ask for beforehand. What do you think will impress an investor more, having to wait for you to compile your records or having them organized and ready to present? Pretty simple answer. They’re going to want to see your dedication, and nothing says deciation to an investor like already having a report on the work you’ve done so far and how your plans for the future. Future plans that business processing can help you create through a solid business plan: another fundamental aspect of getting investment.
“But, what business processing platform should I use?”
There is not shortage of software that helps you with your business processing, but that is also the very nature of the problem. Oftentimes you will find a software that will help with one or two of the various aspects you need to keep track of, and that can get expensive. To answer your question, you should try as many as possible and use the program that best suits your needs and experience.
I’ll let you in on a little secret, though, just cause I like you: there’s something on the horizon that will change the business processing game. It’s coming and it will offer an integrated platform for the budding startup. Excited? So am I. Stay tuned to hear more about this revolutionary product.