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Tips for building a reputation before starting a business

by | Nov 13, 2020 | Analysis, Public Relations

Business owners that already have a successful business also already have their own reputation within their industry. However, there are plenty of advantages to creating a better reputation in the industry before starting a business.

This is naturally achieved by accomplishing notable achievements in the industry for some people, but that’s a small number of people. Most often, it means that business owners will have to go out of their way to build up their personal brand and reputation on social media platforms.

There is great value in developing a reputation first and then starting a business on that basis

For one, creating a brand new business takes a lot of work and time, and most business owners tend to work long hours in the first place, which doesn’t leave them with a lot of time to develop their personal reputation. However, for business owners that start building their reputation before they start their business, they’ll have a lot more time to establish themselves in the industry.

Furthermore, with a personal reputation, it’s a lot easier to appeal to other potential partners or business investors since a business idea will be a lot more impressive if it’s started by someone who already has the support of the public. This also allows the new business to build a lot of early momentum and reach potential new clients faster.

Finally, about half of businesses tend to fail in their first five years, mostly due to a lack of reach and growth, but that’s difficult to happen when the business owner has a large audience in the first place. If it does happen, the business owner will retain that reputation anyway and can simply carry it and the audience into their next business endeavor.

Industry leadership

A big part of a business owner’s reputation depends on their ability to be a thought leader in their particular niche. Although this is made easier if able to hire a PR agency—even if one can’t, its core is fairly easy to understand. All it takes is to propose some valuable new ideas or unique thoughts to be seen as an expert, which sometimes means deviating from the norm and offering controversial opinions.

Industry familiarity

Business owners should also be very familiar with the industry, which means having intelligent and valuable conversations with other industry professionals and staying on top of all the latest developments.

Industry contacts

Business owners with a brand new business can command a lot more respect from both inside and outside of their industry if they have a big circle of industry contacts. The best way to achieve this is to connect with other like-minded professionals in the industry and even some individuals who aren’t in the same industry too.

Ronn Torossian
Ronn Torossian is the Founder and Chairman of 5W Public Relations: 5WPR is one of the 20 largest PR Firms in the United States.

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