If you have an idea and are passionate about it, you must take it to the next level. Here’s how I took something I felt deeply about and turned it into a social venture.

Idea: what do you want to solve

You may come up with various ideas but you need to focus on the one that has convinced you completely. If you are still thinking about it half-heartedly, drop it, because a start-up calls for a lot of self-motivation. Think hard, brainstorm with friends, research on the internet, discuss openly and when you finalize the idea, move to the next step.

Our idea was to raise funds. We wanted to create a platform to sell our products and encourage others to donate to the noble cause. I started my venture “SKR and Daughters” after I lost my father to cancer. Through this venture, we raise funds for cancer patients by selling handmade paintings and recycled craft items on social media. Let’s talk a little more about how to go about such a venture.

Business Strategy: how will you solve it

Why do you want to do this? Is it adding any value? Is it unique? Why will people buy your product? Can you create enough content? Do you have enough funds? Ask yourself these questions, and if you have the answers, finalize the following: 

Plan: Write a business plan that will have the details of what you do and describe your products or services. This can later be used for social media posts and your story on how you came up with this idea. 

Name: Choose a name that will add credibility and value to your business. Keep it short and easy. Even if it is not unique, it should reflect the idea of your business. Search on the internet for similar names and finalize on the one that you own with pride. 

Logo: Create a logo that will help you stand out in this competitive space. Choose it wisely as this is going to be your identity and a well-designed logo reflects your professionalism. Add appropriate colours, fonts, and sizes, stick to the story behind your idea and keep it simple and original.

You can easily create your name and logo through various editing software like Canva, Logo Maker, Adobe, or convert a handmade design into a logo on any online design platform. 

After we found the answers to all the questions, we finalized to go ahead with our venture. The whole idea behind it was shared in the form of a blog post and through various social media posts. We fondly named it after my father, chose his favourite colour blue and designed a simple logo using calligraphy. The name, logo and plan clearly reflect the story behind this venture.

Social Media Presence: how will you communicate

In this digital era, people search for you before connecting with you. Create a separate business profile. Open accounts on various platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, etc and provide an email or a number for customers to contact you. You can also create a dedicated website at any stage. This is when names play an important role, search if you can get a domain in that name too. Add around five to ten posts on the newly created accounts because people would like to explore your products/services when you launch them. 

We were able to create business profiles on various platforms with the same unique name. I’ll share them at the end of this post and if you follow us, don’t forget to say hello! We kept the profiles private till the launch and added a few posts on each one of them. It takes time, so if you want to target a date for your launch, start at least two weeks before and keep things ready.

The Big Launch

Launching a start-up on social media has become easy, all you have to do is stand out and make it big. Share your story in the form of a post on all the handles, add pictures, videos, and tag friends, you can also invite someone or host a giveaway or contest to attract the audience. 

What follows next is promotions and creating visibility, be consistent but don’t overdo it. Create weekly content and maintain a healthy mix of pictures, stories, reels, polls etc. Engage with your audience, appreciate their support and be active on social media. Develop an emotional connection and a relationship with your customers. 

Our launch was undoubtedly an emotional moment for my family and close friends. I shared the feelings through my post, writing about my father, his life, our struggle with cancer and how our venture would help similar families. The response to the launch was heartwarming and it only strengthened our belief in ourselves.

Analytics

Most social media networks come with built-in analytics and they provide great insight into your progress and identify the posts that do better than the rest. Pay attention to the data and plan your next post accordingly. You may also make use of some of the social media management tools that are available online. 

The start is always slow but as long as you are moving, you are a step closer to your goal. We also started slow and when we won an award for our start-up idea with just a handful of followers, we were made to believe that these counts don’t actually matter. What matters is your intention and passion towards growing and working hard.

Keep Going

Have a clear goal and plan all your activities towards achieving it. Don’t worry about the results in the initial days. Be creative and introduce new ideas to keep up with the audience. Most importantly, believe in your idea and never give up. Invest more time on important things like registration, funds, content, and reach and less time on things like follower count, likes and reactions. 

What keeps me going is the noble cause behind our venture and I will not stop until and unless I raise enough funds to save a life. We look for opportunities to present our venture to a larger audience and encourage more and more people to support us.

The idea behind SKR and Daughters was appreciated and it went on to win the prestigious Orange Flower awards in the very first year of its launch. What keeps me going is the noble cause behind it and I will not stop until and unless I raise enough funds to save a life. 

 

We can be reached here-

Instagram - SKR_Daughters

Twitter - SKR_Daughters

Facebook - SKR.Daughters

Email - skranddaughters@gmail.com