Start-up To Do List

(10 minute read)

Every start-up goes through similar steps to get going. Check out the "Start-up To Do List" that I created below. I understand the importance of building a clean, inviting, professional brand and digital presence that represents you and helps you communicate with your niche of clients. I also understand that doing this all on a bootstrapped budget can be difficult and stressful. Creating a profitable business really all comes down to a time/money balance; what your highest value is and where your time is best spent? All of the following tasks will be crucial to building up your business, whatever industry you are in. Some you may choose to tackle on your own and can save you some money in exchange for time.

I LOVE BUILDING BRANDS AND BUSINESSES! Ultimately, I am happy to do as much or as little of it for you as your budget allows and you feel comfortable with. If you run into any problems I will be available for support and advice, and I will also always make sure that when we come up with a project plan the finished product will be something useful to you and will not just be waiting for additional work to be completed.

The List

Chipping away at this priority list will get you a solid footing in your industry, ready for promotion and customers!

Start-up To Do List:

• Create business name
• Create business logo and tagline, establish brand colors, and typography
• Build a Facebook business page + grow your followers!
• Build a LinkedIn business page + ask your circle to share it!
• Update personal LinkedIn profile to reflect your position at your company
• Purchase a domain name
• Host your new domain name on a set of servers
• Build a website for your new domain name
• Link social media handles to your new website
• More to come...

It seems like a lot, but just like anything else we'll knock out one at a time and it will be ready quicker than you think. You are smart to plan ahead and start early. This is the foundation of your business and working hard now will pay off big time when you launch and potential customers perceive you as LEGIT and therefore TRUSTWORTHY over the competition that looks sloppy and half-assed. Then all you have to do is consistently fulfill your brand promise and your audience will not only become repeat customers but also your biggest advocates in the community.

The Breakdown

I have broken down the "Start-up To Do List" into two categories: 1) The website, and 2) non-website, branding-related tasks.

1) The Website (consists of the physical website and domain/hosting/maintenance):

Physical website options

• $850-$1000 (Basic informational website, Home, About, Contact pages.)
• $1500-$2400+ (6-10 page advanced website with extra functionality.)
• We can always add more pages or functionality as we go along.

Domain, hosting, and maintenance options (requirement for all websites)

• $55/month - Sirois Designs' Silver Website Maintenance plan includes hosting on our lighting fast servers, monthly core and plug-in updates, bug fixes, spam filter installation, and one hour of design work monthly to use at your discretion.
• $95/month - Sirois Designs' Gold Website Maintenance plan includes all of the above plus basic search engine optimization services, Google analytics reports, and a second hour of design work monthly to use at your discretion.
• $155/month - Sirois Designs' Platinum Website Maintenance plan includes all of the above plus more advanced search engine optimization services, a third hour of design work monthly to use at your discretion and guaranteed 24 hour response time.

Check out Sirois Designs to learn more about the different options for webmaster maintenance plans that we offer and see which level is best for where you and your business are right now.

2) Non-website, branding-related tasks:

Logo and Branding options

• $$$ is up to you (Create logo, tagline, brand colors, and typography). Typically packages are priced by how many options you are looking to see before making a choice. If you feel like we can choose from a couple of options I can do it pretty quickly, under $200. If you'd like a larger set of options I'm happy to really dig in, here are some of my white-glove branding plans.

Social Media options

• Build your Facebook and LinkedIn business pages—to save some money you can do this if you prefer. If you don't want to deal with this, I can also help you make sure to have high-quality graphics for profile and background pictures, get you started off with a bunch of followers, and be an admin on the page to help promote it among my 35,000+ connections. Just let me know and I'm happy to help optimize those channels. Eventually, social media marketing is going to give you an unbelievable return on investment so it's totally worth prioritizing.

Want Some Help?

If you'd like help doing any of this contact Sirois Designs so we can chat and develop a plan of attack. I believe in doing projects in short productive sprints with a goal of consistently turning out quality work that we can both be proud of. Check out the options I have put together and think about them a bit. Let me know when you're ready to talk more in detail about them and any questions you may have.

Friendly Pricing

For services rendered I typically ask for 50% down and then the remaining 50% upon completion. We can also do things at an hourly rate with checkpoints if you prefer. I am flexible and want to help you succeed with your business. If you prefer to have a smaller month-to-month bill rather than paying in full for each service, I have small business plans that can help to spread out the costs and offers a discount on hourly work. One last thing that Sirois Designs guarantees is fixed pricing. We never have and never will raise the price on our customers like big box stores do. Nothing irritates me more as a customer than being told that for my loyalty I will be rewarded with higher prices year after year. At Sirois Designs, the price you sign up for stays consistent because we truly appreciate your business!

Contact Sirois Designs today to discuss how we can get your business or start-up an attractive and affordable digital presence.