I set up my business, STARTrading during one of the most unsure economic times of recent years. The COVID era. And I learned some valuable lessons in doing that, which I will share with you now in a really practical way.

First, let me bust the myth that there will be an easier or a better time for you to turn your idea into a reality. There won’t be. The truth is that in business that there are always ups and downs, and storms will come and go. What you need to do is build your business on firm and solid foundations. That is what I did and guess what? It worked.

Not every business idea will make you a millionaire, or even make you an income. We all know that there are some bad ideas out there – like setting up a business to sell or maintain office printers in the current eco-conscious work-from-home era.

So here is my advice for any startup launching in the current climate of economic uncertainty. It may be tough, but take heed and you can create your own success.

Test the concept

There is a very simple reason why some startups fail, the brains behind them haven’t tested the concept.

Testing the concept means seeing if you can actually get customers to hand over their money. I’m not talking about your nan being kind and pitying you or your best friend doing you a favour and hyping you up, I’m talking actual customers who don’t know you but who discover your product and want it.

Assess your spending

Make sure you watch out for illogical spending, something I myself fell foul of early on. I hired a fantastic marketing agency who were costing me £6,000 per month to manage my ads. My ad spend? Just £1,000. That is terrible maths and not what you should be doing. Learn from my mistake and really assess every pound and penny that goes out of your business account.

Pay yourself a wage

Don’t spend all your money on growing your business, you need to pay yourself something. Why? Because otherwise you are working for nothing, and it will become all too easy for you to fall out of love with the business you started for a reason.

Avoid debt

It may sound obvious but so many entrepreneurs go bust before they’ve got off the ground. Lower the risk during times of high economic uncertainty and aim to build your business with minimal to zero debt. That’s what I did. I created a product that I could sell without having any initial outlay. Even with physical products, you can do this too.

Yes, I had built a website and created payment gateways so people could safely pay me, but all those bits and pieces came to less than £1,000. Now, four years on, I have a business that creates revenue of £100k per month and has been built with zero debt in the process.

An added bonus of building this way is reduced stress levels. You don’t want to be stressing about your financials rather than focussing on growing the business and doing the things that you are good at.

Know your numbers

I cannot stress this next point enough. Know your numbers. Know them. How much does your product or service cost to create? How much does it cost to deliver? What about insurance, tax, staffing, infrastructure, all the other bits and pieces that make the business operate? If you don’t know what the minimum is that you need to break even or to hit your desired profit, you are already on the back foot and you will make pricing your service or product a shot in the dark.

Turn your fear of the financial difficulties out there into fire for financial growth. If you don’t do this now, when will you? The truth is, nobody is ever ready, they just get started.

Get creative

With your marketing, be creative and use the storms of uncertainty to generate clients, build interest in your business and get yourself known as a solution for people. Use the information everybody knows as motivation for your customers to act now rather than later. It is a brilliant way to help build urgency in an ethical way.

Business isn’t always easy, but as you walk out into the storm, make sure you grab your brolly (knowing your numbers), put on a raincoat (create your business plan), grab your wellies (actually take the action) and focus on achieving your goals.