What You Will Need to Start a Low Voltage Business | AvantGuard Monitoring - Be in Good Company. (2024)

Common Obstacles

Taking a look at the data of starting a small business, we begin to see the common obstacles that emerge for small business owners. These obstacles include lack of cash flow and capital, and lack of an online presence or marketing strategy.

Lack of Cash Flow

A common problem with small businesses is lack of cash flow that often comes from a lack of demand. Fortunately for low voltage businesses, the lack of demand for work generally isn’t an issue. The security systems industry has seen an annual growth of 3.5% in the last five years and the total revenue from the entire industry has surpassed 40 billion dollars in 2019.

So, where does lack of cash flow come from? There are many factors, but a major contributor is bad money management. One of the simplest ways to see if you are having cash flow problems is to check your expenses. If your expenses exceed the amount of cash you currently have, you are on the road to having cash flow problems. In a growing business, especially in the early stages, there will be times where your expenses exceed your revenue, but you should never be in a position where your expenses exceed your total amount of cash.

To combat cash flow problems, we suggest following these four tips:

Forecast spending – It is always smart to plan ahead. If you forecast for the future, you’ll be less likely to be blindsided by expenses. This can help you properly manage losses, as well as grow at an efficient and smart rate that won’t hurt your business.

Create a spending plan – Know exactly what you need to spend money on and how much you need to spend. Your spending plan will allow you to recognize where exactly your money is going. This is a vastly important tool to manage your expenses properly.

Business analysis and comparison – If you want your small business to succeed, it is always a smart idea to see how and why other similar small businesses are succeeding. You can see how much money other small businesses spend and you can use those numbers as a guide.

Micromanage your money – The beginning of your new business venture is not the time to get willy-nilly with your spending. If ever there is a time to become a micromanager, it’s with your company’s money. Every dollar that you spend takes away from your profits (initially), so it’s important to be smart with your expenditures and manage your money wisely.

Building an Online Presence Locally

One of the biggest mistakes a small business can make is assume that word-of-mouth marketing is enough. It is a must to at least have a company website and some sort of social media marketing strategy. Did you know that 91% of customers visit a store or business based on their online experience alone. And that small businesses with a website generate 25% of its revenue online. If you want your low voltage business to be discovered, it is imperative to have a website.

Building a website is now easier than ever. There are a bunch of free website builders to choose from to get your low voltage business online. Some of them include:

Many of these website builders allow you to use pre-formatted templates, and type in what you want the text to say, as well as drag and drop photos for easy website creation. There is no need to have a degree in coding or website design to create a great looking website for your low voltage business. Keep in mind, over 75% of people will judge a business based from the website alone. Your website is your 24/7 salesman.

Mobile Rules The World

If you smartly decide to build a website for your low voltage company, you will want to make sure it is optimized for mobile devices. According to Smart Insights, more than 80% of internet users own a smartphone. In the United States, 57% of online traffic comes from mobile devices, according to BrightEdge.

Website builders like Squarespace allow you to easily see what your website will look like on a mobile platform. Remember, over half of all people use their mobile phones for website research. If your website doesn’t look good on a phone, you will be losing out on many potential customers.

Social Media

Creating social media accounts is essential for success in today’s online marketing world. So, you’ve created a business page on Facebook and have an Instagram account for your company. Now what? It’s time to talk social media strategy. It really doesn’t need to be complex, especially for something as niche as a low voltage business. But if you take a little effort to create meaningful, helpful, and well-timed posts, you could draw attention to your company and get more customers.

Some helpful tips include:

Create content that will help your audience – A low voltage business social media account is a good opportunity to create and post how-to videos for your customers. If you can engage them with educational tips, you’ll likely create a loyal consumer base.

Create a community – Let’s be honest, most 17-year-olds aren’t going to care about your low voltage business accounts. So, create your content specific to the community you want to engage. Ask questions. Create discussions. Help your audience with questions they might have around their household. Creating a community will grow your brand and your business.

Your profiles should only be on relevant channels – Again, this is about knowing your audience. Being on social media doesn’t mean you need to be on every social media platform ever created. You probably won’t need a Tumblr account for your low voltage business.

Below is an article to help you with basic marketing automation. For instance, you can use programs to automatically schedule and post social media content for you.

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