🚀 Growing a Business in a Year: From Idea to Momentum Starting a business can feel exciting and overwhelming. Early challenges often include unclear goals, tight resources, finding the right team, and understanding your market. Some practical ways to move forward: - Plan first: Outline your business idea, target audience, and revenue approach. - Start small: Focus on key products or services before scaling. - Recruit wisely: Look for people who share your vision and values. - Retain talent: Offer clear roles, feedback, and recognition. - Adapt & solve: Treat setbacks as lessons and adjust quickly. - Track progress: Set short-term goals to measure growth regularly. Consistency, focus, and learning from mistakes make the difference. What’s been the biggest challenge in your first year of building a business?

Drop a piece of wisdom here. What is something that you’ve learned that can help someone solve a problem they might be working on?

Beyond basic registration, some businesses choose to strengthen their position by preparing for SBA certifications (such as WOSB, MBE, DBE, or SDVOSB), completing state and local vendor registrations, researching bid opportunities, and keeping SAM.gov information current throughout the year. These steps can improve visibility and readiness over time. Which of these areas do you think would make the biggest difference for your business right now?