Start your year strong, with a new business!

Search Google for “How to start a new business in 2025”, and you see Google algo omitting SERPs with the same old steps and suggestions.

While those articles do a decent job outlining steps, they often lack—fresh perspectives, hands-on tips, and real-life experience.

So I decided not to repeat what you already know, but add some genuine advice you can apply right away.

Implement these pointers into your business strategy, and you’ll have a blast this year.

1. You need to know everything.

You don’t know everything when you start, and that’s fine. When we built Upmetrics, the only thing I initially knew was how to code and build products. I knew nothing about building a team, marketing a SaaS, or writing. But I learned as I went.

You can hire the best people, but as the founder, you know your business more than anyone else. Stay informed about every department so you’re sure things are on track.

“Jack of all trades, master of one.”

2. You can do everything, doesn’t mean you should.

This might sound like I’m contradicting the first point, but here’s what I mean: as a business owner, you’ll have more tasks than you can handle.

Your team members will come to you with the weirdest problems, ‘coz “boss can do everything.”

There will be times when you’ll think, “Let me do it myself, it’ll save time and back & forth,” but, you do it once, and the guy will come back next time with the same issue.

Solution: Let your people handle their roles. You’ll step in if something goes wrong.

With time you’ll realize:

“It’s not only about getting results yourself, but getting your team to get those results for the business.”

3. Identify the 20% of inputs that drive 80% of the results.

This is the Pareto principle—80% of outcomes usually stem from around 20% of your inputs. While not exact all the time, this idea is quite relevant in business. For instance:

• 80% of your returns might come from 20% of your marketing efforts.
• 80% of your revenue might come from 20% of your customers.
• 20% of your workforce might have handled most daily operations.

I’m not suggesting you ignore the rest, but prioritize where your main results come from.

Our own example:

When we initially started, we tried marketing through different channels—SEO, paid advertising, social, affiliate, and more. Eventually, we noticed SEO brought the best results, while we kept dumping resources into other channels.

We shifted our focus, invested more in SEO, and never looked back ever since.

4. Invest in business plan & strategy.

When I say “invest,” I mean time, money, or other resources. You might hire a consultant, buy proper planning software, or even use something free like ChatGPT, but make sure you put in real effort into your plan.

Investing in your plan ensures you care about business, and what you call a “business plan” is actually a well-curated piece, not a rushed afterthought.

• If you have time—invest in a decent business planning software. (ChatGPT isn’t enough)
• If you have money—team up with expert consultants. While they get the job done, you must stay involved with each step.

“Not investing enough time or money often results in a mediocre plan—one that fails to get you funded or guide your operations.”

5. Customer success >>> customer support.

If your business is anything like mine (a SaaS or service-based startup)—this one is paramount.

I remember defining these two for our team:

• Customer support: Promptly responding to user queries, making sure they get help when needed.
• Customer success: Check on customers before they even ask for help, see if they’re stuck or need tips, and be there ahead of time.

“Support helps them get by, but success ensures they have an outstanding experience.”

6. Build a really strong core

A strong core means a core group of people who know everything about your business, who can take care of it even if you’re not there.

This way, you’re free to focus on higher-level growth. If something goes wrong, you know exactly who to talk to.

Once you’ve got a strong core, stick with them—you don’t want to reinvent the wheel. This is essential if you want your business to move forward.

7. Short-term gain often results in long-term pain

I know it sounds a bit philosophical, but it’s true. I can give a dozen examples of how some things that look and feel beneficial at given moment, might result badly.

So always have a long-term vision for any business strategy. If you ever find yourself dealing with such an opportunity, stand still, and ask yourself if this would be beneficial in the long-term. You’ll have your answer.

That’s it for today. As I conclude my first letter of 2025, I wish you all a very happy new year.

Including some resources to help you uplift from the idea-stage, and start working towards your business.

Wishing luck for your business in 2025 🙂

Until next time,

Happy business planning 🙂