If you’ve always dreamt of starting your own business but felt unsure where to begin, now is the perfect time to turn that dream into reality. The idea of entrepreneurship can be overwhelming, especially when you’re stepping into it without prior experience. That’s why Picsart is excited to introduce the Small Business Starter Pack, designed specifically for solopreneurs and small business owners. This five-part guide breaks down the key elements of launching and growing your business, from ideation to branding and marketing.

Built on insights from over 200 small business owners, the Starter Pack offers guidance based on real-world experiences and challenges faced by today’s entrepreneurs. With practical advice and actionable steps, this guide ensures you’re fully prepared to take the first steps to build your successful business.

Survey Findings

To understand the needs and experiences of real-life small business owners, we conducted a survey. These results helped to shape the foundation of the Small Business Starter Pack. Here’s what we found:

Most significant challenge

When asked about what the biggest hurdle small business owners experienced at the start, the most significant challenge was found to be coming up with a business idea, with 39% of the vote. This was followed by securing funding, which over 22% of the business owners surveyed stated as being their biggest concert.

Finding Support and Inspiration

When beginning the journey of entrepreneurship, finding inspiration and a support system often makes all the difference. Roughly 2 out of 3 of the business owners we surveyed turn to networking and mentors for guidance. Over 60% of respondents also used business books and publications and online communities or social media as key sources of information.

Branding for Business Growth 

This is undoubtedly a crucial area to consider when launching a business. When asked how important branding is for business growth, an overwhelming majority believed it to be very important, with 80.79% voting for this category and a further 16.26% acknowledging it to be at least somewhat important.

Creating a Brand Identity

When looking to stand out from the competition, having clearly defined branding plays a significant role in helping to differentiate your brand and making it recognizable. When we asked “What elements of your brand identity have you defined as part of your business?” the results were mixed:

  • Logo: 64.36%
  • Color palette: 59.41%
  • Brand values and mission: 45.54%
  • Typography/fonts: 42.08%

AI for Business

In terms of how these business owners created their brand identity, over half (51.49%) stated that they had used AI tools. 

AI tools are being increasingly used in all aspects of marketing, from design to automation. Our findings show that more than 3 out of 4 (78.11%) of respondents use AI tools. Here’s the break down their tool usage:

  • AI Image or video generators (e.g. Synthesia, etc.): 78.11%
  • AI writing tools (e.g. ChatGPT, etc.): 69.23%
  • Branding and design tools (e.g. Picsart, etc.): 60.95%

Marketing Strategies

Marketing is essential for any business, and our respondents highlighted the strategies that have been most successful for them. Social media came out on top with 76.62% of respondents stating that this was one of their most effective strategies. This encapsulates everything from organic to influencer marketing. Voted in second was email marketing, with 55.72% of respondents confirming that they had executed successful initiatives. In third place, content marketing was found to be of use, with 51.74% of small business owners finding value in blogs, videos, and ebooks, among other pieces. 

Significant Challenges

When operating a business, there will always be hurdles to overcome. When asked “What is the biggest challenge in marketing your business?” over 58% of small business owners stated that this was creating content that resonates with their audience or coming up with content ideas, while just over 17% stated that finding the right platforms to reach their audience was their biggest marketing struggle.

These statistics shed light on the trials and tribulations small business owners face on a daily basis, while also providing valuable insight on how to prepare in the run up to launching into entrepreneurship. 

Get Started with Picsart’s Small Business Starter Pack

If these challenges sound familiar, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The Small Business Starter Pack is here to provide you with the tools, strategies, and insights you need to overcome these hurdles and build a thriving business. From branding basics to leveraging AI tools for content creation, we’ve got you covered.

Start your entrepreneurial journey with confidence. Download the Small Business Starter Pack now.

 

Empowering the Creator in Everyone

Picsart is the world’s largest digital creation platform. Its AI-powered tools give creators of all levels the ability to design, edit, draw and share photo and video content anywhere. It’s used by consumers, marketers and content creators for both personal and professional design, and is available to businesses via API partnerships and integrations. Picsart has collaborated with major artists and brands like Discord, PopSockets, Shopify, Taylor Swift and more. Download the app or visit picsart.com.