Our top tips for standing out.

Supposedly it is easier to start a new company during a recession, resources are cheaper, as is labour, rent...the list is endless. As anyone who has their own company will know though, starting it up is not necessarily the hardest part. Maintaining and growing your venture into a successful business is where it really gets tough, and that part certainly isn't easy during such a downturn.

A total of 204,361 new companies were setup in the first six months of 2010, this figure is the highest seen in over a decade. So how do you make you business stand out against the rest?

1. Be a leader not a follower. Keeping your eye on the competition is vital for all businesses, but try to look at what they are doing and turn it in to something new and fresh. You need to give clients a reason to pick you over the rest. 

2. Keep your eye on the final goal, the recession will end and if you can keep focused on where you want you company to go and not get dragged down by it then you have far more of a chance of making it through.

3. Be realistic. It is a recession, and you mustn't set yourself unobtainable goals. Set small achievable goals, it will keep you motivated. They must be possible to achieve, if not then whats the point of them?

4. Make sure you set measurable goals, this could be amounts, dates, anything. But you want to be able to see if what you are doing is working.

5. All of your goals need to be relevant, it is easy to go off on a tangent or to get stuck thinking something is important, when really, in the scheme of things it isn't. Make sure your goals are all sending you in the right direction.

6. It is hard having your own business, don't feel like you can't talk to anyone about it. Seek help if you need advice, they are lots of people out there who can help you and who's area of expertise is to help your business grow. You don't have to do everything on your own.

7. Make sure that your prioritise, it may be one of the most important things you do. Identify all the areas that you want to grow in, or goals that you have and decide in which order they are most important and stick to it. Otherwise you may end up starting them all, and finding it a momentous task to finish them.

8. Network, network, network! It is so important for any startup company. You need to get your name out there for anyone to know that your company exists. Meeting someone face to face is always the best way to make an impression.

9. We know you must be bored of hearing these two words but Social Media is one of the best tools in business when used correctly. Have a regular online presence, not to regular though, no one wants to hear an update on your day every half an hour. Try to keep it light and chatty, people aren't looking to read an essay, but at the same time keep to point. If you are trying to promote your recruiting agency then why are you telling me what cake you ate for lunch?

10. Stay true to your initial concept, it is good for companies to grow and evolve but make sure you remember which business you started. You went into that area for a reason. Stick with it!