By Lizzie Weakley

Starting and running a new small business is a monumental task. Especially when you are starting alone or with a small staff. To have the best chances of success, you will need experienced help to get your new enterprise off the ground. Here are four services you should strongly consider using to help your start-up survive and thrive.

Legal services

All new businesses need to be set up as a proper legal entity on both the state and the federal level. This is mainly for tax purposes, but some businesses may require licenses and permits as well. Quality legal services can help get your business created under the right organizational structure and set up to properly pay all taxes owed. It can even be a good idea to maintain a working relationship with a business lawyer in case you have need of their services down the road.

Graphic design services

While it probably isn’t worth it to hire a graphic designer outright as an employee, it is still very important to have some graphic design work done for your business. For example, your start-up needs a logo, signs and other key graphic design projects completed. There are plenty of graphic design firms and freelancers to whom this work can be outsourced. You may also need web development services to set up and maintain your company’s website. Making sure that your company makes a good first impression can help customers and clients trust that your services are top notch quality.

Virtual assistant services

Virtual assistant services can be a great solution if you are in need of clerical services but are not yet ready to hire an in-house administrative assistant. Virtual assistants can work on a part-time or contract basis to take care of many necessary tasks such as scheduling, responding to e-mails and maintaining files. Your business may never even need to hire an administrative assistant, as virtual assistants are often more cost-effective and can work for your business on a long-term basis.

Marketing services

Your new business won’t survive long if you cannot find ways to connect to customers and convince them to buy your products and services. For this reason, enlisting the help of a professional marketing firm may be the right decision. A dedicated marketer can identify your ideal target audience and then craft a marketing plan to reach them. This frees up more of your time to run and grow your business.

There are many number of services an entrepreneur can use to strengthen a fledgling start-up. While it’s often advisable to do as much as possible yourself to save on costs in this critical early period, some tasks are best left to the professionals. In addition, outsourcing can help you focus on what you founded your business to do. No matter what, owning and running a small business will require you to have a diverse skillset, but using services like these can help take the burden off. Consider using the four services outlined above to help establish your small business.

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Lizzie Weakley is a freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and walks in the park with her three-year-old husky, Snowball.