When you’re setting yourself up for success and conceptualizing a business, it can feel like a lot to take on. There are plenty of hurdles that get in the way of actualizing your plans, especially for women that enter industries primarily dominated by men.

Being given funding and having your credibility acknowledged remains a challenge for female entrepreneurs, but this adversity does not mean that a successful business concept is impossible. In fact, around 43% of all businesses in the United States are owned by women. If you’re planning to pursue your own success, there are some core concepts that will help you conceptualize a sustainable business the right way.

1. Establish Your Core Values

One of the most common growth mistakes that businesses make is compromising their core values, purpose, and vision in an attempt to drive expansion. It’s important to keep your pillars and ideals firmly non-negotiable despite being flexible and ready to adapt to changes.

When you can establish the core values that drive your company, you can attract more valuable employees that share these ideals. It also allows you to have a reliable base point that determines your next steps toward success, whether it’s a branding campaign, a partnership, or a company expansion.

2. Curate Your Online Presence

These days, you miss out on a lot of revenue if you don’t establish an online presence that is carefully curated for your brand. Naturally, you will want to get a domain, put up your social media pages, and get listed on search engines by setting up your business profile on Google. Of course, this all starts with coming up with a great brand name that can strengthen your business in a digital space.

You’ll want to think of a name that is representative of what you do, how you want your audience to feel, and is easily searchable online. This not only makes your brand stronger in terms of recall but also helps simplify the process of curating your digital handles. If you’re having some difficulty with this process, it may benefit you to use a domain name generator to save time and help the brainstorming process. The sooner you can begin building your website, the better for building momentum.

3. Set Realistic Goals

Although it’s a good motivator to dream big, you also want to manage it by setting clear and realistic goals that you will aim to hit. This will ensure that you have clear points of reference when deciding what adjustments need to be made down the line. You’ll eventually start call tracking, launching campaigns, and monitoring your KPIs, so it’s essential for you to set both short-term and long-term goals that affect your approach.

With this in mind, you should also expect to have some misses along the way. While you shouldn’t aim for missteps, you also need to prepare for them. Billionaire and Biocon Limited founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has famously said, “Entrepreneurship is about being able to face failure, manage failure, and succeed after failing.”

4. Research Your Competitive Landscape

In order to ensure the success of your launch and thrive beyond that, you will need to do your research on the competition. Consider both well-established big names and local entries in your industry, then gather data on their market hold, core values, strengths, and weaknesses.

This analysis can be a big help when pinning down your own brand design and making sure you stand out from the rest. As you build your brand identity, you have a better chance of building a loyal market and expanding your visibility.

5. Figure Out Your Demographic

Even if you already have a niche pinned down, you need to establish your target market. Make sure you take the time to figure out who you are trying to reach with your business while also taking into account the demographics available to you at a local level. 78% of local searches result in an offline purchase, and more than a fourth of all internet users end up going to a local business after searching for their particular service or product online.

Getting a clear picture of this in your conceptualization stage can help streamline your launch and ensure that you actually reach your audience. This is especially important in online spaces, as popular social networking sites like Instagram have integrated searchable maps and businesses into their platforms.

6. Map Out Your Financial Plan

82% of small businesses fail due to poor cash management and a failure to understand cash flow. This is a starkly high number, but you can definitely avoid that fate by making sure you take the time to map out your financial plan. Solid financial planning takes a lot of time and effort, but it’s well worth it to ensure your business succeeds in the long run.

7. Surround Yourself With Support Systems

Oprah Winfrey said it herself, “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”

It’s crucial to keep a tight circle that will support you through the ups and downs from the very moment you start conceptualizing your business. Things can get stressful, and there are many individuals who can end up leeching off your success in a way that is not conducive to your growth. If you want to reach your goals and maintain them in a feasible way, it’s best to surround yourself with those that will support you in tough times and celebrate your victories.