How to Start a Business
If you are new to starting business and haven’t a clue as to where to start, you are not alone. We can help you!
Below is a list of 10 steps that you need to determine if you really want to start
and how to get it off the ground.
Click here to get your Free Business Startup Guide - Start learning about the benefits of various business structures, and specifically how incorporating will improve your company's image, decrease it's liabilities and promote future success.
1). Determine your passion level. One of the key indicators for investors when deciding if they are going to invest in a business is whether or not the entrepreneur is passionate about their idea. How do you measure the passion? It’s not an exact science. However, I will tell you that you should allow a few weeks after coming up with an idea before acting on it. Rushing into a business venture is never a good idea. There is a book we highly recommend: "Building Blocks For Business Success-Passion"
2). Put your idea on paper. The SBA recently came out with a statistic that business owners are six times more likely to be successful if they have a written business plan. Although a professionally written business plan is key it isn’t everything. You need to first write the plan, develop financial statements and pro-formas with projections of the amount of money you can make with the business as well, then develop the action plan. Without the action plan you will be like the majority of entrepreneurs who fail in business.
3). Put together a team of individuals to work with you and mentor you on starting and growing your business. Don’t go it alone. Find individuals that have started and grown their own companies. Find individuals with expertise in certain areas such as legal issues, tax planning, marketing, sales, etc. You aren’t supposed to know it all. You just need to know who to talk to and where to go for advice and mentorship when you need it most. There is a book we highly recommend: "Building Blocks For Business Success-Team"
4). Determine your entity. How are you going to operate the business, as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or LLC? You should consult with another entrepreneur or professional that can give you some direction to which entity is best for you. In most cases I would always recommend either a corporation or LLC for a business start-up.
5). Get the proper funding. There are three ways to get the money: Personal savings, Credit and/or Equity Financing. You can dip into your personal savings and use that to fund the business. You can obtain credit lines, loans or use credit cards to fund the business. You can also sell equity in your company by finding investors willing to pay to be apart of your idea. You will likely find that at some stage of your business you will use all three. We highly recommend our Credit Builder Program and also to attend our "Success Steps to Business Success" seminar to "Discover the insider secrets to getting unlimited cash for your business". Check our "Building Blocks For Business Success-Capital"
6). Research. Make sure you research as much as you can about running a small business. Read, read, read. There are three books we highly recommend: “E-Myth by Michael Gerber” “Good to Great by Jim Collins” and “Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill”. You must become a student of entreprenuership if you plan to stay in business long term. We also recommend "Success Steps to Business Credit" and "Success Steps to Business Financing" by David Gass
7). Get the proper licenses. Call your state, county and city and ask which license you need for the type of business you are operating. Some agencies don’t require a license, but I would do everything you can to get at least one. Investors and credit grantors like to do business with companies that have a license. You also need to look at any type of permits you may need for the business as well. Some business need occupancy permits, health permits, etc.
8). Work on your message and marketing. Develop a good marketing message and avenues you plan to market your business. I would recommend having a really good copy-writer on your team and ask them to work on the content of your message and marketing materials. In addition, make sure you use more than one source of marketing/promotion. Don’t rely on just one newspaper, website or radio ad to generate all your customers. Businesses with multiple sources of marketing and revenue are able to sustain the business long term and not have as bid of ups and downs. There is a book we highly recommend: "Building Blocks For Business Success-Marketing"
9). Test. Test your marketing, your product, your service. Test everything. Just because you start your business and use one method for delivering your product doesn’t make it the most efficient or cost-effective. I have worked with business owners and asked why they spend so much money on a certain part of their business and the answer typically is “That’s the way we have always done it”. I suggest every time to test something else and see if that will work just as well. By testing you not only see what works but you also know what doesn’t work. Sometimes it’s better to know what doesn’t work than it is to know what does.
10). Take action. Your business doesn’t have a chance unless you take action and start to implement your plan. Your action plan will determine your direction and where you need to focus your time. Entrepreneurs have the tendency to get distracted quickly. By having a plan you have a guide map that will let you know when you fall off course.
Click here to get your Free Business Startup Guide - Start learning about the benefits of various business structures, and specifically how incorporating will improve your company's image, decrease it's liabilities and promote future success.
