Starting your first business (or any small business) can be a pretty scary thing. Most of us like the thought of owning a business and think that we’d be at least moderately successful doing it. However, most of us also don’t know where to start. Fortunately, we have a quick checklist that we’d like you to take a look at that will ensure you are starting your business the right way. Before we begin though, we’d like to mention one more thing. The advice that we are about to give you isn’t set in stone. It’s just our opinion on what to do.
Idea
It all starts with an idea with any small business. Come up with a great idea and play it out in your head. If you already have an idea, you can skip this step or start thinking about why your idea is a good one (or why it isn’t). Research your competition and make sure that this is the business you want to run before you move forward to the next step on the list.
Business Plan
Next, you’ll want to put together a business plan. This will enable you to figure out where your money is coming in, where it is going out, and what your plans are for the first year or two in business. Many people skip this step which is fine but keep this in mind. Businesses that fail typically fail within their first year and we think a big part of it is business plans.
Funds
The third step that we think you should focus on is the funds needed to start your small business. A good rule of thumb is to make sure you have enough money to open the new business and cover its overhead (and other costs) for 6 months to a year. This is assuming that you don’t turn a profit in that time and your startup costs will cover your rear end.
Launch
Once you’ve brainstormed your small business idea, put together a business plan (or had someone do it for you), and obtained the money needed to start the business, the only thing left to do is launch your new business. From there, it’ll be nothing but hard work, persistence, and a little bit of luck. If this all sounds too easy, that’s because we’ve made it seem that way. These are just basic steps and running any small business will be tough.
So, this concludes our Small Business Checklist. We hope that you leave here with some very valuable information and that the launch of your new business will be a smooth one. If you ever run into any trouble, don’t be afraid to ask for advice. There are a lot of people out there that would be more than willing to help you get started. All that you have to do is ask for help which is never a shameful thing to do. Now, let’s go start that new business!