Being your own boss. Deciding how, when, and where you work. Spending your time engaging in something you’re truly passionate about. Becoming successful and sustainably making good money.
What are we talking about? Starting your own business, of course. If you’ve had an innovative business startup idea for a while now, but somehow never got around to turning it into a reality, then why not try it now?
You might worry that this might not be the right time, with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing and putting a lot of pressure on companies worldwide. You’d be surprised to hear, though, that there has probably never been a better time to start your business.
The only thing you have to do now is to find out how to start a business from scratch. Keep reading, and you’ll discover seven easy steps to make your business dreams come true.
1. Build a Plan
It’s probably not surprising that the first step to launching your business is to write up a business plan. This should outline a few essential areas: your product/service, your buyer personas, your goal, your budget, and your marketing and advertising strategies.
Try not to rush into your business plan: take it slow. It’s indispensable to conduct some initial market research to look at potential competitors and customer demographics. And while you want, and need, to feel positive and optimistic about your success, you also need to put in place an exit strategy if things don’t go to plan.
2. Check the Financial Viability of Your Idea
Now that you have created your business plan and your goals are much clearer, you’ll need to establish whether you have enough cash. Starting your own business involves a pretty significant financial investment — especially in the beginning.
You’re going to have to work out factors such as profitability, product price, and average outgoings. Also, consider whether you’re going to need to employ other people, how many you might require, and if you’ll need to provide benefits. All of this quickly adds up to the final costs.
3. Choose a Location
Because of the current pandemic, you might prefer to work from your own home office, at least initially. If so, make sure you invest some time (and money) into researching the best IT equipment for remote working, and ask the help of an expert if needed.
Do you still want to have a physical location from where to sell your product? Take a look at the commercial properties available in the areas of your choice, and pick something that ticks your boxes. To make sure your store or office looks attractive, you might consider hiring a professional painter for your business.
4. Think About the Structure
Is your business going to be a start-up? Or are you planning to quickly expand and get hiring more and more people? Do you prefer to remain a solo entrepreneur?
Whichever business model appeals to you, ensure that it’s a clear and firm decision. Of course, some leeway is always allowed in the future, but deciding on the initial business structure is fundamental.
5. Pick a Business Name
Right, now for the most fun part: your business name. Perhaps you already have one in mind, and maybe you’ve known it for a long time now. Or maybe you are absolutely clueless as to what to call your business to make it sound and feel successful.
Picking a business name is actually much more tricky than you might think. Whatever product or service you are planning on selling, you’ll benefit from choosing a name that’s catchy, interesting, and easy-to-memorize. Don’t overthink it, but don’t oversimplify it, either.
6. Get Your Business Legally Recognized
Now for a slightly less enjoyable part: the legal bit. Before you start selling — and even before you begin to look for employees to build your team — you must register your business. Failing to do so will mean that your business is illegal, and that’s surely not a good start.
Different states have different rules and regulations on how to register a new business. Simply make sure you look into what needs to happen in your case and follow each step to a T.
As a rule of thumb, you’ll have to register with the government and the IRS. But in some cases, you might also need to provide a DBA certificate.
7. Think About Marketing and Advertising
If you’ve come this far in your start-up journey, then well done! Just one last thing, before you start getting out there and selling your awesome products. You’ll want to put some kind of marketing and advertising strategy in place.
Again, this is something that you might choose to do on your own, or for which you might enlist the assistance of a professional. Either way, coming up with some initial marketing ideas is essential to the success of any business.
Excited to Turn Your Business Startup Idea Into a Reality?
With the easy steps described in this article, you can rest assured that you will be in the best possible place to take your revolutionary business startup idea and turn it into a reality.
Stop dreaming, and start acting now! This is the best time for you to finally wow the world with your incredible products and services.
Did you enjoy this post? Then why not check out the rest of our blog to discover awesome content on business, finance, and tech? Come take a look now.
