What are the first steps to starting up your own business?

Question

I need to know what the initial steps are and what types of things do I need to do first? Such as taxes, insurance, business license? How do I write up a business plan to take to the bank and what should be included?

Answer 1

Starting a small business takes a lot of courage. But, as they say, courage does not pay the bills. To be successful – to stay in business – you need more than courage. You need a combination of hard work, skill, perseverance, and lots of luck.

Some things you need to consider:
- "How can I support my family while I build up by business?"
- "What are my abilities?"
- "Is there a market for the product or service I have chosen?"
- "How long will it take this business to reach the financial goal I have?"

You may want to read the article "How to Start a New Business Successfully" http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol51/launch.htm , which lists six steps to launch a new business successfully:

1. Provide a benefit.
2. Determine the fit with your market.
3. Right timing is everything
4. Be ready to support your business
5. Develop a blueprint for success
6. Market, market, market

To give you ideas on what exactly do you need to start your own business, here are ten things you need to know before launching your own business “10 Things You Need to Know When Starting Your Own Home Business” http://www.powerhomebiz.com/052006/startingbiz.htm .

I recommend that you read the following books:

- What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business : Real Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs
- Starting From Scratch: How To Start A Business When You Don't Have Money
- If You're Clueless About Starting Your Own Business and Want to Know More
- On the Move : How to Succeed and Survive As an Entrepreneur
-How to Make 1000 Mistakes in Business and Still Succeed

Here are some resources that can help you write your business plan:

- SBA Business Plan Basics http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- PowerHomeBiz.com Creating a Business Plan section http://www.powerhomebiz.com/startup/businessplan.htm
- Entrepreneur.com Writing a Business Plan section http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizplan/0,7253,,00.html

You may also want to review some sample business plans to see how it actually looks like:

- Bplans.com http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.cfm
- MOOT Corp Business Plan competition winners
http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html
- VFinance - View hundreds of real business plans in pdf format. http://www.vfinance.com/home.asp?bps=1&ToolPage=bps_main.asp
- Business Owners Toolkit Sample business plans and information on how to create a plan. http://www.toolkit.cch.com/tools/buspln_m.asp
- PlanWare Planning software and information. http://www.planware.org/
- Virtual Business Plan Walk through the design of a business plan. http://www.bizplanit.com/vplan.html
-SBA Business Planning Guide http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- Small Business Advancement Center http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/business_plan/businessPlan.pdf
- Sample Business Plan General planning guide created by the Canadian Business Service Center. http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=CBSC_FE/display&c=GuideFactSheet&cid
- Business Plans Index - A subject guide to sample business plans and profiles for specific business types from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. http://216.183.184.20/subject/business/bplansindex.html
-
Some recommended books are :

- Business Plans Kit for Dummies
- The Complete Book of Business Plans : Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan
- Writing Business Plans That Get Results : A Step-By-Step Guide
- Business Plans For Dummies®
- Your First Business Plan : A Simple Question and Answer Format Designed to Help You Write Your Own Plan

Answer 2

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* How to Really Start Your Own Business, Fourth Edition by David E. Gumpert
* How to Really Create a Successful Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide by David E. Gumpert
* What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business: Real-Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs (What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business) by Jan Norman
* Business Start-Up Kit by Steven D. Strauss
* Start Your Own Business (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up) by Rieva Lesonsky

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

1) Identify a business idea that matches a passion you have. 2) Research marketability of your business (e.g. competition in the area you want to do this business, or relocate yourself to an area that it'll succeed); look at Census data for consumer spending habits in the locality; forecast a realistic market share you'll have for the next 3 years - through growth curves. 3) Forecast income and expenses for the business over the next 3 years (includes computing operational costs, leases, utilities, advertising, employees, and your own time). 4) Determine if you can afford to dump your time into the business 5) Develop a full scale business plan. Entreprueners Magazine is a good place to start as they contain prepackaged business plans for common upstarts, and templates to create your own. 6) Talk to your friends and family about it. See if they think it's still a smart business after seeing your business plan. 7) Look at funding options. 10K is a tiny amount to start a business. Many businesses require $50,000 to $4,000,000 to get it up and going. You can look at setting up a corporation and selling private issue stocks to family and friends. 8) Look at franchises that do what you're thinking of doing. Their advertising, and prepackaged systems, and their support... are very helpful for someone that has never started out before. 9) Even if you don't go with a franchise, go ahead and interview 2 or 3 of them so they can sell you on their system. It's a fantastic education process, even if you decide to never send them a check and opt to compete against them (or go an entirely different direction than the type of franchise you entertained. 10) Set goals

Answer 4

Hi Pinkie443,
1. Write in two sentences or less your business idea.
2. Contact the SBA(Small Business Administration) so that you can get training on how to be an entrepreneur.
3. They will teach you how to conduct research on your business idea and help you to determine the feasibility of it.
4.Research and invest in a good business plan writing class.
5. Determine how much money you need to run your business for six months without making any sales.
6. Determine where you are going to get the money from. (personal, bank, family/friends, investors etc.)
7. Remember, YOU MUST invest at least 10% of your own money into your business or no one will be willing to fund your company. The best to you. I know this because I am a business owner. Urban Love coming in 2007 (Urban funky art and jewelery) Also, my husband teaches entrepreneurship. I've listed his website as a source.

Answer 5

Research, research, research. First you have to determine what your product will be, and then find out where will be the best place to market/sell it. You may be able to work from home, or not, depending on what you are dealing with.
First step should be city hall, to find out what kind of permits you need. There are some excellent books on writing business plans, and there are some excellent college courses on the subject. You might be well advised to take one...

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Answer 7

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Answer 8

The first thing is to find something to do that makes money. After you make 1000 or so, then worry about the tax and registering, etc. Or maybe even after $3000.

Answer 9

you have to invest in stocks so you have something to sell