If you envision your dream of running a small business, you can certainly run a small business. If someone has told you that running a small business is impossible, they told you wrong. However, you will want to ensure that you have your basics straight so that you can avoid the complications that newbie entrepreneurs face.
You will want to have a plan ready so that you have a strategy that you can execute. Whether it is running a business or any other life goal, you cannot execute it without a plan.
Fortunately for you, we have crafted this brief guide that is exclusively designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs start their small start-ups.
Assess Your Business Idea
You cannot rely on having a good business idea alone – you need to test the product/ service to ensure that your business will make money. There are several ways to test your products, including the assessment of whether your product will be able to solve the problem of your target audience.
You will also want to conduct in-depth research on the existing products and services that are relevant to your products/ services. While researching the existing products, you will want to assess any potential gaps in the market to see where your products might fit in.
Validate the Business Idea
After assessing your business idea, you will want to ask yourself a couple of important questions that will help you validate your business idea. Some crucial questions to ask yourself include the following:
- What differentiates my business from my competitors?
- Do I have attainable milestones to measure success and progress?
- Am I providing a solution to my potential customers?
- Does my business align with my skills?
- How much capital am I risking?
Of course, it comes down to having one business idea to kick-start your start-up; however, you will need to be strategic so that you can fully expand your products.
More importantly, before getting too deep with the investments, you will want to gauge market demand by setting up a physical/ online store to take pre-orders. You can also opt for running a crowdfunding campaign.
Create a Cool Brand Name/ Logo
0ne of the most exciting aspects of starting your small business is creating a cool brand name and an amazing logo. Ideally, you will want to create a brand name that is short and simple so that people have an easy time remembering the name of your business.
You can find many online tools, such as Canva, for designing your business logo. You can also hire a creative designer to do the needful. A great business name and logo is short, simple, and unique. Uniqueness is the key to making your business name and logo stand out from the crowd.
Make sure that no one of your competitors shares your business name, which is why you will want to run a trademark search on the regions/ countries where you intend to do your business.
Establish a Business Plan
Now that you have completed the foundations of your business, you will want to get in touch with the strategic aspect of your business, which is the development of a business plan.
Your business plan will cover all important aspects, including your business and how you plan to sell your products/ services. You will want to be brutally honest when developing a business plan by assessing the market and the funds that you will need for your business.
As the owner of your start-up, you will want to run a warrant search to avoid complications. Suppose you plan to run a business in Georgia; you will want to run a Georgia warrant search to assess your public records and make sure that your name is clean.
The business plan should include the permits, documents, leases, and utilizing the best contract management software to streamline your operations.
Assess Your Finances
It doesn’t matter how small the business start-up is; it will have a piece, which is why you will need to assess those costs. While assessing your finances for the business, you will learn whether you need to borrow money or have the means to run your start-up.
Also, if you are considering quitting your 9-to-5 and fully committing to your start-up, you will want to make sure that you have enough savings to keep you supported until you start making a profit. You will also want to find out how much the start-up will cost you.
A clear assessment of your total business investment will help you to make important business assessments, including profitability, determining product pricing, and analyzing data, such as how many products you have to sell to make a profit.
Select the Right Business Structure
To select the right structure for your small start-up, you must keep your financial and legal protection in mind. Your small business can be any of the following entities:
- Sole Proprietorship
- Partnership
- LLC (Limited Liability Company)
- Corporation
The selection of your business entity will have an effect on many factors, including the name of your business, your liability, and how you intend to file your taxes. Initially, you can choose one business structure, and later, you might want to reassess and change the business structure as your business grows.
Regarding the structure of your business, you will want to consider various elements, including the location of your business. Depending on the state where you live, the law will determine whether you require a license to get started.
You will also want to consider the type of business you are running, as some structures are more suitable for businesses that are of a certain industry. Ask yourself how many people are involved in the business, as in the case of multiple ownership, you will be looking at more advanced options to ensure that everything is appropriately set up and distributed.
Never ignore paperwork, as it is essential to your small business. The last thing that you will want to end up with is legal trouble with the local laws.