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How to Start a Business

Last Updated: Sep 9, 2018
Wondering how to start a business? This startup guide will help you understand what it takes to start a business and turn your business idea into a profitable small business.

Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, you’re in good company. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people start businesses in the United States, alone.

Like you, they are men and women who dream about becoming their own boss, controlling their own destiny, and possibly making more money in their own business than they can working for someone else.

These business startups are as varied as the people who start them. They’re hair salons, software development companies, retailers, social media consultants, HVAC services, health coaches, and just about every imaginable type of business.

The one thing many of these would-be business owners have in common is that they know what they want to do, but they aren’t sure how to start a business and make it profitable.

There are a myriad of resources out there that provide tips, do’s and don’ts and success stories. But trying to weed out the sales pitches from the practical information is time consuming. That’s why we created this guide for starting a business. We suggest you read this guide first, and when you’re ready to move forward, use our business startup checklist to make sure you complete all the important steps.

The best way to start a business is to break the project down into small steps and complete those steps one by one. The first step is to know whether you’re cut out to run your own business.

Dreaming about starting your own business is easy. Setting up a small business and working at it until it becomes profitable isn’t so easy. It’s going to require time, money, focus, persistence and a whole lot of things no one talks much about. In fact, if you ask experts “what does it take to start a business,” the standard answers you’ll get will usually focus on skills, interests and experience.

While those things are important (they are first on the bulleted list below), your personality, attitude and soft skills are equally as important. Before you start your business be sure you ask yourself and honestly answer all of these questions:

If you aren’t sure what kind of business you want to start, think about your interests and skills, and the types of businesses that may be related to those skills. Use our business ideas section and our list of 300+ businesses to start to help you generate your own ideas.

Once you have a business idea in mind, you need to research the business so you can determine the likelihood that customers will want what you sell and so you know what will be involved in operating the business.

Market research will give you insights into who your customers will be, what they are looking for, and how you’ll need to sell to them.

Figure out who your customers are and where you can find them with this free, fillable Market Research Worksheet.

Industry publications and local resources such as a local office of the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) or SCORE can often help you locate much of the research information you need. If you need more specific data than you can find for free, or if you don’t have a lot of time to spend hunting down sources of information, you can purchase a variety of research reports from Bizminer. The company is an excellent source for industry and location-specific financial analysis and market research data, as well as other data helpful for writing business plans. (Note: BusinessKnowHow is an affiliate for Bizminer and will make a small commission if you buy through our links.)

Buying an existing business or a franchise can be advantageous to starting your own business in some cases. If the business you want to buy is doing well and gets repeat business, your initial marketing chores will be easier. Your startup will be less stressful, too, if the existing owner is willing to show you how they run the business. If you plan to buy a well-known franchise, your new business will have immediate name recognition, and the franchise will provide some training.

Despite the apparent advantages, there are still no guarantees of success. In either case you’ll be laying out a lot of money up front and possibly incurring a lot of debt. Thus, before you proceed, look carefully at issues like these:

If you are thinking about buying a franchise, we suggest purchasing The Franchise Buyer’s Manual. The book is written by industry expert Ed Teixeira, and is sold by BusinessKnowHow in the Business Know-How store.

Before you go ahead with the purchase of either an existing business or a franchise we suggest you consult your own accountant and attorney.

To be honest, a lot of one-person startups skip this step or gloss over it. But that’s not a good idea. A business plan forces you to look at all the marketing, operational and financial information you’ve collected, and to lay out specific plans, goals and timetables. Once it’s written, it will serve as a roadmap to keep you on track and help you reach your business goals. That’s why it’s important whether you’re planning a business that will require a lot of money to start, or just want to be a one-person business.

Business plans typical include these elements:

Executive summary Written last, this summarizes the key points in the plan. It’s critical if you are seeking investors. If the summary doesn’t excite potential investors, they won’t read the rest of the plan.

Business description This section describes the nature of your business, the industry it fits into, and the need your business will fill.

Products and services you sell

Sales and marketing information and goals (how big is the market you can reach, why will they buy from you, how will you reach them, what competition you’ll face)

Operational information (location, equipment, employees, management, production, distribution, form of business and other operational details)

Financial details (projected startup costs, financing, projected monthly expenses and profits and break even point)

No matter how big or small a business you’re planning to start, be sure that all of the information and projections are based on facts you’ve researched. If you won’t be seeking investors and won’t be spending a lot of money to start your business, your initial business plan can be fairly short and simple.

If you will be investing a lot of money into your startup or seeking investors, you’ll need to include enough details to support your assumptions and show how the investment will pay off. In either case, business plan software such as LivePlan can make the process of writing your business plan easier. [Note: BusinessKnowHow is an affiliate of Live Plan and Palo Alto software and will make a small commission if you buy through our link.)

Now you’re ready to deal with the nuts and bolts of launching your new business. The specific tasks you’ll need to complete will depend on the nature of your business. Among them will be naming the business and making sure you have the right to use the name, registering the business with appropriate authorities, choosing a form of business, getting business licenses and certificates, getting a tax ID if you will have to collect sales tax, renting space (if necessary) and getting an accounting system set up. You’ll also want to get a website and social media accounts set up for the business.

The easiest way to keep track of all of these startup tasks is to create a checklist. This startup checklist will help you decide what should be on your own list.

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Starting a business can be overwhelming! Use this free
Business Startup
Checklist to make sure you don’t miss any important steps. This
downloadable Word document lists the steps you need to take to get your business
up and running, and includes space for you to note your own comments and
deadlines. You can get the checklist free when you subscribe to the free
Business Know-How Newsletter.

Now it’s time to let the world know you’re in business and welcome customers. Even if you are opening a shop in a busy downtown area, you can’t expect customers to miraculously show up on your doorstep. You have to start marketing and selling. Do everything you can to build word of mouth. Send out publicity. Create fliers and brochures. Get to network meetings. Tell all your friends. Ask for referrals. Get on social media. Place ads you want to place. If you need more suggestions for finding customers read these articles:

Most businesses don’t become successful overnight. So don’t be discouraged if it takes time to get a steady stream of customers. Keep marketing and talking to potential customers. Ask customers and prospects for feedback (and referrals!) and make adjustment to your business plan if necessary.

About the author:
Janet Attard is the founder of the award-winning Business Know-How small business web site and information resource. Janet is also the author of The Home Office And Small Business Answer Book and of Business Know-How: An Operational Guide For Home-Based and Micro-Sized Businesses with Limited Budgets. Follow Janet on Twitter and on LinkedIn

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Time Management Tips for the Self-Employed

Last Updated: Apr 6, 2018
Having to wear all the hats in your business can be overwhelming. From apps that can help you get organized and work more efficiently to time-saving hacks, these tips can help you manage your time better.

Your one-person small business can feel like one of those decades-old TV shows that takes place in a small town. The mayor is also the sheriff, the gas station owner, the snow plow operator, and the preacher. You do what needs to be done because your business isn’t big enough yet to hire staff.

Or, maybe you’re a consultant or own some other type of business where it may never make sense to hire employees. How do you get everything done? We put together a list organized by different work areas.

Technology Time-Savers

Control Your E-mail- Did you know that the average worker spends 28% of their workweek on managing their inbox? That’s 11 hours of valuable weekly time. Don’t keep your e-mail open all day and don’t send any more than required. Only reply all or send to all if necessary. Sending e-mail creates more e-mail. You have more power to control your inbox than you think. Don’t discourage people from contacting you. Just be strategic about what you send.

Use an App- Having trouble organizing your schedule? Use Google Calendar. Are your files scattered and hard to get to when you’re away from the office? Use Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive. Do you coordinate with other people for clients? Use Slack or GroupMe. Other favorites for keeping organized are Evernote and Trello. There are plenty of free apps that help to keep you organized.

Build an E-mail List. You don’t need complicated software. Low-cost options like Constant Contact allow you to keep your marketing list organized while making great looking e-mail quickly. Constant Contact also integrates with forms processors and CRMs. (Disclosure: BusinessKnowHow is a Solution Provider for Constant Contact.)

Work with Dual Monitors- Studies have shown that working with more than one monitor can increase your productivity by as much as 44%. You can hook your laptop up to a second monitor just as easily as a desktop computer. There are even options for tablets.

Cut Your Social Media Time – You can spend way too much time on your social media if you’re not careful. Instead, use a free app like Hootsuite to schedule posts on all of your social channels.

Don’t Buy More Than You Need- You can dump a lot of money into the enterprise level CRM or accounting system but you’ll waste a lot of time trying to learn something that’s too big for your small business. You don’t need something that requires an IT person to figure out. You just need something that will grow with you.

Office Hacks

Make a Plan- What will you accomplish this week? What can wait until next week? Don’t figure things out as you go. Make a solid plan with measurable goals. You’ll be more productive maxing out one or two things instead of bouncing from task to task.

The 2 Minute Rule- Some productivity experts say that if something will take less than 2 minutes to complete, do it as soon as the request comes in. It will help to keep your to-do list from getting out of control.

Know When to Farm Out- Some things cost a lot of money and you might be tempted to try and do it yourself. As a business owner, your time is valuable. Every minute you’re not doing whatever drives revenue for your business, that’s money out of your pocket. You tried to save money by learning to do something yourself but it took all day. You could have paid somebody less money to do it in a couple of hours. Redefine your definition of saving money.

Minimize Meetings- Of course meetings are sometimes important but if you don’t need one, try to get out of it. Why? Because sitting in a meeting probably isn’t making you much money unless you directly charge people for your time. Communicate by phone, e-mail or messenger app. Building relationships is important, however, so be sensitive to when a meeting might serve that purpose more than productivity.

Scan—Don’t Read– A lot of people will try to communicate with you but you don’t have time to read everything. Scan for keywords important to your business to determine if it’s worth extended study.

Hire Somebody When it Makes Sense– Once your business gets large enough that you find yourself spending a significant amount of time doing clerical-type tasks, it’s time to hire somebody. If you can pay somebody a few dollars above minimum wage in your state (or even a lot more than that depending on the value of your time) to do the tasks that will allow you to spend more time on income-producing activities, that’s money well spent.

Personal Hacks

Manage Your Energy Instead of Time– In his book, The Corporate Athlete, Jack Groppel says that managing your energy is more important than managing your time. Get enough sleep, eat right, take breaks, get away from your work and do something fun, take time off, and have hobbies you love. You can have plenty of time but if you don’t have the energy to be productive, time is of little use.

Use “Lost” Time Wisely- Instead of listening to music in the car, listen to an audio book or something else that could count as continuing education. While waiting at the doctor’s office, have a book or something business related to work on.

Wake Up Earlier- If you’re not a morning person, stay up later. If you’re working when others aren’t, you don’t have to contend with those constant disruptions.

Smarter, Not Harder- Sometimes you have to do both but productivity experts say that once you work more than 40 hours, you’re not as productive. Work harder for 40 hours and use some of those extra hours as a way to re-energize.

Bottom Line

Sometimes you just have to dig in and get the job done but resist the urge to get everything done in a sort of panic mode. Plan things, look for technology that can help, and know when it’s time to take a break.

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When Should You Move Out of Your Home Office?

Last Updated: Apr 5, 2017
Have you outgrown your home office? Here are five signs that you might need to move your business out of your house and into its own space.

Working at home can be quite rewarding for new business startups looking for a way to save money on business expenses. After all, if you work out of a home office, you don’t have to commute, which means you’ll save money on fuel expenses, vehicle maintenance costs, office space rent, utilities expenses, personnel expenses to help you run the office, office furniture and equipment, office supplies, and perhaps some miscellaneous expenses that pop up from time to time when you run a business.

Nevertheless, you can’t run every type of business from your home, and some businesses you can run from home could grow to a point that you eventually need to rent office space. How do you determine when is the right time to move?

5 Reasons to Move Your Business Out of Your Home

Here are five reasons why you might want to consider moving the business out of the house:

You need to hire employees – Some businesses find it possible to hire employees who work remotely. But if you need the employees to work at your location, you may not want them entering your residence every day to work. This is particularly true if you have children or other family members at home, you have valuables you worry about getting broken or stolen, or if you need employees to work in the office while you spend time out of the office. If your business has grown to this point, then it’s time to think about moving the business out of your home.

You can boost your productivity – Working at home can be distracting. If you have small children or you are prone to watching TV while you work, then moving might curb the distractions. Before deciding to move, try moving your work area away from distractions, setting regular work hours, and possibly “dressing up” as if you are going to an office job. If that doesn’t boost your productivity and you aren’t disciplined enough to cut the distractions, then consider moving.

You can make more money – If you are running a type of business where customers typically visit a business before making a buying a decision, then rented office space might make your business look more professional. If you estimate an increase in sales greater than your expense of renting office space, then you should move out of the home office and pursue more revenue for the business.

You want to interact with others – Working at home can be lonely. Sometimes you just need to interact with other people. Consider a co-working option or working out of a public space with wi-fi accessibility. You could find an ideal work situation where you can save on rent or work for free and still get the interaction you need. Otherwise, if you don’t need a lot of space for equipment and inventory, then consider renting a desk rather than a whole office.

You’ve outgrown the space – As businesses grow, they tend to accumulate technology or inventory. If that is the case and you are running out of space in your home, then it may be time to consider another option. You might get by with renting space for storing product inventory if that is your only issue, but if you have to upgrade equipment that is larger than the space you have available in your home (for instance, industrial printers), then you should consider moving out of the home into a space that is adequate for your equipment needs. Be sure you have the profits to allow for the extra expenses you’ll incur renting space before you make the move.

Working from home has its benefits, but sometimes you outgrow those benefits or your business changes, requiring a different work environment. Get in the habit of routinely evaluating your business environment and make a change if you need to.

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