How to Start a Business: The Ultimate Checklist

You might have been thinking about starting your own business for some time now but each time you put off the idea thinking of risks and fears that pop up in your mind.

Starting your own startup or small business may be your long sought dream deferred by the fear of the unknown but if you remain afraid and do not venture into it then your dreams will never turn into a reality. On the other hand, if you get a starting a business checklist and start working on your business right away then at least there arises a chance of becoming successful. And to speak frankly, starting and running a business successfully is not that much of a hard job that many tend to think of it. With prudent planning, the ultimate checklist for small business startup from us and hard work, you can make it happen. For turning this dream of yours into reality, we have created this starting a new business checklist just for you!

Initial Evaluation:

Before jumping on the bandwagon, you must become sure about the business idea you have and your individual abilities to run a business. Research market, think and ask yourself all the questions related to your idea. Will the services you are thinking of providing really worthwhile? Are you passionate about it? Is it possible to earn profits in the present market? Do you have all the skills and expertise necessary? After being sure of all these, start working on your business with this starting a new business checklist.

Make a Business Plan:

Creating a business plan is a must before you start your own business. You will find it on top of each and every business checklist for start-ups available online. It is so important because while making a business plan, you will get a clear picture of what is ahead of you. An online business plan should include everything from market evaluation to sales and marketing strategies to drive revenue.

Secure Seed Money:

As you are already thinking of starting a business then it can be assumed that you already have your funding. If not, then start searching for it. Consider, friends, family, crowdfunding, angel investors, venture capitals, bank loans etc.

Choose a Unique Business Name:

Although you might have thought out a name even before you started with the first point of the checklist for small business startup, but you have to make sure that it is unique. Do a google search or use corporate name searching tools to find out a unique and attractive name for your business.

Secure Your Domain:

Now that you have found out a unique name, register your domain and hosting with your name on it. No matter what kind of business you are starting, having a website is a must. The sooner you will check it off from your starting a small business checklist the better. You may just keep your website running with basic info and address until you create more content.

Select the Business Structure:

Talk to a business lawyer or research yourself to find out which business structure will be best suitable for you. Will it be an incorporated, a sole-proprietorship, partnership, LLC or others?

Apply for EIN and Business Licenses:

Employer Identification Number (EIN) is needed and comes handy for various purposes. So, apply for EIN and also start applying for your business licenses. The SBA has useful resources for you to do so.

Set up Social Media Profiles:

In today’s world of marketing, you will need social media profiles on all the major platforms. Start setting them and working on them whenever you get time. Try to reserve your brand name as your profile name as early as possible.

Create Supply Chain:

Now, that you are all set with your name, online presence and licenses, start creating a reliable and efficient supply chain for your products and services to be available on demand and delivered to customers on time.

Set up the Books:

Now that you have started to invest some bucks on your supplies, you have to keep your accounts straight and precise to always crack the profit margins and keep track of your finances. You can start with a simple excel sheet or can take help from many accounting software out there.

Start Hiring:

You might need to start hiring even much earlier than this point of the checklist for small business startup. Such as, you might need an IT professional to set up your website and stuff. So, never hesitate to import help by hiring experts whenever needed.

Start Marketing:

Now, you are fully ready to start marketing your brand and to earn money! Create SEO friendly contents for your products and services and share them on your social media platforms. Write value added blogs to attract customers. Run social media ad campaigns when needed. You can also try out Google AdWords campaigns to drive traffic.

So, this is the easiest and basic most starting a business checklist. Start with it and by the time you will reach to the last point of this starting a small business checklist, you will see your business up, running and making profits already.