According to some research, 20 percent of businesses will fail within the first year. If you want to ensure that doesn’t happen to yours, you’ll need to come up with a good business set up strategy.
But where do you start? You might have great small business ideas, but we have help for you to create a great plan.
Keep reading to learn how to get your business up and running.
Create a Business Plan
Even if you have a great idea, you’ll still need to have a plan to start with. This will help you decide whether your business will objectively have a chance in the market.
You should start your plan with an executive summary. This will cover who you are, what your business is, what you do, how you’ll make money, what niche you’re in, and why customers will want what you’re offering them.
This will also help you figure out your goals and strategies as well. Once you have a way forward, you can use this to navigate the confusing times of starting a business.
You’ll also want to make sure that you do financial projections, industry analysis, market analysis, and come up with an organization for management.
Industry analysis will analyze your competition and why you offer a product that no one else does. What makes consumers want to choose you?
You’ll also figure out who your audience is, what their demographic is, and what they need. Your product or service has to fill that need.
For financial projections, this will help you determine how you’ll bring in revenue. You’ll have to predict what your profits are and your losses as well. This is similar to a budget.
Determine Budget
Figure out how much you need to start, and then figure out if you have the funds for your project.
If not, you might need to borrow money or take out a loan. Even though financing your business is important, make sure that you have the money to support yourself during this time as well.
One reason that many startups will fail is that they have the money to start, but can’t make a profit to earn back some of those losses. You should overestimate the amount of capital you’ll need to start up because then you can have a cushion until you start bringing in revenue.
You may even want to do a break-even analysis. This will help you figure out how much money you need to start up.
To figure this out, find out what your fixed costs are. Then, subtract your variable costs from the average price of goods. Then, take that number and divide it by the fixed costs.
This will bring you the answer to your break-even point.
Address All Legal Issues
Now that you have a path forward, you’ll have to check all your legal boxes. You will need to apply for an LLC or a business license.
When you have incorporation in your business, it will mean that your business is a separate, legal entity. This means that you can protect your personal assets, and you’re not responsible for anything that impacts your business in a negative way.
You could also save money on your taxes. Plus, consumers will also trust you more.
However, at the end of the day, it’s always best to hire a lawyer as well for things like this. They will be able to tell you what rules to follow and how to navigate the legal world.
You’ll also need to do things like file for an Employer Identification Number (EIN). You’ll need this if you want to hire employees or open any kind of bank account for your business.
You’ll also want to register your trademark to help protect your business’s identity. You’ll want the trademark for any logos, designs, slogans, or even the name of your business.
If you are going to accept payments under a different business name, you’ll also need to file for a Doing Business As (DBA).
You may even need different registrations with the state or county that you’ll be operating in.
Develop a Product or Service
You’ll have to decide if you want to create your own product or service or modify one.
However, regardless of which route you choose, you’ll need to develop a prototype. This will allow you to experiment with different versions of your product in order to find the right one.
You can also use 3D printing to turn your prototype into a physical sample. By doing this and ironing out all the problems early on, you’re more likely to have a more efficient process when it comes to printing the real thing.
You’ll also want to find the cost of how much it will take to make all of your actual products. You should determine a retail price and the gross margin so that you can sell your products for a profit.
After that, you should launch a website so you have a platform to sell your products on. If you need help with that, you can also click here.
Learn More About How to Get Your Business Set Up
These are only a few things to keep in mind when figuring out how to get your business set up, but there are many other factors to consider.
We know that being a business owner can be exciting and challenging at times. Which is why we’re here to help.
Do you find yourself searching for more content to help you run your business? Check out our website for more topics like this!