Starting a small business is a huge accomplishment! But it's not as simple as just having an idea and putting it into action. There are lots of things you need to do in order to get your business off the ground, from creating a brand and finalizing your product or service offerings to getting permits, licenses, and insurance. It can feel like a lot to take on, but don't worry—you don't have to do every single thing at once. So today, we wanted to help you get started without feeling like your to-do list is forty miles long. Read on for the most important things you need to do when starting your own small business.
Think about your business name
What is a business without a name? But more than just figuring out what you’re going to call your new venture, you need to have this detail in order to take care of almost everything else. More on that in just a bit.
As you sit down to think about a name for your business, you want to make sure you are choosing a name that is unique and memorable, for a couple of reasons. First, you need it to be unique when filing your official paperwork. Second, you want it to be easy to get things like a domain for your website and social media handles—you know, without needing to add extra words or characters to make it unique. And lastly, you want to make sure the name you pick isn't going to be confused with an existing business and that your business will show up when someone searches for it! A good (but also terrible)example of this would be naming your business "New York Style Pizza."A quick Google search will give you an idea of why.
Pro-tip: Once you've chosen your perfect business name, you should consider trademarking it to protect it from being used by anyone else.
Choose your business structure
The next big thing you have to make a decision on when starting a small business is what business structure you are going to file as. There are several types of business structures, and the one you choose will have legal and tax implications. The most common types of business structures in the United States are sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), and corporations. The main difference between them is the liability each type of business entails—for example, with a sole proprietorship, you and your business are one and the same, so you're personally liable for any debts or obligations incurred by the business. With an LLC, on the other hand, your personal assets are protected from being seized in the event that your business is sued.
The business structure you choose will also affect things like how you file your taxes, so it's important to choose wisely! You can always speak to an accountant or attorney to get more information on which business structure is right for you and your small business. LegalZoom is an easy online way to complete your filings at a reasonable cost.
Onto the legal stuff
The first legal to do you’ll have is needing to incorporate (like we talked about above) because this is how you get your tax identification number (or EIN). Tax IDs are like a social security number for your business, and you need one in order to open a business bank account and to file your taxes. You can apply for a Tax ID online, and it's usually pretty quick and easy to get approved.
Pro-tip: There are plenty of resources out there to help you through the process of starting a small business. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is actually a great place to start— they have lots of information on starting and running a small business in the United States.
Get insured and licensed
Once you’ve gotten to this point, you need to make sure your business is properly insured. This includes things like liability insurance, workers' compensation insurance, and property insurance—which is important because it protects yourself, your employees, and your business in case of any accidents or mishaps. Again, the SBA has lots of great resources on this topic.
Licenses vary by industry, state and county, so it is well worth your time to research what you need. For example, if you're starting a food business, you'll need to get a license from your state's health department. If you're going to be selling hard goods, you'll need to get a seller's permit. The best way to figure out which licenses and permits you need is to contact your local small business development center or city and county. They will be able to give you specific information on the licenses and permits required for your business.
Get your finances in order
Money is paramount to any business (big or small), so you need to have a clear understanding of your financial situation before you can start one. This means creating a budget and forecasting your income and expenses for the first few months (or even years) of operation is a good idea. Actually, it's a really good idea because it helps you set realistic expectations about what it is going to cost to launch your small business as well as when you might expect to start paying yourself (spoiler: it's usually takes more time than you think). Because of that, it is important to understand your personal financial situation and make sure you have enough savings to cover personal and business expenses in case things don't go as planned. Finally, you'll need to open up some bank accounts for your business. This will help you keep track of your finances and make bookkeeping a lot easier (it's messy if your business and personal finances are all in the same account).
Create a brand
Creating your brand is another important step in starting your small business because your brand is what sets you apart from other businesses in your industry! So, it's important to spend some time thinking about how you want it to look and feel as well as about the customers or clients you want to attract with your brand. What will they be drawn to? Once you've got a handle on that, you can start working on creating the main components: a mood board, logo, brand colors, and fonts. You can hire a professional graphic designer to create something custom or purchase something on Creative Market and customize it yourself in Canva.
Pro-tip: Once you have your brand assets, you can store them all in Enji and easily send them to any graphic or website designers you might work with in the future!
Create a marketing strategy
Which brings us to a very important step when starting a small business—thinking about your marketing strategy. Marketing is how you will get people interested in your product or service and convince them to buy from you (honest talk). And, while there are lots of ways to reach potential customers, some of the most common marketing channels used by small businesses that you can think about are:
- Word-of-mouth marketing (also called referral marketing)
- Content marketing
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Paid advertising
You don't need to use all of these channels, but it's important to choose at least a few that will work well for your business. And, once you know your channels, you can start thinking about the tactics you'll use to reach your target customers. (Tactics are the specific actions you'll take to promote your product or service.) For example, if you're going to do some content marketing, your tactics might include things like writing blogposts, eBooks, or infographics. If you're doing social media marketing, your tactics might include posting reels on Instagram, running ads via Facebook, or hosting and promoting a giveaway on your accounts. The important thing is to make sure your tactics are aligned with your goals. That way, you can measure whether or not they're actually helping you achieve your objectives. If they're not, you can adjust them until you find something that does work.
Does the thought of creating a marketing strategy scare you? Creating one in Enji is quick and easy! Simply create an account, answer the questionnaire, and you'll see a marketing strategy based on your answers.
Starting a small business is an exciting time filled with lots of hard work. But it doesn't have to be overwhelming – focus on the most important tasks first, and you'll be up and running in no time.
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