Important Steps to Start your Business

You want to make your business ideas to materialize. You know that the time is right and you would not want to lose that opportunity and your momentum to do it. However, there is this big question – “How do I start?”

Establishing a business is not an overnight task to complete. It entails many hours of planning, researching, making financial decisions, and a load of compliance and legal items and requirements to put together.

We have the recommended steps below as a roadmap to follow and to ease the pain of making the business of your dream come true. However, in any or all of these steps, the experts at Business Resource Solutions 360 are here to make the process much easier for you.

Perform Market Research

Evaluate the feasibility of your new product or service offering by conducting market research. Market research will allow you to analyze if your business idea will become a successful undertaking. You will learn your target market, potential customers, and other existing businesses in the area you would like to open your business. Using the gathered information will help you make an informed decision and strategize a competitive advantage for your company.

Write The Business Plan

A business plan is a very important tool to have to help you formulate as strategy to start your business. It serves as a roadmap how to structure, run, grow, and achieve your business goals within a period of time and the anticipated results. It also helps you get the funding or get new business partners. Your business plan is what you will need to persuade prospective business investors or partners that it is good to invest in your business.

Determine Source of Business Funding

After writing your business plan, you will be able to determine how much financial resources you need to build and start your business. In the event that you do not have enough, you can raise capital by getting business partners, or borrow the capital from a lending institution.

Select Business Location

You heard it many times… location, location, location!!! Whatever type of business you have in mind to open – whether it needs a physical location, or just an online presence, your preference could impact your business taxes, legal requirements and compliance, as well as your revenue. It is important to take into consideration all these factors when choosing your business location.

Select Business Structure

Because your business structure will impact your business tax liability as well as how much of your personal assets are at risk, you will need to choose carefully and decide on which will give you the appropriate balance benefits and legal protection.

Select Business Name

Your business name is your brand. You should choose one that would match with your products or services. You will also need to conduct an entity name search to make sure that the name you have in mind is not yet taken or registered by another business owner.

Register Your Business

Protect your brand, protect your business name. After selecting the business name you would like to establish and use, you will have to protect by registering it. Bear in mind that entity names are registered in the state and protects you at a state level. Trademarks protects you at the federal level. DBA (Doing Business As) does not provide legal protection, but in some cases, it might be legally required. Domain name registration is to protect your business website address. Each of these business name registrations are done separately.

Get Federal & State Tax ID

Just like a Social Security Number for an individual, a business also needs to have a state and federal tax ID numbers. These are also referred to as Employer Identification Number (EIN). EINs are used to identify the tax accounts of employers and certain other businesses who have no employees.

Apply for Permits and License

Various government agencies will require a business owners to apply and secure a business permits and licenses before they can open the business. The requirements and fees will depend on the business activity and the agency issuing the permit or license.

Open a Business Bank Account

Once you have your EIN, you will be able to open a business bank account. It is always a good idea to separate your personal bank activities from your business. If you start accepting payments for your business, you should have already opened your business bank account. Commonly, it is a business checking account that is primarily established and other types of accounts like a business savings or money market can be opened either the same time or at a later time after the business checking account is opened.

Other Items to Consider

Now that you are done with the business essentials, you will also have to think about:

Business insurance
Merchandising (if needed)
Technology Set-Up
Marketing, Branding, and Social Media
Hiring Employees and Setting-Up Payroll
Offering Employee Benefits
Getting a worker’s compensation insurance