Every year, some 600,000 people in the United States start new businesses. In Canada, the number is well over 100,000.
If you’re among these people or you’re planning to join them, thumbs up! Starting a business is the best way to put your destiny in your own hands. Apart from being your own boss, how much you will earn depends on how successful the business gets.
Sounds exciting, right? It is, sure, but don’t get ahead of yourself. Before you can reap these benefits, you must first build the business from scratch.
Want to be successful? You need this start a business checklist.
Read on!
A Viable Idea
Every business starts with an idea, but not every business starts with a viable idea. The viability of an idea is often what makes the difference between a successful business and a failed business.
As such, one of the things you need in your startup checklist is a viable business idea. This is an idea that can result in the creation of a product or service that the market can buy.
By now, you probably have an idea of what you’ll be selling once the business is open. Have you conducted a viability study? This will help you establish whether the product or service will have a strong market demand.
If your study concludes that the product will have poor demand, you’re better off shelving the idea. It’s better to take your time to come up with a viable product than rush to the market with a product that won’t sell.
Business Plan
Most starting entrepreneurs know that a business plan is an incredibly important document to have before opening a business. However, it’s perplexing that some people still start new businesses with this plan.
A business plan doesn’t just flesh out basic information about your business. It also helps you to identify important bits, such as the amount of money you’ll need to start and operate the business until it achieves profitability. It also fleshes out a sales and marketing strategy.
Starting a business without a business plan is like driving at night without headlights. You won’t know where you’re going.
Plus, you might need this plan to secure funds from investors or even a business loan.
Capital
You need capital to start a business. The amount, though, varies depending on a number of factors, including the nature of the business and your location.
Regardless of this, it’s imperative that you have adequate capital before starting up. A good number of new businesses die soon after launch because they run into cash shortages. This is a direct consequence of not having enough capital at launch.
Your business could take several weeks or months before it becomes profitable. You need enough money to keep funding the everyday operations until the business is making enough money to sustain itself.
There are several resources at the disposal of small business owners, including grants and government-sponsored business loans. Take advantage of them.
Start a Business Checklist: Be Prepared
There’s a lot that goes into starting a business that will be successful. As a first-timer, you might not know what to do in order to give yourself the best chance of success. This is why you need this start a business checklist.
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