Steps to Start Your Own Business

By Ken Sundheim

Everybody wants to know how to start their business, however not too many want to do the required research. To get you started off on the right foot, I have included some of the steps one must take before opening his or her own company.

Check Your Finances: When starting a company, always prepare for the worst. Make sure you have enough money to survive if you did not get a client or make a dollar for a single year. If you work hard and go about opening the business in an intelligent manner, the prolonged lack of income probably won't happen. However, you never want to have to close down your business within a few months due to the fact that you need a steady income. Make sure to closely estimate your monthly costs; this is exceedingly crucial.

Decide What Type of Business You Want to Open: Of all steps I've provided, this aspect could be one of if not the hardest part of opening your business. If you are an accountant or engineer, than the choice as to what kind of business to start quite simple, however this is not always the case. To determine what type of business you would be best at, take some time and write down your skills. What do you have to offer to the public? Once you have your skill set written down, do some research on the various industries which exist. For instance, I knew I was good at sales, so I started a sales recruiting firm. Because this step could be so difficult, some opt to buy into a franchise.

Formulate a Marketing and Advertising Plan: With this step, the worst thing you can do is to go out and hire a vendor right off the bat. You must do your research regarding the different types of marketing and advertising strategies. Then, decide which strategies are right for you and your business. When you're just starting out, these are aspects of a business which you intimately need to know - marketing and advertising is one of them. Also, understand that advertising and marketing vendors are not in the business of making you rich. Regardless of the advertising and marketing route and approach you're taking, remember that vendors are very costly and you must try to avoid them.

Hire the Right People: Before you open your doors for business, contemplate what types of employees you are going to need. Also, figure out what types of employees you can avoid hiring by doing the work yourself. Here's a hint: QuickBooks. Regarding the employees you do need, think about the ideal educational and employment backgrounds you want in these individuals. Very seasoned employees are a big cost and it may be better to train less experienced professionals (wait some time to do hire these experts). Aside from the cost, one of the main advantages of training someone younger is that you are able to instill the company methodologies in them a little easier.

Execute: Now that you have everything in place, the only step left is to execute your plan. Don't be intimidated by your competition and work hard at growing your business. Owning your own business is not a 9-5 job. To become successful and survive the first few years, you must work harder and smarter than your competitors do.

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