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5 Steps To Starting A New Business

starting a new business

Are you expecting a tax refund? Why not take that refund and start your home business!

It’s not as expensive as you may think. Invest in yourself and in your future.  Have you been yearning to start a home business to secure your future? Now couldn’t be a better time!  We have created some simple action items on what you should do if you’re interested in starting a new business.

1.  Research your market:  I know it’s more fun thinking of a company name, colors or logos but that’ll come later.  Right now you will want to see who are your competitors, their locations, and their pricing.  With the infinite amount of information on the Internet, you should be able to get a handle of your research in a reasonable amount of time.  Can you be competitive, can you offer the same service for the same or better pricing?  Is your business more focused on the local market or will it be an online business to reach customers outside your local market? These are all things you need to do before your next action item.

2.  Make a business plan:  There are several free tools on the internet that will help walk you through writing your business plan.  SBA.gov offers a great tool on their website, take a look and look for others.

3.  Test your business plan:  Now that you have your research done and your new business plan, your next step is to do a small test.  Speak with potential customers; see if they would purchase your service or products.  Honest opinions matter, your family members or friends might not be the best option when it comes to this step.  It will be in your best interest to speak with people who you don’t know if you truly want an honest opinion.  Make sure you listen to their feedback, these are potentially your first customers and if they won’t buy from you how do you expect to get sales after you start your business?  Review your notes and feedback, and make adjustments that are needed and again review your business plan to see if there is still a business.

4.  Pick your business name, make it legal & make it official:  Find that name, this is probably going to be one of the more exciting parts to creating your new business.  Next you will want to make sure no one already has that name registered.  Now you will want to figure out what the legal structure of your business will be; corporation, LLC, partnership, sole proprietorship, or nonprofit.  By visiting the website for the Secretary of State for the state you reside in, you can see if your company name has been taken yet, and you can also call them to register your new company depending on the legal structure of your new company.  Register your business name with your state government, and also make sure your type of business isn’t required to get a permit or license. In some cases your city or county might have these additional requirements, be sure to check with them.  If you feel you can’t do this on your own, there are several large name companies that specialize in assisting customers open their new business.  Or you can even find an attorney that is local to you and they too can do this for you.  Fees for this service are all over the board, from $200 to $1,500.

5.  Get a Federal Tax ID:  A tax ID is like a social security number, this number is tied to your business.  Find out from the IRS and your state what you will need.

Hopefully those quick action items can help you get off to the right start.  There are other items that were not mentioned, but you will eventually run across those at a later time.  We will have a post that will cover how to start a business on a lower budget, make sure you read that to get more tips.  The goal is to make this succeed so you can expand, and when that time comes we can offer tools to help you get to that next level.   We offer working capital loans to proven businesses.  So when that time comes, keep us in mind and we would love to assist your company in growing!  We wish you good luck on your new adventure!

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