Have you ever had a goal of starting your own business whether it be full-time or a side hustle? I have and most recently made it happen. Ever since college I had the thought of starting my own social media and marketing company. After 25 years of working in corporate, nonprofit, municipal and higher education doing marketing and events I made the move. Is it scary – absolutely, but I truly feel I have a skill that can help other businesses and organizations while working for myself. We all experience self-doubt but I’ve seen the quote quite often “we only fail when we stop trying” which really resonated with me and helped me to overcome that pesky negative self talk.
No One Said it Was Going to Be Easy
There are so many things to think about and the key is to mapping out a plan and reaching out to people for help, I often created checklists. There are plenty of resources listed below but remember you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll figure it out – it’s what you’re good at (Google became my bestie). So I hope this blog helps you to find the confidence to take the necessary steps to building your own business with much success.
What You Need to Think About
- Develop a Business Plan. There are free resources like Small Business Administration and SCORE
- Create an LLC, Register with the Dept. of Revenue Services, establish an EIN #. Each state is different but I found this site helpful. https://portal.ct.gov/DRS/Businesses/Business-Tax-Page/Starting-a–New-Business
- Get liability Insurance (check with your local agent)
- Get a business bank account, loans (if applicable) touch base with an accountant, potentially a lawyer
- You’ll need a system for record keeping and invoicing like QuickBooks or Xero. Are you going to take credit cards (processing)?
- Create a fee structure for your products and/or services
- Develop a logo, website, a domain name and a professional email
- Get business cards, create social media accounts, get an email marketing system like Mail Chimp, Canva for creating flyers, graphics (Of course you can hire www.2LabsMarketing.com to help with #’s 5 & 6).
- Purchase office equipment & supplies, locate a realtor (if you plan on renting space)
- Establish relationships with vendors you would like to work with; if you plan on hiring staff run ads and learn the various employment laws
- Consider joining some networking groups like the Chamber of Commerce, BNI, etc. to help get your name out
Where Do We Go From Here
In my opinion, once you complete the above check list you should be in pretty good shape to launch your business. Of course, if you’re like me your first order of business should be finding clients. Network, network, network – get out there and let others know what you do. And of course pay it forward and connect others too! Fortunately I have met a lot of great entrepreneurs who are willing to help.
Final Thoughts
Have you thought about or actually started a business? If so what would you add to the list to help get a business of the ground?
Number 6 was so important for my start up. I wanted to make a sale so bad I kept saying yes to every customer request rather than focusing on what I wanted to offer. I lost several months of productivity and had to go back and refocus my vision.