How To Start A Business

1. How to Start a Business By Derrick Harvest Jr. For Related Articles Visit http://www.successpathsolutions.com Introduction The dream to start a business is a worthy aspiration. However, succeeding in business requires adequate planning, foresight, hard work, dedication and more. A reasonable number of businesses fail within the first 5 years. Hence, you need all it takes to start and run a business for you to succeed. You must seriously look at the qualities/skills of an entrepreneur and acquire those you do not possess.

2. Recommended book: The Entrepreneur Mind Below is a step-by-step guide that will help you start your business: Step 1: Meet a Need or Solve a Problem The first fundamental reason for the success of many businesses is provision of a perfect solution to a problem being experienced by many individuals. As someone who wants to go into business, you have to ask yourself some important questions concerning your would-be customers. Do I have a sound idea for a product or a service that will solve a problem that many individuals will be willing to pay for? Do I have a way of improving an existing product or service? If there exist a considerable demand for your idea, it is an indication that you are likely to succeed. You need to conduct market research to determine if there is a true demand for your proposed product or service.

3. The feedback of a well conducted market research has the potential to help you make positive idea adjustments leading to an increase in product or service acceptance. Recommended Book: Successful Business Plan Secrets and strategies Step 2: Write a Good Business Plan You have to do some thorough thinking about the business you want to start and come up with a business plan that will produce desired results. The business plan must include the following: a) Executive summary b) Company description c) Market and customer analyses d) Management team description

4. e) Sales strategy f) Funding requirement g) Revenue projections Recommended Book: The Art of Startup Fundraising For Related Articles Visit http://www.successpathsolutions.com Step 3: Assess and Source for Capital Assess what it will cost to start and run your business for at least one year. In addition, evaluate all the funding sources to ascertain the best

5. options for your business. As you source for capital, bear in mind that good finance management is one of the crucial factors that ensure business success. Below are some of the sources of business capital: a) Your own money and assets b) Loans from family members and friends c) Crowdfunding d) Venture capitalists e) Angel investors f) Bank loans Step 4: Choose a Business Structure There are things you have to earnestly consider before making a choice of business structure. Things for serious consideration include personal liability, taxation, expansion and amount of capital that can be sourced. The following are some business structure options: a) Sole Proprietorship b) Partnership c) Limited Partnership d) Limited Liability Company (LLC) e) Corporation: C Corporation, S Corporation, B Corporation, and Closed Corporation. Step 5: Choose a Business Name and Design a Logo The name of a business and its logo say a lot about the business. You should choose a business that reflects your approach, message, nature of your business or any other thing of value to your business. It is advisable to have a few alternative business names to forestall the problem of non-availability of a particular business name.

6. For a good logo design, you can go to 99designs.com, upwork.com, or fiverr.com Step 6: Register Your Business Name There are stipulated rules for business name registration in every country. Determine what you are expected to do and get it done correctly. In addition, obtain the necessary permits, licenses, tax identification number, and open a bank account. Recommended Book: How to Be the Startup Hero Step 7: Insure Your Business Insuring a business is a necessity for many reasons. There are many things outside your control that might go wrong at any time. Your

7. business insurance will protect you from losses and enable you run your business with peace of mind. Step 8: Set Up a Business Location Before you decide on where to locate your business, take your time and consider the following: a) Are my customers required to be close to the business location? b) Is accessibility to the business location an issue? c) Is the image of the area suitable for my business location? d) Are there supporting companies that will facilitate the running of my business? e) Will the cost of rent and utilities negatively affect profit? STEP 9: Build a Website for Your Business First, get a domain name and web hosting service. Namecheap and Bluehosting are very affordable and reliable providers of both services. Read our article (how to build your own website without coding knowledge with ease) for complete information. STEP 10: Recruitment of Employees Employee recruitment is very important. Insist that members of your team are competent and you should entrench the right working culture. Furthermore, you should understand that a business owner requires leadership skills to effectively lead his team for the achievement of set goals. For Related Articles Visit http://www.successpathsolutions.com

8. Recommended Book: Business Leadership STEP 11: Promote and Run Your Business Determine how best to market your product or service. Remember that you need an entrepreneurial mind-set and other essential skills to succeed in business.

9. Recommended Book: This Is Marketing - You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See Recommended Book: The 1-Page Marketing Plan

10. Recommended Book: How to Write a Business Plan Recommended Book: Do It! Marketing – 77 Instant-Action Ideas to Boost Sales, Maximize Profits, and Crush Your Competition For Related Articles Visit http://www.successpathsolutions.com