How to Start a Business

Intro: Want to start your own business? Don’t know where to start? Follow these steps to make sure you have covered every step in starting a successful business.

Step 1: Write a business plan. Once you know what business you would like to start, you should write a business plan. A business plan is an overall description of the business. It discusses your plan for marketing, finances, and management. To get a small business loan you will need to have a well put together business plan. The Small Business Administration (SBA) of the United States offers a very detailed break down of a business plan at: http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/

 Step 2: Decide a location for your business. Whether or not you are a home based business or have an office building, you must check with your local county to see if you need any special permits.

Step 3: Once you decide on a location it is time to take care of all the legalities of becoming a business. You must decide if you are going to become a sole proprietor, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation. To find exactly which will be best for your situation, please consult with a lawyer or read more about it at: http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/start/chooseastructure/

Step 4: If you are sole proprietorship, you will most likely have to file an assumed name or DBA (doing business as) form with your local county clerk’s office. If you are a LLC, partnership, or corporation then you will register your business name when you file your Articles of Incorporation with your state’s secretary of state. You can pay a lawyer to file these papers for you or you can go a less expensive route and hire an online paralegal, such as incparadise.com.

Step 5: Visit your state’s website to make sure you have all the necessary licenses for your business. A common license is a sales tax license. Information about obtaining such a license will be on your state’s website.

Step 6: Register for your business taxes with the state and make sure you understand your tax paying responsibilities. If you do not want to deal with that headache, than you can hire an accountant and tax attorney. To learn more about tax responsibilities, visit irs.gov and your state’s website.

Step 7: Once you take care of all the legalities and tax registration you will need to get a business bank account along with many other miscellaneous business supplies, depending on the type of business you open up. Once you have your bank account and purchase all the supplies your business will need it is time to open up shop.

Tips: Be patient. Building a business takes times. The founders of Apple, Google, and Microsoft all started their companies in their homes.

Warnings: 9 out of 10 businesses fail. In this tough economy it is hard to operate a successful business. The stronger your business plan, the better your odds of being successful.

Comments (3)

paul said:

	... Pretty good tips about starting a business. 5 stars..
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April 19, 2010
Votes: +0

Redy2Assist said:

	... Thanks for this information. With so many out of work, this information is very timely. I am sure many people are considering opening their own business.
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April 20, 2010
Votes: +0

iTony said:

	... I had my own business of building websites but when the economy fell so did my business because people didn't want to spend money. It all depends on what business you are in whether it will make it or not. Another company that I work for is digital x-rays and its having a hard time too.
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April 21, 2010
Votes: +1