How to start a business is the term which is being searched on Google thousands of time over the years. This simply implies that people search the web to find ways to start their own business.
Reasons are many that people want to start their own business and want to become entrepreneurs. Few want freedom, few want the sense of ownership, few don’t want to get employed and bind themselves in a 9 to 5 routine. Few want to make a change in the lives of people with their services or products, and so on.
And, if you want to start your own business, you should think about every aspect of running a business. This article will help you understand the basic steps which every entrepreneur should go through for starting their business and then grow it.
Things to Consider Before You Start a Business
Maybe you’re really knowledgeable and passionate about something, or you’ve found a way to fill a gap in the marketplace, or you have found a way to solve the people’s problem.
Wherever your interests lie, there’s almost certainly a way to turn it into a business opportunity. And with little planning, you can start a business.
However, this entrepreneurial journey isn’t an easy one.
Starting a business requires a lot of time, effort, hard work, and patience, and many would-be entrepreneurs end up failing.
But, if your business survives, the rewards are well worth the difficulties you’ll face on the road to the entrepreneurial journey.
There’s a lot to think and plan before you launch your business, and it’s significant to prepare yourself completely for entrepreneurship.
If you think you’re really ready to start your business, here’s a step-by-step overview of what you need to do to make it happen.
Refine Your Business Idea
The first thing you should do when you want to start a business is to refine and validate your business idea.
Obviously, if you’re thinking about starting a business, you likely already have an idea of what you want to sell, or at least the market you want to enter.
But, that is not enough, what you need to do is a quick search for existing companies in your desired industry.
Learn the trends in the industry, see what current companies in your domain are doing, and figure out how you can do it better.
If you think your business can deliver something other companies don’t (or deliver the same thing, but faster and cheaper), you’ve got a solid idea and now you are ready to create a business plan.
Write a Business Plan
Now that you have your idea in place, you need to ask yourself a few important questions: What is the purpose of your business? Who are you selling to? What are your end goals?
How will you finance your startup costs? These questions can be answered in a well-written business plan.
A lot of mistakes are made by new businesses rushing into things without pondering these aspects of the business. You need to find your target customer base.
Who is going to buy your product or service? If you can’t find evidence that there’s a demand for your idea, then what would be the point?
Conducting thorough market research on your field and demographics of potential clientele is an important part of crafting a business plan.
This involves conducting surveys, holding focus groups, and researching SEO and public data.
A business plan helps you figure out where your company is going, how it will overcome any potential difficulties, and what you need to sustain it.
And, it is always a good idea to carefully develop your business plan and include every possible situation and how you will handle that situation.
Assess Your Finances
You need money to start a business. And getting the right amount of money is very crucial to successfully run a business. So you need to determine how you’re going to cover those costs.
Plan your finances very well, because most of the startup businesses often fail because they run out of money too quickly before turning a profit.
It’s a good idea to overestimate the amount of startup capital you need, as it can be a while before the business begins to bring in sustainable revenue.
If you need financial assistance, a commercial loan through a bank is a good starting point, although these are often difficult to secure.
If you are unable to take out a bank loan, you can apply for a small business or personal loan from banks. Or if your business requires a lot more funding up front you may consider bringing up an investor on board.
Investors usually provide several million dollars or more to a fledgling company, with the expectation that the backers will have a hands-on role in running your business.
Or you can also launch an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise smaller amounts of money from multiple backers.
Don’t forget to add up and plan out your personal and family expenses if you are planning to leave your current job to start your business.
Think of a Great Name for Your Business
Choosing a great name for your business is important. People would know your business with your business name. And its name what you can make into a great brand.
Determine Your Legal Business Structure
You cannot start a business legally without having it registered with proper authorities which issue your license and certificates to operate your business.
So, it is necessary to get your business registered. Before you register your company, you need to decide what kind of entity it is.
Your business structure legally affects everything from how you file your taxes to your personal liability if something goes wrong.
Below are some of the business types which you help you decide which one you want for your business.
Sole Proprietorship
If you own the business entirely by yourself and plan to be responsible for all debts and obligations, you can register for a sole proprietorship.
The majority of the businesses in India are registered as Sole Proprietorship.
There are many benefits of starting a sole proprietorship business, like, it’s cheap to start a sole proprietorship.
It requires less paperwork and time to make it legal. However, there are some great tax benefits for sole proprietors.
Owners have complete and direct control over all decision making. But, be warned that this route can directly affect your personal credit.
Partnership Firms
Alternatively, a partnership, as its name implies, means that two or more people are held personally liable as business owners.
You don’t have to go it alone if you can find a business partner with complimentary skills to your own.
Corporation
If you want to separate your personal liability from your company’s liability, you may want to consider forming one of several types of corporations.
This makes a business a separate entity apart from its owners.
Hence, corporations can own property, assume liability, pay taxes, enter into contracts, sue, and be sued like any other individual.
One of the most common structures for small businesses, however, is the limited liability corporation (LLC).
This hybrid structure has the legal protections of a corporation while allowing for the tax benefits of a partnership.
Ultimately, it is up to you to determine which type of entity is best for your current needs and future business goals.
You might consider taking advice from a Chartered Accountant to decide on your business legal structure.
Register with the Government and MCA
To become an officially recognized business entity, you must register with the government. Corporations will need an “articles of Association” and “Memorandum of Association” document.
This includes your business name, business purpose, corporate structure, stock details, and other information about your company.
Otherwise, you will just need to register your business name, which can be your legal name, a fictitious “Business Name” (if you are the sole proprietor), or the name you’ve come up with for your company.
You may also want to take steps to trademark your business name for extra legal protection.
After you register your business, you may need to get a PAN (Personal Identification Number).
Also, you need, TAN (Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number), GST (Goods and Services Tax) number from MCA.
While this is not required for sole proprietorships with no employees. But, you should apply for one anyway to keep your personal and business taxes separate.
This can save yourself the trouble later on if you decide to hire someone else. Having these documents ready would help you easily open up a Bank Account in your business name.
Use your business account instead of using your personal savings bank account number. This will help you claim your tax returns separately.
Get Insurance Cover for Your Business
This is one of the most important things to ensure but most of the business owners just ignore it.
Purchasing the right insurance for your business is an important step that should happen before you officially launch.
Dealing with such incidents as property damage, theft or even a customer lawsuit can be costly, and you need to be sure that you’re properly protected.
Consult a Chartered Accountant or a Company Secretary to understand which type of insurance would be good for your business.
Build Your Team
Unless you’re planning to be your only employee, you need to hire a great team. That team would get your company off the ground.
Understanding the gaps, filling those gaps with the right people with the right skill set is essential. If you hire the right team to work together you will escape a lot of headaches down the line. Also, you will see your business growing soon.
Brand & Marketing
Now after every legal and financial aspect covered, you need to focus on building your brand.
Even before you start selling your product or service, you need to build up your brand.
Get a following of people ready to jump when you open your doors for customers.
And building your brand in the age of social media and thousands of communication tools readily available, this could be complex.
But if you take it seriously it will help you establish your business in the long run.
First of all, you need to create a visual identity for your business.
Create a logo that can help people easily identify your brand. Be consistent in using it across all of your platforms, including your company website.
Use social media to spread the word about your new business, perhaps as a promotional tool to offer coupons and discounts to followers once you launch.
Be sure to also keep these digital assets up to date with relevant, interesting content about your business, products, services, offers, and industry news that are meaningful for your audience.
Create a marketing plan to promote your business and acquire customers. Creating a marketing plan that goes beyond your launch is essential.
This will build a clientele by continually getting the word out about your business. Keep everything ready before you launch.
You might want to keep your website, brochures, business cards, custom branded merchandise, and everything else ready for the launch.
Carefully think about every aspect, and then create your marketing plan. Doing this will save you from making last-minute mistakes and avoids wastages.
Grow Your Business
The launch of your business and having your first few initial customers is just the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey.
But, you don’t want to stop there, rather you want to grow your business and acquire more customers and increase your sales and also increase your profits.
It’s going to take time and effort, but you’ll get the returns you want if you put your best efforts.
Serve your customers well, offer them timely service, listen to their problems.
Help them solve their problems with your services and products like no one else can do that for them.
Keep your employees motivated and happy and they will keep your business growing.
I hope this will help you properly plan and start your business.
However, if you want help in growing your business, marketing, or branding you can always contact us.
