Everybody has to start somewhere, right? Well, starting a new business can be confusing and difficult, especially the first year.
Frankly, if you want your business to survive and thrive, you’re on a pretty steep learning curve. Get hiking in the right direction with the following tips:
1. Get a business plan together.
It can be simple or highly detailed, but flying by the seat of your pants is not an option — instead, it’s a recipe for disaster. You need to know:
- Your business objective
- Your goal for the first year
- Your goal for the next five years
- Your 10-year vision
Here’s a secret: don’t let the possibility that you might have to revise these things stop you from moving forward. The goal is to give yourself a focus — not lock you into something if it isn’t working. You can always come back and revise later, but at least have this as a frame of reference.
2. Accept that the business and your life are now the same thing.
The nice thing about being an employee somewhere is that you get to punch out at the end of the day and go home. Unless you’re being paid overtime, you don’t work past your shift.
Owning your own business can be a culture shock and you may not be the only person who experiences it. Your spouse needs to understand that you’ll be putting in longer hours. Your kids need to understand that work no longer has set hours. Your friends (especially if you work from home or have a local shop) need to understand that you cannot be interrupted anytime they feel like it. You have work to do and a business to run.
Owning your own business doesn’t mean you can set your own hours — it means giving up the free time you used to have in order to make the business take off.
3. Get a business attorney.
Many new business owners fail to understand some of the finer legalities they need to observe in order to avoid problems down the line.
A business attorney can help you form the correct type of partnership if others are starting the business with you and help make sure that you’re not using someone else’s trademarked name or logo, among other things.
For more information on business formation, talk to an attorney today.
Source: allBusiness, “Starting a Business This Year? Avoid These 8 Rookie Mistakes,” Nellie Akalp, accessed Aug. 25, 2017
