Here is a must-have checklist of things to think about to help you start your new business!

 

Here is a must-have checklist of things to think about to help you start your new business!

 

Ask yourself what type of business you want to create? Who are your competitors? How long have they been in business? What type of services are they offering? What type of service do you plan to offer that is different from theirs? Then begin to make a list of those answers.  First you must identify the type of business you have in mind. You might have a great idea but someone else might have beat you to the punch, so you must do some serious research into the idea to see what competition you have with your idea.  Then you must come up with a name and do research on the name to ensure no one else has the same name with the same concept idea for a business. You don’t want to be sued for copying their idea and concept. So be safe, do some homework and research on these two issues first before you do anything else moving forward.

Do some market research! Don’t invest in a company because you believe you can succeed, you can’t succeed unless you do your market research, so do it now before you spend any money on a business license, products, business cards, etc. Once your market research is completed, would your business be financially viable? How will you obtain or attract customers to your business?  What will your start up costs be? How much will you need to financially stay alive for the first three years? What type of marketing plan do you have? Or do you have a marketing plan set up as of yet?  Do you have a social media plan set up or created?

Do you have a business plan set up? A business plan isn’t a plan toward success, but it can be a road map of your goals and aspirations for your new business, so don’t skip this process. You’ll need it if you go after investors. It can also help you understand and plan out what type of business structure you will need to succeed. So ask yourself what would be the best business legal structure for my new business? Will you have employee’s? How many will you need for the first year? What about employee benefits, do you plan to offer them and if so, how much will you need to secure those for your new employees? You will need to be able to pay taxes on your employees and are their any state or government tax breaks available for your company? Incentives offered by the state or local government for your business. Do your homework to find these things out, or better yet, hire an attorney or business consultant to help you. Maybe even a life coach that can guide you in the right direction to answer these questions.

Once you’ve done your homework and know what kind of business structure you’ll need, now its time to find out how to go about getting a business license. Do you need to file paperwork for the city, county, or state in which you live? Find out before you do anything else. What are the costs? Do you need to be bonded? Will you be self-employed, or will you need to find a Schedule C tax form at the end of the year? Do you know how to obtain a Federal Tax ID number? Are you going to be a corporation or a partnership? If you have partners, you need to lay out a buy out plan for the partnership in case you or your partner decide to dissolve the company, but one of you wishes to carry on with the name, branding, and operation. You might think of this as a prenuptial agreement between a new couple in case of a divorce. It’s the same thing. While you’re still friends you need to come up with a compromising agreement for in case you decide to divorce each other from your business.

Once you’ve got all the necessaries out of the way now it’s time to open a bank account, both checking and savings accounts for your business. If you’ve got employees, it’s a good idea to open a money market account so you can deposit any and all employee taxes into it so you don’t expend those funds on business operations before you have to pay your quarterly taxes. At this time it’s a good idea to also invest in a copy of QuickBooks software and have your CPA set up your weekly accounting codes so that when the time comes you can print out your quarterly deposit amounts, and at the end of the year produce a Profit and Loss (P&L) Statement for your CPA to file taxes with, and so you can print out your employee W2s. Trust me when I say do your accounting on a weekly basis because if you wait until the end of the year, you will waste a lot of your time trying to catch up on doing what you should have been doing all year. It’s not pretty I can tell you from experience. This software will also help you to monitor your costs for everything regarding your business, plus you can print out a P&L statement to see if you are obtaining a profit or losing money and need to reevaluate your efforts.

If you need to procure financing for your business that’s called Capital funding, pitch your ideas to  potential investors but don’t do it through a GoFundMe page because what they don’t tell you is that you will have to pay capital gains taxes over and above the sites transaction fees that could cost you just about half of the money you raise. Not worth it. And whatever you do, don’t go on Shark Tank because that show is staged and not worth your time.

Once you’ve done all the above and you’ve secured funding now’s the time to create that website and start working your business. If you don’t know how to create a website, learn before you create your business because this is a tool you will need to know how to perform. After your website is up and running, then create those social media platforms with your company name, logo if you have one and start using those platforms to spread the word about your business and products.

At the end of the year file your taxes by using a CPA, trust me when I say they are worth every penny you spend on them, but make sure you use the software I recommended because most CPAs now a days use that software and you can email the P&L and the actual file to them instead of sitting down with them face to face.

Now go forth and design your future business. If you need help, reach out to me and I’d be happy to be your life coach to help you succeed.

 

Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, and journalist. business professional, creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a master’s in criminology and a BS in Business Management she stepped out of the loop for a while but is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel and photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.