Your decision to start a new business has been made. Now what do you do? Sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming to look at where to really start the process. Do you look for the location first? What about an estimate on how much it will cost? Should I secure the product agreements before I find the markets? Should I pre-advertise or just make an announcement? Who should I hire first, if anyone at all? There are hundreds of similar questions which confront the new business start-up.

After 30+ years of opening new businesses and analyzing existing businesses, I’ve put together a practical guide for the beginning steps to starting a small business. Whether you, as an new entrepreneur, buy an existing business, or buy a franchise or perhaps start a home based business, the business planning resources are the same. What is different are the business strategies, upfront costs, business opportunities and step by step instruction available to start a small business venture.

So lets get right to it. Everybody tells you to start the steps with a business plan. Well that’s all very nice, and you will need it for sure, but let’s get organized first.

*Step 1. Get some file folders and label them as follows:

– Product – Anything having to do with what your going to sell or service.

– Finance – Where’s the seed money coming from, cost estimates, where’s the money going.

– Receipts – Any money you spent thus far.

– Organization – Exactly what form is this new enterprise going to take.

– Ads & Marketing – Anything new ideas with generating revenue for the company.

– Government – Permits, license, new business tax info etc.

– Strategy – What is this new company all about and how are you going to do it.

– Locations – Are you leasing space, Realtor information – or DNS if Internet based.

– People – Who all is involved and what is their participation, partners, joint venture.

Use these folders to file every bit of information you’ve collected on starting your new business. If you need other categories, then make them up as needed. But try to think in terms of less files and not more. It’s easier to find and your mind will quickly adapt to the organization.

Step 2.

Once you’ve assembled the information the next step in starting a new business is due diligence – a legal term used to determine if everything that was offered is in fact, real. But the same practical approach taken when buying a business can be used when starting a new business. Use the information you’ve already gathered to lay out the realistic size of your market and the revenue you expect to receive on a monthly basis. If your income is sufficient to cover whatever costs you expect from running the business operation then you can continue to the next step. If not, then you need to expand your market, change your product, reduce your costs or start over. Let’s get real here. Be Smart.

Step 3.

Now you can put together a complete business plan which will include the following:

a. Statement of Purpose (some call this an Executive Summary)

b. Market Analysis – Expand this further using the information in step 2 and really get into the details of how you plan to approach the market for you new product or new service. You should also really get into primary and secondary competitive markets.

c. Business Description – What exactly are you trying to do and how do you plan to make money from your new start-up business? Layout a few paragraphs about the overall concept of your new venture.

d. Organizational Setup – what type of business are you going to do. Will it be a sole proprietorship, a corporation, a partnership? Who is involved, what are they going to contribute, and how much will they own? What will the management structure be like? Who answers to who? You need to get this stuff addressed in the beginning or else it will be a complicated factor later.

e. Sales and Marketing. The details here cover all areas, even those that are not practical the first year or two. You need a variety of methods to execute and sustain your sales. Make sure you know everything your competition sells and how they sell it as well.

f. Products. Layout all of the products or services that you are going to sell for your new business.The details (actual products names and sizes etc.) can be put into an addendum at the back of your new business plan. But the overall package of what your are selling should be justified.

g. Capital requirements – How much money is it going to take to start and operate your new venture less the amount of money you currently have available to put into the business. How do you plan on getting the rest of the money – if you need it? Many people start small by using their credit cards for finance. Don’t forget to include your living expenses for at least six months.

h. Financials. This is where all of the accounting and cost analysis for the new business is located. A break-even analysis, cost analysis and projections for the first 3 years should give you a performance standard to judge whether or not you are meeting your goals.

i. Addendum: This covers everything else that may be important for your business operation. Include lists, phone numbers, mentors, useful web addresses, accounting details etc.

You may be wondering why so many couples are having success at running a business together. In fact, couples are having so much success, it’s being called the New American Dream.

There are several reasons why couple entrepreneurs are winning in business together but the most important reason is because consumers are tired of doing business with big box stores and other corporate giants that do not support local communities anymore.

The new era of the Mom and Pop store is coming back again. Communities feel safer doing business with a couple that works locally and produces jobs in their community. Couple entrepreneurs are enjoying stronger income and they enjoy growing a business together as well as having a family.

Couple-run small businesses sponsor local events and thus their communities want to support them. Small couple-run businesses are trusted more than many big companies whose customer service is a recorded message with a serve yourself website, with hard to understand instructions that usually don’t solve your problem.

Consumers want to take a more responsible role in where they are spending their money and how it is affecting the planet and like doing business with local couples who have green businesses and healthier local organic foods. Consumers can talk to a couple and get to know them and feel as if the local producer is also a friend.

When you run a business with your spouse, your client knows your first name and does not have to push a bunch of buttons in order to speak to you. Your client knows you need them and your client feels better knowing that their business is appreciated and valued.

Your customer also knows that the SBA says couple-run small businesses usually give about 10 to 20% of its profits, every year for the life of the business, back to their local community. Meaning, they understand that doing business with you helps you and their local community for the life of the business.

In this way consumers understand that supporting local couple-run businesses is an investment in the future of their community and the future of the environment. Couples are having success at running a business together because these businesses are making a difference in the world and many corporations either don’t care to make a difference or don’t want to.

People trust and feel better about couple-run firms and couple-run medical practices because they feel safer and more cared for doing business with a couple that they know vs. a huge corporation where they are just another credit card number with no one to speak with.

There are many important reasons couples are having so much success running a business together and one thing is for certain, this trend will continue to grow over the next decade. Boomer couples are opening businesses at an increasing rate, in fact they are the largest group opening new businesses and these couples are working together because they are not ready to retire.

If you want to have a thriving business, then it will benefit you to look no further than your significant other in order to achieve success together.

We all understand that sales is not a part of blogging. Many different gurus have warned against this trend as people see those types of blogs as infomercials. Who wants to start reading something enjoyable only to find that they are being courted for a sale? No one. A business blog is about connecting with prospects and customers; it is about sharing yourself rather than your service and/or product.

How do you separate the two?

Sure, the blog is still a part of your marketing effort. It doesn’t matter how you do it, marketing is all about getting your name out there to the right people. A blog does that. Humans are relational animals… we run in packs. No one wants to be a lone wolf (or at least 99% of people don’t) because it is innate that we seek out others to connect with. That is why a blog is part of your marketing strategy whether you formally recognize it as part of that business element or not.

People will buy from you when they trust you. They will only trust you when they know you.

Take a large company like Walmart as an example. When you first realized that there was such a store, you probably heard from friends. Need an inexpensive tire, clothes for the kids, a shotgun, groceries? You can buy it at Walmart. The reason people trust Walmart is because they know through experience that they will be able to get what they need there. The same logic can be applied to any business.

Sure, you’re not in the same business as Walmart, but giving the customer what they need is the biggest part of the job. When you write a blog, you are selling yourself. Hopefully you are not making any overt attempt to sell something with your blog, but you are selling with your blog nonetheless. Your blog is about you and it is you that the prospect and customer want to know.

A blog is like a journal, in some respects, that discusses a particular expertise. Writers like to read blogs from other writers who have been successful. Carpenters like to read home improvement blogs. Online coaches will likely read successful small business blogs, marketing blogs, etc. These sites are not about sales, they are about giving. The blogger gives the reader something for free. It may be a piece of advice, information on a task they want to know how to do themselves, or how to run their business, etc. Whatever the blog is about, it is also about forging a relationship.

A blog is a conversation. You are not going to write something that may take hours of thought and excruciating time spent at a desktop hoping that no one reads what you upload. The idea is to have others read what you are saying in the hopes that you can connect with someone else. This connection may lead to sales or not, but it will give you something valuable.

So, why do you as a small business owner need a blog?

Yes, the relationship part is necessary, but there have to be other reasons as well. You are busy and writing a blog post and marketing it even twice a month can be time consuming. It takes away time that you could be actually producing, bringing in sales, providing services to clients or sending products to customers. Why should you take time out of your busy day to write a 500+ word article for your audience?

• It gives you a chance to give back. You may have an opinion from your expertise that others need to know about. You may understand something on a level others do not. By giving back, you make yourself and others better.

Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better than we found them, more able to get where they’d like to go.

~ Seth Godin

• It can actually increase sales. Even if you never mention your company or the services or products you sell, some people will be interested enough in you to seek you out. This can lead to a deeper relationship and a loyal customer.
• It gives you a better voice. Some people can write and others can’t. It is just a fact of life that people have different talents. So maybe you don’t believe you have anything to offer. Well, get someone to polish it up, but get your voice out there. You have something unique to offer the world. Also, you can improve your thought processes by doing it.

Small business owners need to use everything at their disposal to draw people to them. It is easier today because of the internet, but people will not know your name if you are not out there revealing yourself. Make them aware of you, create some lasting relationships… start business blogging today!