Starting Your First Business

If you’re here you are probably thinking about starting a business. You might have started to do some research, then got overwhelmed at all the search results when you typed in “How to Start a Business”.

Truth is, it’s a simple formula. However, like any topic, if you don’t know the formula it can become convoluted trying to figure it out.

If you’re like a lot of us who want to start a business, you don’t have tons of time and money.

Well, here’s what you need to know.

You don’t need to raise money to start selling.

Let me explain…

If you have an idea for a product or service, you can start producing right away.

Let’s say you’re a social media expert. You can reach out to businesses and start selling social media management services.

If you do this without a business entity, you would be considered a sole proprietor. As a sole proprietor, there is no separation of personal or business assets. You will want to have a legal entity at some point (the quicker the better), it’s just the question of which one makes the most sense for your business.

With the money you bring in from your first month of managing a small company’s social media account, you can register your business which costs between $100-1,000 depending on how you go about it. Going to a 3rd party website such as Legal Zoom or Zen Business costs less than hiring a lawyer and can take as little as twenty minutes. However, if you are nervous about this route, consulting with a lawyer is always a smart move.

A great question to ask yourself is “What skills or knowledge do I already have and how can I make a product out of that?”

If you have knowledge about a topic, even basic knowledge, you can create an eBook or a course. Some sites allow your first course to be set up for free. Thinkific.com has an option to host three courses free before needing a larger plan.

When it comes to creating an eBook you can write it up in a word doc, spend $10 on a freelance site (such as Fiverr.com) to get a graphic, and now you have a sellable product.

Should I Raise Capital?

I have seen a lot of new entrepreneurs get stuck in thinking they have to raise tons of money to get started. In fact, if this is your first business I’m not sure if you should raise a lot of money right away.

Your first business may not even work. Marketing can be difficult and you don’t want to risk OPM (Other People’s Money) unless you have a really good business case and mentorship. Honestly, experienced investors probably won’t even fund a first-time entrepreneur. Building a business with a tight budget is a great learning opportunity plus it forced you to get creative.

After you get an idea of what you want to sell, there are tons of options to put together a website that costs little to no money. Domains are cheap and many website providers have free starter options.

If you want to start tracking website visitors to your site, Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager are great options. There is a learning curve but it’s worth it…..and the services are free.

What else do you need to have a business? Sales!

Go start selling

Don’t overcomplicate the process.

Another challenge for new entrepreneurs is spending so much time on a business plan they never get to actually building a business.

Are they helpful? They can be but not if you take over a year to make one and never take action on actually building the business.

If you take too long the marketing strategies you put in there will probably need to be adjusted since things can change so fast.

Business plans are most appropriate when you are looking to raise capital. If you’re starting a coffee company, get roasting and start selling. Get a booth at a farmers market and go to some local small shops to ask if you can get shelf space. Do you need a comprehensive business plan to do that? No.

Another time a business plan is appropriate is when you are looking to start a brick-and-mortar shop. You will most likely need to raise capital but even if you have the cash to do this, it is best to have a plan going in. At the minimum, you should put together a detailed budget to give yourself an idea of what it will really cost. Then add 20% or more on top of that because something always causes the budget to be higher than originally anticipated.

Now, what are your next steps?

What takeaways do you have from this article?

Hopefully, you now know there’s nothing holding you back.