After being tired of spending years on your 9 to 5 job, starting a business is both, exciting as well as a challenging task. You might come up with hundreds of business ideas or options that seem profitable to you. But before you can start your dream business, it’s wise to devise some plans and strategies to meet the challenges on your way. So, the best thing to stay organized is to prepare your startup checklist. Wondering what would you include in your checklist? Don’t worry, I have got you covered with my business startup checklist.
Startup Checklist: 25 Tips to Consider Before Starting a Business
Let’s walk through our startup list that would help set up your own business.
1. Define Your Niche
The first thing about your startup checklist is to define what are you going to do! Regardless of what sort of startup you intend to build, the biggest rule of thumb is that you must define your niche what kind of products or services you want to sell, and find your target audience accordingly. One tip to be more effective is that remain focused and resist the temptation of everything for everyone! Once you become a ‘go-to’ for your audience, expand your target market and audience.
2. Passion For Success
Passion is the driving force that can make or break your business. When you have a passion for a certain idea, it opens several ways to bring your business idea into reality. What was that one basic factor that proved to be a key to success for Steve Jobs in establishing Apple Inc.? Or why Jack Ma, for another instance, established Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest e-commerce businesses? The answer is: that their passion made them successful. So, before deciding to start a business, you need to have a strong passion to make your idea successful and then follow it, religiously. You should ask yourself, what is it that you truly want to do? What is it that makes you feel accomplished and excited while doing it? These questions will help you find your true passion.
3. Set Your Goals and Stay Focused
No business can be accomplished without setting proper goals. In your startup checklist, I would suggest you keep a list of your goals and stay focused to meet those goals on time. As they say, time is money, you need to be dedicated and focused to accomplish your startup goals.
4. Seek Family Support
Family comes first. When you are going to make big decisions like starting up your own business, you need to have the full support of your family. Our family is going to be affected mostly by your decision to switch from one career path to another. At this point, you would have to face emotional as well as financial pressure from the family. Unless you have the trust and support of your family, you cannot stay focused on your goals. Taking them into confidence means that you are fulfilling our financial as well we moral obligations that will eventually help you achieve your goals.
5. Pro Tip for Your Business: Market watch/research your Competitors
This is the point where market research comes into play. Try your competitors and do some mystery shopping. Learn about their brand, their customer profile, and price, and above all check if your business idea already exists. If so, execute a new idea or a new aspect. The key here is to execute ASAP because if you are thinking of an idea, there is a possibility that someone else would also be thinking that.
6. Research your Business Idea
In the beginning, any business idea would seem to be a viable option. But, you have to figure out does it seems to be the same to others. Ask yourself questions, for example, would it be beneficial to the target customers? Does it fulfill their needs? Would they happily buy it? Keep yourself in their shoes and decide. Prepare a Business Plan As they say, “Well begun is half done”; your startup checklist MUST include planning. Before starting your business, you need to devise a well-thought-out plan to address issues you might face. Writing down your business plan does not mean it’s something that you cannot change, rather, it helps you stay on track and flexible as the circumstances arise. Moreover, a good business plan helps you define your goal, the right course of action, and an exit strategy.
7. Prepare a Business Plan:
As they say, “well begun is half done”; your startup checklist MUST include planning. Before starting your business, you need to devise a well-thought-out plan to address issues you might face. Writing down your business plan does not mean it’s something that you cannot change, rather, it helps you stay on track and flexible as the circumstances arise. Moreover, a good business plan helps you define your goal, the right course of action, and an exit strategy.
8. Get Business Advisers on the Board
Check it! This is the point that you must not ignore. A piece of professional advice from a business adviser, lawyer, insurer, mentor, or financial advisor would protect you from risk and potential losses. It’s mandatory to have correct and up-to-date information about various aspects of a business. That way you would be able to set rules and regulations for your business and keep everything under your control.
Tip for Startup Checklist:
When consulting business professionals, cover all the legal, financial, or technical aspects of your business; research, find multiple advisers, and seek their advice.
9. Define your Target Customers
Defining your target market is one of the most important startup checklist points. Unless you have a target audience defined for your business, you will not be able to devise an effective business plan and its execution. Once you have a business idea, decide your target customers who would actually buy your product or services. this does not mean excluding those who do not fulfill your target profile, but rather, delivering your business to more relevant customers and increasing business in a fast and efficient way. This enables you to compete with even big businesses efficiently and effectively.
Essential Checklist to Prepare for Target Customer:
Consider the following features when defining your target customer profile:
- Your customer base.
- Your competitors’ customer profile
- The benefits of your product/service to your customers
- Choose demographics like age, gender, location, income, education, occupation, and culture.
- Keep in mind the psychographics like personality, attitude, hobbies, and lifestyle. Last but not least, evaluate how your business affects your customers and their purchasing decisions.
- To help you find out your target audience, we suggest these digital tools.
10. Business Grants as one of the Financing Options
Budgeting is the foundation of your startup checklist. It’s important to estimate the cost of production and acquiring customers. You need to analyze how you are going to bear your business expenses. Initially, you might not need to expand your finances, however, if you really want to grow quickly, then consider obtaining small business grants or crowdfunding. You can also try these innovative ways to fund your business. To help you find business grants, check out this list.
11. Choose easy-to-remember and Relevant Business Name
This might seem a not-very-important aspect, but it’s important to convey your business message to the customers through its name. You need to choose a name that would stick to your customers’ minds, and more importantly, not be taken already by any other business. The entrepreneur tells you interesting facts about choosing the right name and ways to choose the one for our business here.
12. Register/File Your Business
After having selected an appropriate business name, get ready for the file work. it’s important to do the legal work register your business and obtain a Federal Employer Identification Number, in case you are starting up in the U.S. In order to open your company bank account, you would need to have this identity number.
13. Buy a Domain and Build a Good Website
Building a website makes your business more reachable to the customers. Before that, buy a domain name that is inclined to your business. Make sure your domain name is SEO-friendly, memorable, and short. For more useful tips for your domain name, go here. To build a good website, elegant website design is an essential part, as, it counts a lot when it comes to the attraction and maturity of your business’s website. There are plenty of ready-made website templates and designs available that can save lots of your efforts and hard work.
14. Create Social Media Profiles
Your startup checklist remains incomplete without your social media presence. In this age when every business is on social media, make sure you create a social media profile to increase the visibility of your business. You can bring a lot of customers only through social media marketing campaigns.
15. Find a Co-founder
It seems tempting and energetic when you plan to start up a solo business. However, setting up a business with a co-founder makes the job much easier and more effective. A business needs creativity, investment, execution, and moral support. You can find many of these qualities in your co-founder. Your partner can be a friend in need and your moral support in stressful times. Although there are few examples of successful solo startups, if you lack any of the skills, your co-founder can balance the skill set. Above all, your co-fonder can have tremendous experience in business that can benefit your business. Hence, your partner can be your guide too; Isn’t it cost-effective?!
16. Market Your Business
Make sure you do not miss out on the marketing plan in your startup checklist. Marketing or branding your business is key to success. It’s a common mistake that many startups make and don’t consider this point at the initial stage of their business. Marketing your startup business helps to establish and maintain the identity of your brand. Since there is a lot of competition in the market, it highlights your business and proves that your business is different than the rest of your competitors. This process eventually increases the life of your business as well as strengthens the customer relationship.
17. Improve and Refine the Way You Sell
Success does not come easy. When you begin selling your products or services, keep seeking feedback and reviews from your customers. Their feedback is vital to improve your business which can definitely help you find more effective and refined selling and marketing techniques. While building your startup checklist, make sure you have devised an effective selling strategy.
18. Build a Competent and Effective Team
Businesses cannot be successful single-handedly. Although, you must have knowledge of the nitty and gritty of your business, however, build a team that helps you get succeed. Hire salesmen to manage the sales side so you can focus on other important aspects of building your business.
19. Secure Your System and Data
Finding the right niche is the unavoidable point of your startup checklist. Whatever your niche, you cannot run from the fact that your business requires information technology. For example, you would need to have a website, huge data, or inventory; to secure all these aspects of your business, you must secure every aspect that comes under the IT sector. You need to have a backup of every data and plan ahead in case your website blows up or your system gets attacked by hackers.
20. Solve People’s Problems with Your Product and Services
Come up with products or services that have not been touched before, or fulfill the actual needs of the people. Even if the idea already exists in the market, find the gap and target a new audience. Make sure you meet your consumers’ needs efficiently and effectively.
21. Fool Proof Management
Last but not least, a startup must have excellent management skills. Unless you have management skills, you won’t be able to run a company successfully. Being a CEO of a startup, you should cultivate a skill set that helps you manage your business.
22. Create a support system
Owning and managing a business can become all-consuming, potentially leading to excessive stress. Hence, having a support network becomes crucial for sustaining business success. This network, comprising individuals within or outside your team, aids in stress management and maintaining a positive mindset amidst challenges. Besides offering moral support, close friends and family often play significant roles in business operations.
According to a 2022 study by Bank of America, nearly half of small business owners collaborate with a partner or spouse, and a considerable portion receive financial support from loved ones. Diversifying your social circle by engaging with local clubs, professional associations, and charitable organizations is advisable.
Such a support system not only fosters personal well-being but also enhances collaboration and productivity for all involved parties.
23. Boundaries
Think about safeguarding your health and ensuring your well-being with self-imposed restrictions. Figure out strategies to delineate between your professional obligations and personal time.
Establishing defined work hours or a limit on tasks you handle independently can help maintain a manageable workload. Additionally, devise a backup plan for when you hit these thresholds, identifying individuals you can seek assistance from and tasks you can defer in times of urgency.
Did I miss any point? Feel free to add more to this list.
24. Determine your target for profitability:
Establish profit objectives. Unlike income, profits are what’s left after deducting all expenses and production costs. Calculate the necessary earnings for your business to stay profitable by analyzing your revenue flow. Your business’s income can guide you in setting profit targets. As an example, a company generating 1000K in yearly revenue might aim for a 350K profit target following an assessment of anticipated expenses and obligations.
25. Prepare for obstacles by devising a contingency plan:
Incorporate measures to minimize risks that may arise due to market shifts, emerging developments, heightened competition, or other hurdles in establishing a business. Crafting an exit strategy is a prudent approach to anticipate market challenges, enabling the formulation of a strategic blueprint for divesting your business upon its success. An exit strategy proves advantageous in confronting challenges by offering avenues to either liquidate or diminish your business interests, irrespective of its outcome. Moreover, a well-executed exit strategy holds the potential for significant financial gains through the sale of your ownership stake in the future.
