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How to Start a Business

Business Owner Start-up Guide

People often ask me, “How did you start your business?” Well, here’s the full story of how I got things going. I hope this list helps you out, so you don’t have to spend hours like I did researching everything. Remember, everyone’s journey in business is different, but I hope my list can be a useful tool as you start your own business.

These instructions are particularly useful if you’re in Georgia, but I’m pretty sure most states have a similar process. I’m also assuming that you want to set up a single-member LLC or a business where you’re the only employee.

Before you Start your Business

Write a Business Plan

There are two schools of thought here. Some think business plans are useless because most things you plan on doing don’t come to be as planned. When you own a business, there are so many random events you cannot plan for appropriately. I believe a business plan is an excellent document to organize your ideas on how you want your business to operate.

Think about how your business looks and operates, the customers you want to serve, and how you want to serve them. Your answers to these questions can be less than a page or over 55 pages, depending on how you would like to organize ideas. There are no wrong answers when it comes to creating a business plan. Your plan will also help you with the other two “Before you Start your Business” tips below.

Special Note – Pay close attention to how you price your product or service

Extra Guidance – https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan

Service (Officially or Unofficially) your Ideal Customer before you Launch your Firm

In sports, they say, “there are no substations for game reps.” You can daydream all you want about what it will be like to service your client, but until you actually do it, you will never know what it is really like. Leverage the experience and feedback from servicing your ideal customer to adjust your product so that you are ready when it’s time to go live!

Having this experience is so important. Ideally, you would want to get paid a market rate for the service you wish to sell. But legally, this may be a challenge if you are in a heavily regulated industry. You may need to have certain licenses in place first. Even if you have to perform your service for free, this will be an excellent way to practice and get feedback from your target audience.

Meet with Individuals in your Industry (100 Cups of Coffee)

Understanding who the players are in your market can help you understand where your product and service fit in the market. There was an old saying that before you try something new, you should try to have 100 cups of coffee with people in that industry. That means reaching out to a stranger or warm connection, asking them for their advice, or allowing them to share their career journey. You can connect with your target person over coffee, a conference call, or a meal.

You will be surprised at how many people are willing to share what they have been through, so you don’t have to take the long way. Given the checklist below, you can also bounce ideas off these individuals about what you plan on doing. The Information from these coffee dates can help fine-tune your product, company name, the address used, and service providers (i.e., accountants, lawyers, and compliance).

Now that you have my words of wisdom concerning pre-business planning, let’s get official! If you would like more context concerning my checklist, please view the video provided on this page.

Decide the address you would like to use for your business
1. https://ipostal1.com/https://www.postscanmail.com/
1. https://www.usps.com/manage/po-boxes.htm
Select your business name
1. Confirm that name is not already taken using these websites
  1. https://ecorp.sos.ga.gov/BusinessSearchii. Googleiii. Facebook/Instagram
1. Consider how your business name will look on a website (i.e., www.xyz.com)
  1. Search and secure the URL you want – https://www.godaddy.com/
  1. Warning – Only search when you are ready to buy. They say people monitor these sites, and if you search for your name, someone may try to purchase that URL before you can secure it.
Get your LLC – https://youtu.be/yj1N9LuCu_A
Get your Tax EIN # – https://youtu.be/atiTTtRbS9E
Create your Article of Incorporation – https://www.fundera.com/blog/articles-of-organization
Open a business bank account
1. Things you need to bring to the bankSocial security number or employer identification number (EIN)Personal identification, such as a passport or driver’s license, Business license with the name of the business and the owner’s name(s)Certificate of assumed name/DBAPartnership agreement with the name of the business and its partners (if a business with multiple owners)Organizing documents filed with the state monthly credit card revenue (for merchant accounts)
1. Initial deposit
Apply for Licenses and permits
1. https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-business/apply-licenses-permits
Register to pay Federal taxes – EFTP (https://youtu.be/qWJ21A2Nn6s)
1. https://rsadeasil.com/federal-estimated-tax-payments/
Register to pay State taxes – https://gtc.dor.ga.gov/_/
1. https://rsadeasil.com/paying-georgia-estimated-tax-payments/
Find an accountant that will help you organize your financial situation
Register for an accounting program like QuickBooks
1. https://quickbooks.intuit.com/
Understand your schedule C and the expenses types that should be tracked
1. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sc.pdf
Protect yourself with business insurance
1. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/types-of-business-insurance
Decide how you will get paid
1. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/how-to-choose-a-payment-processor

If you can do the steps above, you should feel like your business is official. You have done a lot, but now the real work begins. And that is making your business as successful as you can.

I hope these steps simplify the business creation process. These steps are an illustration of my experience and do not qualify as legal or tax advice. If you have further questions, please use the link below schedule your 15 min free consultation to set up a time for us to speak.