Building a great business and brand doesn't happen by accident. It's an intentional, thoughtful, strategic process and there are specific things that you need to do in order to set you up for success in what is already a hard arena to succeed in.
According to the data 20% of businesses fail in the first year, and 50% fail within 5 years of getting started.
What I am going to give you today are 10 specific things that you can use as a checklist for starting your business that will set you up for success and give you the best chance of succeeding. Watch the full video here and make sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel...
Alright let's get started, I've set this up to be almost a checklist for you and if you do these 10 things you will be set up to succeed in whatever business venture you are pursuing.
Here we go...
1) What is your Business Name?
Yes this is step one because you will need a business name to register your company with the state and IRS.
If your business name is not customer facing then it doesn't really matter what it is. If it is, then here a couple things to keep in mind...
Keep it simple and relevant to your industry. Ideally your business name is short and sweet and should never be wordy or too complicated. The most well known brands are generally one or two words, you know that.
Here's the thing, as long as your brand name isn't terrible and is generally simple and relevant to your industry, it doesn't matter that much. What you have to offer and your value determines how well known your brand is. Focus on this, and people will remember your name.
2. Execute an Operating Agreement
You might not think this is important but it really is a requirement. You need to determine the type of business entity you are, define what your business is actually doing in the marketplace, and who owns what.
Are you a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation? Are you an LLC, s-corp, etc. These types of things are defined in an operating agreement. This is important both for your overall organizational direction but also a requirement most of time for you to set up a business bank account, get a loan, etc.
There are operating agreement templates online, as well as services that can help you set up your entity and advise you on the best way to do it if you don’t have a personal resource that can help you. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask me in the comments.
3. Register with your State and IRS
In order to be a legitimate business you need a state business I'D and a federal employment number called an EIN. Think of these as your businesses identification and they are going to be required for setting up a bank account, applying for insurance, setting up accounts with vendors, etc.
Like you are not legal citizen of a nation. without proper I'D you are not a legal business without these IDs.
4. Set up a Business Bank Account
You are not operating like a serious professional business if you co-mingle your personal and business bank accounts.
Your business should have it's own bank account where you can easily and closely track your
income and expenses. This also means you'll want to have your own purchasing cards for your business as well. A separate business bank account allows your bookkeeping and taxes to be efficient and accurate. This is critical if you want your business to succeed.
I use a local bank which I have a close relationship with the managers. If you have a good reputable local bank I’d recommend working with them. It’s good to build local relationships and typically things move a little more efficiently on a smaller local level. Like if I need something I can contact the VP, granted that’s taken time to establish that relationship, but it’s been well worth it. Finally, I use the capital spark card which gives me 2% back on every purchase. You can look at business credit cards if you are interested in that too. I get thousands back from that 2% cash back every year and I never carry a balance or pay interest on them. I always pay off the balance in full. Not financial advice, just telling you what I do.
5. Payment Processing
Simply put, you need a method receiving money from your customers. It could be a simple as setting up the bank account and collecting ACH payments or checks to deposit. It might require merchant services to process online or credit and payments.
You need a way to receive income. There are many options online that you can find. Figure out what that looks like for your business. I used QuickBooks merchant services which allows me to send invoices and collect payments either via e-check or credit card.
6. Bookkeeping Software
If you are not tracking and measuring your income and expenses then you will likely not succeed in business. Running your profit and loss statements, knowing your margins, balance sheet, cash flow, mouthy and annual income and expenses- these are all critical metrics you must know. You will also need these reports for tax time on at least an annual basis.
I use QuickBooks and that probably the most popular. You can start for a relatively small monthly fee.
7. Customer Relationship Manager (CRM)
Managing and closely tracking your finances is critical. So is organizing, managing, and tracking your leads and customers, Where are your customers, who has your money? How are you communicating with them, how are you staying in touch and top of mind?
You bring in leads through your marketing channels. You must have a system that houses your leads and their contact information. This can be through emailing software, various website creators have this feature, or there are vendors like Salesforce which I use that offer fully customizable solutions for you.
Some can set up auto-email campaigns, auto responses, process payments, etc. There are a bunch of different options for every industry: look up what the top people in your industry used, or even what they started with to find what might work for you are your businesses needs.
8. Website and Social Media
For most businesses if you don't have a website and /or social media account them you are
getting left behind.
You need a place where potential customers or even employees can go to learn about you. The world is online. People are looking for products and services online, jobs and Opportunities online and it costs very little to establish an online presence and even if you don't to pay someone to set it up for you there are platforms that make building a website yourself super easy.
Setting up a Social Media account is free. you have no excuse.
9. Payroll Processor
You will need to pay yourself and if you have employees you'll need to pay them too. Payroll processing isn't fun but required if you are building a business. I've used a couple for my different businesses like ADP, Paychex, and now I use Gusto which I love.
I like Gusto because it's fairly lean, easy to use, and affordable. I used ADP for a time, but it was getting too pricey for the size of my business. So I had my business manager look up and compare all of the services out there for a business our size, and we found Gusto to be the best bang for our buck. I'm not paying for robust services I don't need.
Payroll processors do things like report taxes to state employment commissions, the reports, send out W2's, take out and pay taxes. All of this saves you time, money, and headache. You can't keep high quality people if you don't have a professional way of paying them.
10. Systems and Procedures
You may not write an operating manual right away, but you will want to systematize your days and processes. This makes them teachable and allows you to delegate them to someone else.
The best franchises for example have very Clear systems which establishes consistency
across many locations, think McDonald's If you ever want to build your business to a point where you are not required to work in It day to day, or you want to sell it, depending on your end goal, you'll need systems to teach that others can execute either way.
Finally, even if you are a solopreneur or creator, Your days need to be systematized and process oriented if you want to build your brand to its potential. Timeblocking and daily routines that are non-negotiable are a part of building systems and procedures.
Again, building a great business and brand doesn't happen by accident. It's an intentional, thoughtful, strategic process! Use this checklist, do these 10 things and you will be set up for success in what is already a hard arena to make it in!
If you need more on the mindset or systems required to make it in entrepreneurship go check out the other videos on my channel.
I want to build that business, do the work you were made for, and live to your potential in this life.