Having a terrific idea for a business is
only the beginning. Getting that idea from the "drawing board" to
production is going to be a long and challenging journey.
The good news is that there are many
resources and experienced folks standing by to help in your endeavor. The
moment you embrace the simple fact that you’re not on your own, the better off
you'll be. Here are some other helpful tips for small business owners and
startup founders:
Bank
Working Capital
You're going to need money for your startup. There's no way around that. Beyond lining up investors to back your
business plan, you also should have some capital in the bank. This might not
necessarily be for your business, but for your personal expenses. There will
come a time in the initial phase of your start up when you're transitioning
from a salaried position to entrepreneur. In other words, you're not going to
have a steady paycheck, but you still need to pay the bills. A good starting
point would be to have savings for at least four to six months of personal
expenses. A decent size savings account will also let you float loans to your
company to cover a wide range of expenses.
Start
Small but Aim Big
Every great business owner has a story
about humble beginnings. This is when a handful of employees worked together in
"low rent" conditions to get things going. Although you know how big
you'd like your business to become, it is not going to start out that way.
Start small, working out of a space that won't cost you a lot of money. Your
current home, apartment or parent's garage is as good a place as any. You also
don't want to hire staff unless you've got a lot of work for them to do and all
of that work should be generating income. The goal is to ramp up towards
success.
Keep
Records of Everything
No matter what, where or how you spend
money for your business, there should be a receipt for that. You want to make
sure you're keeping clean records of all of your expenditures and income. At
the same time you also want to protect you personal assets. This is why it is
important to incorporate your business and begin to run all your expenses
through that entity. It's not a lot of money to set up a corporation and it
will certainly pay for itself many times over.
Get
a Plan of Action
You need a business plan. This can be a
multi-page document or a graphic laden power point presentation. Either way it
will become your road map towards success. That doesn't mean you have to
strictly adhere to that business plan. You're going to make adjustments all
along the way. However, with a well thought out business plan you'll be able to
appreciate the trajectory of your business. That is also something your
investors are going to embrace.
