I’m trying to start my own small business up and I was wondering what the beginning steps were?
Friday, February 5th, 2010 at
5:36 pm
I am looking to start a small business of dog clothing and I’m not really sure of how to get started. Somebody told me that I had to register my business? I’m not even sure what the means. And I was also wondering if there was any money out there to get started without taking out a small business loan? But I would appreciate any advice about starting a business that someone could provide. Thanks.
Tagged with: beginning • Business • Small • start • Steps • trying • were • wondering
Filed under: How to Start a Small Business
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your 1st step is to research the business niche you will be entering. Then you should write a business plan so you know your road path to sucess.
Yes you should register your company name you need to check your local laws and state laws.
Check out your local SBA office they can help you also and it is free!
go to natwest bank. they have a small business start up pack. it has some pretty good info for when you are gettin started. it gives you a chance to ask them where you can more info and help if they can’t.
The first thing you need to do is determine whether there is really a market for your business in your chosen location. To do this, questionnaires could be useful as could stuff like footfall. If you Google neighbourhood and acorn you will be able to find sites that can give you information about the type of market in a certain area. Also find out as much as you can about your market. Mintel can provide detailed information but is very expensive. If not newspaper websites are a good place to look.
Next decide who you are going to target and write a profile for them. Not just age, sex, etc but the kind of people they are, why they would use your business, what kind of image they want to project, what affects their buying decision, etc.
Now you need to look at competition and remember this is not just direct competition but anything similar e.g. a cinema is in competition with other cinemas but also bars and restaurants as they are all evening entertainment. Decide what image your competition is going for and then see if your chosen target market needs are already met and how you are going to add value over what is already being offered. This helps determine your position in the market and, if you need one, your brand image.
Next look at pricing, promotion, distribution, location and people. Remember to consider the market primarily when looking into these things. Costs, although important, should be second to these. All these things must represent the image you have decided to go for.
You must also consider the boring stuff such as licenses you might need (these can be got from government WebPages), employee tax and the big one finance. If you’re getting a loan this is very important and you must have an accurate cash flow forecast, balance sheet and profit and loss account. If you don’t know how to do these most banks will help you and most have business plan layouts for you to follow.
You can get money without a bank loan from business angels but it is hard to come by. Try looking here http://www.bbaa.org.uk. If you’re under 25 then the prince’s trust might be able to give you something towards your finances but they still expect you to put something in as well to show you believe in your business. If you can prove your business is helping the local community then the government sometimes gives out grants. Other than that you’d have to become a private limited company (LTD not PLC) and issue shares.
go to the clerk recorder office to register a “dba” which stands for “doing business as”. This is also referred to as a “ficticious business name”. To find out where your clerk recorder office is, do a google search with the name of your county and state and the words dba or ficticious business name. It will cost you around 36 dollars to get one. After you do this, you can open a bank account with your new business name. You will have to bring the bank the paper showing that you registered the dba name