Small Business Startup Check-list

To people who planning or just starting their business, I think this information and check list will guide us to the right steps.

Starting your business is a busy time in any entrepreneur's life. Critical steps can be easily overlooked until you are well into the process. To help budding entrepreneurs in getting their businesses set up efficiently, legally, and soundly, here is a checklist of primary steps that every business needs to include.

This checklist assumes that you already have an idea for a business and are ready to make it real. Given everything else is in place, here is a checklist of the basic areas we need to cover before opening our business:

1. Choose & Register a Business Name

2. Decide on the Legal Form for the Business

3. Write a Business Plan

4. Set Up a Relationship with a Banker

5. Set Up Other Professional Relationships

6. Set Up a Relationship with an Attorney, if Needed

7. Meet Legal Requirements for Operating a Business

8. Get Licenses and Permits

9. Set the Price for Your Product or Service

10. Determine the Financing You Will Need and How You Will Get It

11. Obtain Office Space, Equipment and Suppliers

12. Plan for Risk & Insurance

13. Set up Recordkeeping Systems

14. Set up a Financial Management System

15. Develop a Marketing Plan

16. Hire Employees

17. Develop a Day-to-Day Managerial Plan

Each of these areas needs careful consideration if your business is to become a reality and prosper. You may feel comfortable with managing some of these areas, but not others. Check out the links above for any of the areas that you are unsure about to learn more about how to handle that area of operating a business. The goal is to have a solid base for your business so that it can grow and you can be freed from unexpected problems in the future.