Opening your own business is exciting and thrilling. For many, this is an experience that has been years in the making, and it comes with many feelings of excitement, but often also some feelings of hesitation.
It’s completely natural to fall on both sides of the spectrum. Owning a business is a lot of responsibility, and there are specific activities that can determine whether or not your small business will ultimately be a success.
The most important first step when starting a business is to create a detailed and methodical plan. With specific business activities and goals determined at the outset, you’re much more likely to approach business activities with purpose and intentionality, instead of just shooting in the dark and hoping for the best. Success truly lies in how you approach the growth phase of any business, and we’re here to help you avoid the common pitfalls that many new small business owners make.
We can help you:
- Prepare an initial business plan to clarify your goals, marketing, management, financial plans, and capital needs.
- Identify initial sources of capital and backup sources if needed.
- Select a business structure that best fits your needs by evaluating tax advantages, legal exposure, ease of operation, and portability should you need to relocate.
- Select the right accounting and business software by evaluating your budget, needs and hardware.
- Prepare a Cash Flow Budget so you know exactly how much money you need to keep your business alive each month for the first few years. Unplanned cash requirements are always emotionally painful, so we’ll help you prepare for any surprises in advance.
- Establish billing and collection procedures to maximize your cash flow and procedures to monitor and control costs.
- Prepare and file all required state and local licenses and permits, and your application for your Federal Employer Identification Number.
- Provide payroll and payroll tax filing when you bring on your first employee.
- Comply with employment laws so you don’t get hit with fines and unhappy employees.
- Develop a solid Partnership Agreement. This is an extremely important document for all new partnerships and will help prevent a tremendous amount of financial and emotional problems down the road.