The Start-Up Business: How to Build a Company From Scratch

Most people dream of owning their own business, and the age of the small startup has made that goal more achievable than ever before. However, navigating the process of starting your own company can still be tricky. Here are five great tips that will help you build your startup company from scratch.

1. Start with a Solid Business Plan

Before you do anything else, you need to decide what your startup is going to do and how it's going to do it. Come up with a business model and begin researching costs, logistical requirements, scaling opportunities and potential profits. Having a good, well-thought out business plan on your side will not only help to keep you on track, but it will also be an invaluable asset when you go looking for funding.

2. Set Goals

No business can succeed without goals. As you create your business plan, think about where you want to go with your business and how fast you want to get there. Then, create goals that will lead you there. These should be long and short term goals. A good short term goal could regard what you need to accomplish within the first month. Another semi-long term goal could be what you would like to have accomplished by your six month mark. Loong term goals, though, may be things that you want to have done or accomplished by the end of the first year.

3. Put Together a Great Team

Though some businesses can be run as one-person operations, you will need a team of talent around you to scale your business up and make it as successful as possible. Start small, with a team of perhaps 3-4 core members executing essential tasks. Each of these people should have some real skills, but don't be afraid to look beyond professionals who are already established in the field you're hiring for. You'd be surprised how much untapped talent there is all around you, so find people you think will be good fits for helping you build your business and who can grow with your company.

4. Cover Your Bases Legally

Before you actually go into business, you want to know you and your team are protected legally. Consult with a good business law firm, such as Carter West, to ensure that everything you plan to do conforms to local, state and national laws and regulations. Your business lawyer will also help you in setting up whatever legal entity your business will use. In most cases, this will be an LLC or an S-corp, though some startups begin with full C-corp status.

5. Raise Capital and Get Started

Once you have a strong business plan, a team that can help you build and all of your legal requirements taken care of, you can present a professional-looking opportunity to banks or venture capitalists who may be interested in funding your project. Securing funding will be a hard process, but don't give up. Eventually, you'll find someone who shares your vision and is willing to invest in it. Once you have some capital, get your business underway. Even if you have to start smaller than you'd like, getting real-life experience running your business will be worth it and will help you to grow in the future.

Building a startup won't be easy, but it will be an incredibly rewarding experience. Remember to always focus your energies on the things that will allow your business to grow. There are many small obstacles that will come up along the way, but don't let these worry you too much, as every business owner alive has encountered and gotten past them.

About the author

Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake.

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