This post is sponsored by Comcast Business,( http://www.comcast.business.com) but all opinions are my own.
A founder has a long winding road just to launch a business and any mistakes will be expensive. Here are ten steps to take for making the journey a bit easier.
- Determine the business. Decide the pain the company will solve for customers and who has the money to pay for it. Don’t start a company as a hobby or “you think customers will buy it”. Go through the process of writing a business plan so each step can be analyzed.
- Secure financing. All companies go out of business for one reason: they run out of cash. Determine how much money the company will need (through projected profit and loss statements) before it becomes profitable. Secure that financing through savings, friends, family or an outside source like a bank or crowdfunding.
- Get incorporated. Every company needs to have a legal structure so they are separate from the people starting it. This will also protect the founders if the company goes out of business. Choose the state and the type of legal entity to incorporate (Inc, LLC, or Subchapter S).
- Find key advisors. Get a lawyer and accountant to help with decisions. Identify a mentor to work with who has started this type of business before or who has experience in the industry.
- Do all the legal things now. Sign a shareholders’ agreement that documents how important decisions will be made. Get any government permits that are needed. File protection for the company name or other intellectual property. Set up a separate bank account for the company, so the corporate protection is not broken.
- Establish the company’s infrastructure. Choose a provider like Comcast Business to be the communications provider. This needs to include Internet access, voice mobility and security protection of the company’s website. With no data caps and 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business Wi-Fi service can finally remove the limits and put the Internet to work for every business. They also provide further security protection to the company’s website by giving the option to attach a separate router, hardware firewall, or to utilize the built-in firewall functionality provided by their Advanced IP Gateway.
- Create a sales and marketing plan. Determine how prospects will learn about the products and services. What will the go to market strategy be and who will execute it daily? What will be needed for marketing collateral besides a web site and social media feeds?
- Find resources to help launch. This can be other freelancers, consultants, vendors or employees. Try not to commit to pay full time resources in the beginning so fixed overhead is low as sales ramps up.
- Find customers. The most important thing for any small business is to have paying customers. Finding them immediately is the only way to validate the long term prospects of the company. Eventually in order to scale, these customers need to be prospects that did not have a previous relationship with the founder before launching.
- Update and revise. Look at what the market is saying about the business as the company progresses. At the beginning, even the best plans need to be updated every thirty days based on their success or failure.
What steps did you take to launch your business?
