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How Do I Start a Business Venture?

Dan Cavallari
Dan Cavallari

Proper planning will take much of the headache out of starting a business venture. You will need to begin by writing a business plan that will outline in detail exactly what your business is, how you intend to run it, how you will finance it, who your competition is, and any other details of the business that will dictate its success or failure. You may want to consider taking a course on writing a business plan or talk to an experienced business person or lawyer who can help you with these first crucial steps to starting business venture.

The next step after writing the business plan is to secure funding for your business venture. There are several ways to fund your business, and you will have to do some careful research about each option; the best option for one business venture may not be the best option for another, and you will need to assess the size of your business as well as your six-month and one-year projections. You can secure a business loan from a bank, or you can consider less traditional options like crowd sourcing; you may also seek out investors or venture capitalists who will lend you the money to get started.

Businesswoman talking on a mobile phone
Businesswoman talking on a mobile phone

Think next about where you will run your business venture from. The location must be chosen carefully, as you will need to consider the functions of your business on a daily basis. A delivery company, for example, should be opened in a location that is not routinely clogged with traffic; a factory will need a significant amount of storage space; a bakery will need a space with appropriate furnishings for a kitchen; and a retail store will need to be in an area with significant walking or driving traffic so the storefront gets exposure. The location will play into your budget as well, as prime locations tend to be more expensive than less attractive spaces.

Be sure to apply for all the proper permits and licenses for your business venture. These licenses and permits can vary from location to location, and they may vary according to the type of business you intend to open. Restaurants, for example, will need to be inspected by the health department, while a photography studio is likely to be able to skip such an inspection. Business licenses, liquor licenses, tax identification numbers, and so on are all considerations you will need to take into account before opening.

Discussion Comments

bluespirit

@snickerish - I like @peabody's suggestion to do plenty of market research and I would like to add to it that you need to research what type of business to start based on your small business end game (are you going to sell your company to a larger company once you get it rolling, are you going to have partners, are people going to invest in your company, etc).

By type of business I mean LLC or S corp or C corp or sole proprietorship. Business lawyers or accountants are extremely helpful in deciding this!

snickerish

I looked into some small business venture as the idea of becoming my own boss sounded like a sensational idea. So I talked to my accountant and he warned me that he had seen more people lose money than make money with small businesses.

Needless to say I decided to take a little more time before I decided on any of the small scale business ideas I had been considering.

My accountant's big tip for starting a business venture was to talk to a financial officer. Financial officers can be very good at taking the emotion out of ideas (as understandably many people get attached to their ideas because they can often involve something they care strongly about such as organic farming or an invention they created).

The financial officers can then get down to the specifics and form a game plan or a spreadsheet for your business that you can use to know exactly how much money it needs if goes out and looks for some small business venture capital from investors.

Anybody else heard any good ideas from people who have started a business venture?

runner101

@fingered - My husband did almost exactly what you did, except it was him and a friend in the business. But his reasoning for having a business plan actually had nothing to do with the amount of people or size of the business - it had to do with the success of the business.

He thought that having a business plan forces you to make your ideas about your business concrete, and it also more readily helps you to find the holes in your business reasoning that are not as clear when you are just thinking about a business.

Therefore, your business plan helps you think things through thoroughly. And finally by having the business plan, if you are sinking or succeeding you can sort through what steps you might want to change or keep or if you want to add new small business ideas to the mix because those steps and ideas are clearly outlined in the business plan.

Hope that helps!

LTimmins

@peabody - What are some of the best types of market research for someone on a tight budget? Especially for small business owners without access to large research resources?

peabody

I'd also add to this article that people planning to start a new business venture should be sure to do their research first! Do plenty of market research and find out whether the product or service is viable in your target market.

nefret

@fingered - Think of it like writing a story. It wouldn't make much sense to simply start writing on a blank page. Instead, if you lay out a plot (which in this case would be your small business plan) it is easier to follow a certain path and determine which direction the business is going to follow.

There are many examples of business plans online. Do a search and after browsing through them, you'll have a better idea of how to go about it.

fingered

Are business plans really necessary even for starting a small business? For example, if I'm running a business on my own and I'm the only employee, I don't see how much of a difference a business plan would really make.

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