How to Start a Business, the Guide for Entrepreneurs

Hi, I'm James from HubSpot and today I'm going to talk to you about how to start a business. If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to like it and subscribe to our channel. Post any questions or suggestions you have in the comments below. Let's get Started. Everyone wants more visitors, more qualified leads, and more revenue. But starting a business isn't one of those if you build it, they will come situations. In order to build a successful company, you have to create and fine tune a business plan. You'll need to assess your finances, complete all the legal paperwork, pick your partners, research apps for startup growth, and choose the best tools and systems to help you get your marketing and sales off the ground. And a whole lot more. Don't worry, we're here to help. To start, we've put together a complete guide on how to start a business. We'll cover everything from the paperwork and finances to creating your business plan and growing your business online. And we'll do it in just a few minutes, so let's dive right in. Number one Download a Business Plan Template before you begin your business plan, download this business plan template. It provides an outline for you to follow and simplifies the process. The first steps are to create a cover page and write a description of your business that outlines your product or service and how it solves a need for your customers. The next step is to work on the company description, which provides detail on how your company will be organized and includes the mission statement. In the next section of the business plan template, you'll identify your target audience or buyer Personas. Through research, surveys and interviews, you'll understand who wants your product, why they're interested, and what problem your offering solves for them. The next step is to describe your line of products and services in detail, including the pricing model and the advantage you have over competitors. From there, you'll write down your plan to market and sell your product or service. You'll also identify your growth plan and set targets and measures for your marketing and sales activities. Then you'll determine which legal structure your business will have, LLP, sole proprietorship, etc. And if there are any other legal factors you need to consider, e.g. permits, licenses, health codes. Finally, financial projections will be made and short term and long term goals will be set for the business. Number two Create a business plan. A business plan is a living document that maps out the details of your business. It covers what your business will sell, how it will be structured, what the market looks like, how you plan to sell your product or service, what funding you'll need, what your financial projections are and which permits, leases, and other documentation will be required. Business plans are more short and concise today than they used to be. It might be tempting to include all the results of your market research and flesh out every single product you plan to and you should know these details. Just keep them elsewhere. When it comes to your business plan, exclude everything but the meat and potatoes from the plan itself. It shouldn't just be a quick read, it should be easy to skim too. When it comes to making a business plan, remember three key rules. 1. Narrow down what makes you different. 2. Keep it short. 3. Remember that you can and should change it as you go. Determine your business's legal structure. Once the business plan is in place, you get to move on to the even less romantic part, the paperwork and legal activities. This step includes things like determining the legal structure of your business. The four most common business structures are sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations Number four Register your business's name. Establishing a business name is a little more complicated than making a list and picking your favorite if you're using a name other than your personal name, then you need to register it with your state government so they know you're doing business with a name other than your given one. The first step is to make sure the name you want is available in your state. After that, conduct a trademark search. That should tell you if another business has registered or applied for the trademark you'd like to use. If you're a new corporation or an llc, your business name will automatically be registered with your state when you register your business. If you are a sole proprietorship or partnership, or if your business is an existing corporation or llc, register a Doing business as or DBA name. Finally, once you've chosen an original name, file for a trademark number. 5. Review Small Business taxes. Business owners are obligated to pay specific federal taxes, and the amount of those taxes is determined by the form of business entity that you establish. All businesses, except for partnerships, need to file an annual income tax return. Partnerships file what's called an information return. Any business that's owned and operated in the United States needs an employer identification number, which you can apply for on the IRS's website. Once you're registered, it's time to figure out which taxes you'll be responsible for. There are three self employment tax or SE tax, employment tax and excise tax. Market the business A new company needs to start drumming up interest for its product or service even before it's ready to ship. But there are a million different platforms and avenues you can use to drive awareness. So where on earth do you start? It all comes down to your target customer. You won't be able to position what you're selling to meet customers needs without knowing who they are. One of the very first questions you need to ask yourself is who wants what I'm selling? Who would find it useful? Who would love it? In addition to researching your target customer, when you're first starting a business, you'll need to build the foundation for a strong brand identity. With your target customer and your brand identity under your belt, you can begin building the core marketing elements of your small business, which includes your website, your blog, your email tool, your conversion tool, and your social media accounts. Then, once you've started building an online presence and creating awareness for your business, you need to generate the leads that will close into customers. Number seven Sell your products and services first. Set up your sales infrastructure. By taking the time to set up your sales process from the get go, you'll avoid painful headaches that come with lost data down the line. Start with the CRM, which is a central database where you can keep track of all your clients and prospective clients in one place. There are loads of options out there and you'll want to evaluate the CRMs that cater to small businesses. And no, Excel doesn't count. Then identify your sales goals, how much revenue do you need and how many products do you need to sell to hit that target? When you're starting your business, it's tempting to do everything yourself, including taking on sales. However, making that first sales hire is crucial to scaling. You need someone dedicated to understanding your buyer and selling to them full time. Efficiency is key. Put together a sales process. That way you spend less time pouring through records and calling the wrong prospects and more on strategy and actual selling. Keep your customers happy. Getting net new customers in the door is important, but retaining them is just as important. You can't ignore customers once you've closed them. You have to take care of them, give them stellar customer service and nurture them to become fans of and even evangelists for your business. React quickly. Keep track of touch points with the individual customers, create feedback loops and create an FAQ page for your website. These are just some simple ways to keep customers happy. Number nine Fund the business. From the day you start building your business until the point where you can make a consistent profit, you need to finance your operation and growth with startup capital. Some founders can finance their business entirely on their own dime or through friends and family, which is called bootstrapping. This obviously gives the business owners a ton of flexibility for running the business, but it also means taking on a larger financial risk. And when family's involved, it can lead to awkward holiday dinner conversations if things go wrong Many founders need external startup capital to get their business off the ground if you're looking for a relatively small amount of money, say the investigation of a market opportunity or the development of the initial version of a product or service, then seed financing might be for you. Accelerators are highly competitive programs that typically typically involve applying and then competing against other startups in a public pitch event or demo day. In addition to winning funding and seed capital, winners of these programs are also rewarded with mentorship and educational programs. If you have a really rock solid plan for how you'll spend the money in place, then you might be able to convince a bank, a lender, a community development organization, or a micro lending institution to grant you a loan. You might ask yourself what about companies who that get funding through platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo? That's called crowdfunding, which is a newer way of funding a business. When it comes to venture capital, only a very small percentage of businesses are either fit for or have access to it. All the other methods described here are available to the vast majority of new businesses. Need some additional help starting a business? Click the link above to learn more. Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to like it and subscribe. Let me know how you're doing in the comments below.