How To Start A Business : Complete Guide To Start From Scratch

Of course, we recommend studying and researching. Starting a business is not a game. It requires an investment of time, energy, knowledge, and money. None of this can be wasted.

But before we start, some tips for starting a business

To start a business follow these tips:

• Make sure you understand the commitment that starting a business requires and what it means for your professional and private life.
• Find the resources you need and make sure you have access to them.
• Identify your fixed expenses and make sure you can cover them.
• Be realistic in estimating how long it will take for your business to become profitable.
• Have a ‘ business plan ‘, and continually update it as you go. You will be surprised by how your business evolves.

What kind of person can start a business and become an entrepreneur?

Anyone can start a business by becoming an entrepreneur. Each individual should carefully study her business plan to ensure that she has the right qualities and resources to undertake. For example, to start a retail business, the business skills, knowledge, and capital required are very different from those needed to open a franchise.

Purchasing a franchise from a reputable brand and its proven business model requires a very different approach than launching a new business with an unknown brand.

Am I the right person to start a business and make it successful?

If you have a great business idea, with the best location and everything financed, your biggest obstacle may be that you have never done this kind of thing before. Do not be overwhelmed, if you meet the following aspects, you have a high chance of being a successful entrepreneur:

• Effort and courage. Is not easy. You will face a severe test, not only professionally, but also in your private life. If you mess up, you can end up in a worse financial situation than you were in before you started. How to reduce the risk? Answer these questions: will there be a market for my business idea? Will I have access to the necessary resources? Am I the right person not only to start this business but also to make it a successful business?

• money. Starting a business without the necessary resources is difficult and sometimes impossible. In the current state of the world economy, access to finance is more difficult than ever. Also, advice on how to access them varies widely. To help you read the point on how to start a business without money in this guide.
• luck. An old popular saying goes “create your own luck”. However, we must not forget that luck is not always on our side. Some companies fail, not because their leaders are wrong or because the product is bad, but because they have been involved in a succession of misfortunes. Waiting for luck to fill in the gaps in your new business is unreasonable, however, you can be prepared to take advantage of any opportunity that comes your way.

How to start a business step by step

To start a business organization is essential. That is why here we offer you a guide that can be very useful to you. You will learn which business can work for you, and financing possibilities, among other useful tips and resources that will help you prioritize the most important tasks.

1. Find the idea you would like to launch

Some entrepreneurs have decided to embark on the adventure of starting a business after finding an idea. However, others have not found any ideas that might work. Although no one can say what the ideal business is for another person if we can help you or guide you on your way:

1. Your business must be an area in which you feel comfortable and familiar. That is a field that you know.

2. Your skills must already be developed in that profile. It’s not training time, at least for you, it’s practice time.

3. Your goal is to sell. So make sure that the business you choose has a market willing to buy your products or services.

4. You can search for new niches  It is not necessary to rediscover gunpowder. Just look at the big companies in a given industry, identify what’s missing, and find a way to fill that gap.

Our advice  If you think you’ve found a truly original and unique idea for starting a business, make sure you protect your ideas  Contact a body that protects intellectual property works.

2. Prepare a business plan

It’s about sitting down and thinking about your business. We are talking about creating a document that can have up to thirty pages and that includes all the ideas you have to start a business. It describes your objectives strategies, investment projections, what offers you offer clients, and market competition. In addition,
it outlines the steps that must be carried out to achieve the goals and objectives.

The business plan is essential if you want to convince investors, organizations, banks, business angels, etc. to make a loan of money. Your personality and ability to convince will play a big role, but it is the business plan that determines if they believe enough in your project to risk their money. The priority is to have a short “executive summary” that summarizes your plan in two pages. This gives potential investors a quick overview of what you offer and why your business idea is viable.

A typical business plan should cover the first three years to demonstrate that you have the ambition and long-term vision. The first year should be detailed, accurate, and focused on revenue. Years 2 and 3 will necessarily be more speculative since you will be using the data from the first year to adjust your plans.

Benefits of making a good business plan

1. Reduce emergency handling  In preparing a business plan it is possible to anticipate many problems and prepare solutions in advance.

2. A business plan forces you to justify your plans and actions. The preparation of a business plan forces you to demonstrate the validity of an action or idea.

3. It allows you to make some mistakes on paper, and not once you start the business.

4. It will look like a compromise indicator  A well-prepared business plan is an impressive document. It shows third parties, lenders, and vendors, that you understand the business.

Designing a business plan is essential. It can be the difference between seeing your company in operation or only in your plans. There are different ways to make a business plan. You can even make a business plan on a single page

3. Market and competition study

This point tries to be very clear about your strengths, but also those areas in which you are weakest. The reason? Well, it is time to place your business in an environment in which you must take into account who your potential customers are  as well as your rivals

By doing a market study, you will learn about market trends the competitors you will face your potential customers, etc. The objective here is to know the environment in which your business will evolve, and minimize the risk of failure. This step also raises questions about the product, its qualities, and its competitive advantage. If your idea is innovative and has no market, try to make it as practical as possible and compete with the advice of experts in the field.

If you don’t want to spend too much money on this step, you can choose to use some free tools. With them, you can do some market research to start a business:

1. Google AdWords  Keyword Planner. This free tool allows us to know the number of monthly searches in the Google search engine for all the keywords (business ideas) that you have in mind.

2. Discussion forums  Search for your niche by typing “business idea forum” into Google. When searching through the forums you will find different elements:

• The number of people in these forums, and the number of active members (potential consumers).
• The number of messages.
• The sections of the forum, and which are the most active.
• The concerns and problems they face.

This will give you the vision to start a business that is of interest to users.

4. Target market segmentation

A great idea can become a profitable business if people are willing to pay for the product or service offered.

• First of all, you must segment the target market to which you will offer the product or service. Do you have plans to sell to the young or the elderly? Does your product primarily target women, men, or both genders? Are you going to sell to individuals, companies ( outsourcing ), or the government?
• Once you know who to sell to, you need to determine the price the target market would pay for your product or service.
• If you determine that people are interested in your product or service, but they would not be willing to pay for it, you can consider other business models. Some companies, especially in the service sector, offer their services for free or cheap but can make money through other means such as advertising and marketing

5. Location

Choosing where to locate your business is a key step and directly participates in the chances of success of a business.

Probably, like many other companies in the modern world, you have determined that the Internet is the perfect place to carry out your company. If so, you just have to buy a domain and hosting  Afterward, everything will be ready to create your own website and start a business on the digital platform.

Now, it is also possible that, after a detailed elaboration and discussion of the business plan, you have realized that the best thing for you is to look for a location at a specific point within the city.

In this case, determining which is a good place largely depends on your customers. You must choose a space through which the public to whom your service is directed passes. Of course, it must meet other characteristics inherent to any business: good size, ventilation, lighting, adequate decoration, and accessibility. For this last requirement, make sure that customers can access it through public and private transport, and of course, enable parking spaces

6. Financing

Financing is by far the biggest challenge for many startups. At this time the viability of your business will be put to the test. It is time to make calculations and, above all, with economic thinking assess whether your entrepreneurial initiative is really attractive.

You probably need sponsors and investors from other areas. Now is when you should think about this and seek the necessary help. These are some forms of financing:

• Bank loan. This is a sum made available to the company by a financial institution with the obligation to pay according to a predefined time.
• Venture capital or entrepreneurial capital. It is from a person or entity that invests in a new company, with good development potential, to make a profit on the subsequent resale of securities.
• Leasing  Under a lease, also called rent-to-own, the company owns the property purchased with borrowed money for the duration of the contract. This is a simple lease with a promise of sale at the end of the lease.
• Financial leasing. This is a lease with no option to buy.

7. Legal constitution

Finding the right structure for your business depends on a series of factors: the type of business to set up, the evolution, the risks, the status of the leader, the capital, and the number of people involved.

Let’s see some mercantile companies in some Latin American countries beware the data is not exact for each country. This is a very delicate step, you should seek the advice of a professional, ideally an experienced accountant. The support of a lawyer is also recommended for projects that require complex arrangements:

8. Register your business

Your company name will become your long-term identity. It is important that you first choose a name that will have a positive impact on you and your customers.

Choosing your business name is important because with it your business will face the market and your competitors. It allows, firstly, to identify your company and, secondly, to distinguish it from other companies in the market. In addition, the name or brand of the company must be entered in all official documents related to its professional activity (invoices, purchase orders, business cards…).

In principle, the choice of a rade name is free. However, you must make sure that the chosen name is not registered by any other person.

You can also pre-check if a name is in use using Internet search engines.

9. Create a logo for your business

Creating a logo for the business is a very important step for entrepreneurs. The logo is the visual identity of a project. Here are some key points that will help you in creating your logo:

• It must attract attention.
• Recognizable, legible, and easily identifiable.
• Significant. Your agency should make relevant creative proposals for you to avoid any confusion or similarity with other existing logos.
• It must be memorable, simple, and allow instant identification.
• Durable. Your company logo must be able to last at least 10 years.
• It should be easily applicable to all media.

10. Request license

Before opening your doors, make sure to request the corresponding license. The steps you need to take will depend on the type of company and the laws of the country. For example, if you want to start a food business, you must acquire a health license and a permit to sell alcohol.

To be fully informed on this subject, go to the ministry, town hall, or office that is related to your business idea.

11. Business Insurance is essential when starting a business. This may include ensuring your company, your income, and your business risk. Getting the right insurance will help protect your business and minimize your risk exposure

The types of insurance needed to run your business will vary depending on:

• The type of business.
• The business structure.
• The size of your business.
• The niche or sector to which it belongs.

There will also be certain types of insurance that are mandatory:

• Workers compensation insurance. If you employ people in your business
• Third-party personal accident insurance. For any vehicle you own.
• Liability insurance. For certain types of businesses.

12. Commercial policy or business rules

Commercial policy is a global strategy in a company. Business rules define which direction to go in a given situation.

Examples of business rules:

• Let’s imagine the scenario of a financial institution that has specific rules for its internal processes. A business rule may be (in this restrictive case) that customers under 18 years of age cannot access loans. This is a classic example of a business rule and its application.

The necessary policies in any business are:

• Prices.
• Payment conditions.
• Warranty.
• Discounts.
• Customer service.

13. Accounting obligations

The entrepreneur, whether a natural or legal person, must keep mandatory accounting. Any registered company is subject to a tax regime. Your accounting requirements are different depending on the size and accounting treatment of the company. The accounts that must appear in the electronic or paper documents are the daily or accounting book (chronological record of all transactions: purchases, sales, etc.), the general ledger (which brings together all the accounts: assets, liabilities, and equity ), and the inventory book (elements of assets and liabilities of the company).

Note  You must have an accountant to benefit from the technical knowledge and advice of the legal and regulatory environment.

14. Logistics

You already know what you want. Now is the time to put it into practice  What strategies will you follow to achieve the distribution of your offers? How will you manage publicity?… These are some of the issues that you must take into account so that your business idea works.

15. Rental or purchase of the premises

Companies that cannot or do not want to buy their commercial premises can resort to renting. The following are different types:

• Single rental. Is the most usual way. An entrepreneur rents only professional premises and pays all rental costs.
• Shared. Shared rental is booming. In these premises, several tenants divide the operating costs:
• rental.
• electricity.
• Internet.
• telephone.

Many SMEs and large companies already installed prefer to own their premises. However, a modality of shared workspaces, highly demanded in recent years, are coworking spaces. Both small and large companies have chosen to move to these premises, thanks to the benefits of these collaborative spaces.

16. Decoration of your premises

A company is a workplace, but also a second home. This is where employees spend most of their day and where they greet your customers. Decorate your new business to make it a nice and welcoming place for staff. That reflects the identity of the place, its personality, and its vocation. Here are some tips for decorating your business:

• Check out some decorating agencies. A specialized body will listen to you and interpret your needs, your tastes in decoration, and the optimization of your space. You can participate in the selection of the necessary materials: quality, colors, decoration elements (paintings, plants…), etc.
• Don’t go over budget. It is not necessary to buy the most expensive objects on the market to achieve good decoration. Get several quotes before making your choice.

17. Suppliers

Another question you should ask yourself is if you need suppliers. A supplier is a person or organization that offers a product or service to another company. Perhaps, you make your products yourself or you are enough to offer the service. If so, you do not need providers. Otherwise, if you need to acquire merchandise from other people or companies, it is time to start interacting with them. Finding a reliable supplier that offers competitive prices is vital to the success of your business.

The conditions to be negotiated with your supplier should be based on:

• How to pay: bank draft, credit cards, foreign currency.
• Potential costs: administration, taxes, transport, and payment transactions.
• Possible risks: supplier late payment, defective, late, or undelivered goods.

Tips to improve the supplier-company relationship:

• Get to know the people who will manage your consumption and make sure they can be easily contacted.
• Ask them questions about their development or expansion plans.
• Help your suppliers by placing orders inpromptlyBe clear about deadlines and payment on time.
• Be alert to any business opportunities that you may pass on as part of a good customer-supplier relationship.
• Make your business matter to your suppliers. Some vendors may offer better deals if you promise to do business with them long-term. However, this could cause significant problems if they go bankrupt.

18. Employees

How to find trustworthy people for your company? The hiring of employees is a procedure that must be carried out with the utmost care. After all, your employees will be the ones running the business. Therefore, it is desirable to have people willing to participate in that growth.

• Define the desired profile. The first step in hiring a new employee is to know what type of profile you want for the vacancy. It begins by describing the functions that the future employee must perform. It especially highlights the responsibilities assigned to the vacancy, and the knowledge, and necessary skills that the candidates must possess. As well as your rights.
• Vacancy announcement. The next step is to advertise the vacancy in different media. Advertise the job offer in newspapers, specialized job board websites, job groups related to the job profile, and also on the company’s website and social media.
• Hiring. Provide details and benefits such as health insurance, food stamps, transportation vouchers, general insurance, possible salary, and bonuses. Explain the company’s salary policy, promotion policy, working hours, and company policy on absences.
• Training and qualification. Finally, it is time to develop the integration of the worker with the rest of the team. Let your new hire go through the job tasks a little at a time until he gets the hang of it.

19. Website Design

Today, creating a business website has become essential. Having a website will increase sales and get you more potential customers. These details should not be missing from your business website:

• Provide information: How to buy and how to contact you.
• Provide clear descriptions and prices of your product or service. Having a FAQ is a great idea.
• Include testimonials: Testimonials from your customers on your site are a great idea. A good experience from another person increases confidence when choosing a service or product.
• Incorporate basic SEO concepts. Optimizing a website for search engines is a complex topic. Essentially, this involves taking steps to ensure that your website ranks higher in search results than your competitor’s sites.

20. Opening Marketing Strategy

One of the last important steps you need to take to start a business is to plan a marketing strategy before, during, and after the opening of your business. This will allow you to attract customers and retain them.

Marketing before the opening:

• Movement attracts more movement. If there are no customers, no one will likely be encouraged to enter it. However, a crowded venue attracts more customers. The main advice in this area is to have a list of guests who attend the event and generate the first wave of clients. In addition to friends and family, several marketing techniques can build a fan base even before you open.
• Promotions help attract attention. The main objective is to attract the attention of customers who are near the premises and give them the news and invite them to the premises.

During and after opening:

• Collecting data from early customers could be a valuable thing. Since a successful grand opening broadcast can help bring in a huge wave of clients, why not take advantage of this moment to build a relationship with them? It can be through surveys or the collection of data such as the email and telephone of your customers. This can be a great way to keep the tide high after the wave generated by the inauguration.
• Be aware of external factors: new markets, new products, and new trends. Success and failure can be fickle elements. In a globalized market, new developments, ideas, and opportunities can arise overnight. It is important to be flexible, to follow what the competition is doing and what is influencing the market. You must be prepared to adjust your business and make it evolve.
• Create a social media marketing plan. Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks can help your company make its voice heard. They are ideal channels to promote your brand and allow customers to comment and make recommendations.

21. Inauguration of your new business

!! Congratulations!! Your business is ready! However, you still have a long way to go before this business becomes profitable. You will go through moments of doubt, frustration, and long nights of uncertainty. But, never give up or lose hope.

Requirements to create a company

Before we have discussed extensively all the steps to start a business. In summary, these are the basic requirements to create a company:

1. Define enrollment

As we already said, your company must be registered. Now, you must decide if the registration will be in the name of a natural person or a legal person. Yes, they are legal terms of which we provide you with the definition:

• Natural Person: Refers to any person who would be the sole owner of the business.
• Legal person: It is when several people come together. Each of them will perform different functions within the company.

2. License

To start any business activity, you need a license. The scope of this permit and where to acquire it depend on the country you are in.

3. Tributes

Taxes must be paid for the value added. In addition, natural persons will pay the Personal Income Tax and legal persons the Corporation Tax.

4. Human Resources

To hire employees, you must register the company with Social Security and open a Visit Book in your company.

How to start a business with no money

Sometimes you have the idea, but not the budget. And this is no reason for you to stop dreaming. The following tips on how to open a business with no money will prove it.

Don’t quit your job

It is a way to have income. Otherwise, you may find yourself without the funds to pay the bills, the mortgage, and a ton of debt on top of that. This situation will not help you with your entrepreneurial plans. Of course, you will have to work twice as much because you will have to fulfill your work and personal responsibilities, plus dedicate time to your business idea.

Also, keep in mind that if you plan to open a business you should not sign an employment contract that restricts your free time as much as possible or prevents you from earning extra income.

Create a business plan

Above we explain how to do it and why it is necessary. It doesn’t matter if you start with a little money or nothing, you always have to get organized. The more you prepare and anticipate what will happen, the better chance of success you will have.

Study the competition

You cannot enter the market or start a business blindly. Study all the businesses that have to do with your idea: those that have been successful and also those that have not. If you analyze what others have failed, you will not make the same mistakes. In addition, it examines how much they invest, how much they earn, and what those companies that have succeeded do to gain publicity. Can you do better than them? If the answer to this last question is yes, then you already have a large percentage of the road to success covered.

Test your ideas

Before you jump right into your business, put yourself to the test. Verify that your proposals are received by potential clients. For example, if you are going to open a daycare, first try to take care of your friend’s children or your family’s children. How do you get along with them? Are they comfortable with you? What can be improved?

Improve your skills

Once you know what kind of business you want to open, work hard to improve the skills that will be useful to you. Going back to the example of the nursery, it may be very helpful to read books or take online courses on child psychology. Also, you can improve yourself in profiles that every entrepreneur should know: economics, marketing, human resources…

Optimize your assets

If you are going to start from scratch, you must make the most of the resources that are already in your hands. Let’s stay in the nursery: your living room can be the first to receive the children and your car, the first in the company.

Ask for help from your friends or family

Yes, it’s time to talk money. At some point, your ideas will need financial support. You can turn to friends or relatives to obtain a loan. In any case, make sure that the conditions of this agreement are very clear to both parties.

You should also cover your back, in case the business fails. Thus, in the contract, there may be a clause that indicates that in the event of the company failing, you have a certain period to return the money.

Look for other sources of financing

There are government offers that support new entrepreneurs with loans to start a business. Of course, the particularities of the contract depend on the country. However, there are some more or less invariable requirements that your business idea must meet to access these loans:

• The field of activity is the country that grants the loan or in territories that belong to its domains.
• Having this offer is the only way to obtain financing.
• Ability to justify the amount of money to invest.
• Have no debts with the government.

How to start a home business

When it comes to making money, we create dissimilar alternatives: opening a home business is one of them. To do it successfully, we give you the following tips:

Identify your resources

You must be clear about what you have at hand. Those resources you can count on. We talk about money, energy, time, people, experience, and everything that can help you open a successful business.

Select the right business

Once you are clear about all the resources at your disposal, develop the business ideas that best suit your environment and possibilities.

Develop a business plan

It doesn’t matter where you want to start your business or what kind of entrepreneur you are. If you have in mind to open a company, you must design a plan. Above we detail everything you should consider when making it. Since your business is from home, you also have to pay special attention to the location of your home and the number of people who circulate in that area.

Be careful with the investment

You can’t throw all your money at your business idea. No matter how cool you think it is, you should always protect yourself. For that, you must be clear about where you need to start. From there, and depending on the earnings, you begin to invest more money.

Have a land use license

Normally, the houses have a land use license for residential purposes. That is, they are residences. To open a business in your home you must also obtain a commercial land license  This is very important because breaking the law would cause you big problems. So, get help from the relevant office in your area to get the necessary documents.

Mistakes when starting a business

We all make mistakes. Especially if we are newbies. Starting a business means taking risks and the risk increases the possibility of being wrong. That is why we offer you a list of mistakes that you should avoid if you have a business entrepreneurship initiative in mind.

Great investment and loans

Make sure you have enough capital to start a business. Don’t invest it all, walk slowly. First, test the terrain and when you start to step firmly, then you put a in little more money.

If you need investors or loans to start with, always try to acquire only the amount you need. Pay attention to the terms of the contracts.

Not doing market research

Market analysis is essential to understand the competition, potential customers, and advertising resources. Not doing them correctly can give you wrong ideas. Whether what you initially thought has a chance of success or not, is an answer that only keeps market research can give you.

Differentiate earnings and income

To be clear about numbers, you must know the difference between these two concepts. Revenue refers to the total money you earn from the sale of your product or service. Profit, on the other hand, is the capital that remains after paying bills, taxes, suppliers, etc…

Create a work team

Having workers is not enough, you need teamwork  Manage group activities that make individual tasks much easier and more bearable.

Ignore customer feedback

Even if your business starts to be successful, don’t fall into self-sufficiency. There is always room to improve. And the ones that can best tell you what your customers are like. Always keep an ear open for whatever they have to tell you. Their opinions, their complaints,  and their suggestions can be the difference between the success or failure of your business.

Final words

Starting a business can be exciting and intimidating at the same time. This requires a lot of work, a lot of preparation, research, and effort. However, remember that the world belongs to entrepreneurs. Modern times offer different ways to carry out your business idea. You can start it online or choose a point in the city to open it. You can create it from home and even start it with no money in your pocket.

The important thing is that it is possible. Starting a business growing economically, personally, and professionally is at your fingertips.