Starting a business can sometimes be frustrating and overwhelming to say the least. Most of the time you know your vision for your business, but you just don't know where to start or even how to go about starting. Then there are the ones who have a vision go after the vision, but don't do the necessary steps to make it a legal business.

I will give a couple of steps that are essential in starting your legal small business below. The steps are places to start and will definitely need more research for your specific location of business as each state/county/city has different requirements.

First let me start by saying to keep all paperwork you get from any source (you never know when you may need something) and receipts associated with your business.

Create a business plan

• Do research on your type of business, see how others do the same type of business. Research pricing (how much you should charge, costs associated with running the business), need (what is the need for your business), customers (who will your clientele be), etc.

• Summarize your business how it looks now

• Plan a vision for how your business will be in the future

Register your business domains

• Make sure the domain you want to use is available

• Register your domain

• Create a business email either a google email or a more specific email using your new domain

• Having a domain will also be beneficial when developing your website (you can sometimes get a free domain when you pay for a year of your website subscription, however there are plenty of free website available as well)

Set up your business structure

• First, you will need to register with your state to set up a business structure (most of the time you can get an accountant, bookkeeping, or registered agent to assist you with this part)

• You will sometimes need to have a state license to operate certain business structures

• Once your registration comes back from your state, you will need to register for your EIN number (an accountant, bookkeeper, or registered agent can also assist you with this)

• You will then need to check with your city or county that you will be working to see if you will need to register your business through them as well to stay in compliance (may need a notary for this and can sometimes be done by your accountant, bookkeeper, or registered agent)

Ensure proper financial record keeping

• You will need some sort of record keeping for your business finances

• This is the time to think about getting a bookkeeper to assist you with different ways you may be able to keep track of financials depending on the type of business you have

• It is essential that you have something in place and a plan

• There are lots of accounting software to run reports to see how your business is growing or areas you may need to work on to help your business continue to succeed

Set up a business bank account

• Don’t use your personal account, even if you are just starting your business

• For start up cost I would suggest you use cash or prepaid credit cards

• Its essential to keep your business finances separate from your personal finances

• A business credit card, PayPal account, business Venmo, or business CashApp could also be useful (remember to keep business and personal separate)

Get business insurance

• No matter how small your business is you should have insurance

• Depending on the type of business you have depends on the type of insurance you need (a broker could help you with this decision and there are lots of resources online for small businesses insurance)

Register for taxes

• Organize your tax IDs and register with local, state and government tax officials

• Make sure to keep all your log ins for each organization and keep a record of all your IDs (you will need all of this information)

• Depending on your state, county, city, and if you will have employees, resale, etc will depend on the type of taxes you will need (an accountant, bookkeeper, or financial advisor can help you with this)

• It’s best to get all of these registrations done at the start of your business

This is a suggested list and outline to what is needed to start your business.

We would love to help you through all or some of these steps to help you get your business off the ground and running with great potential of success!

Published by: Brandy Baxley, Owner, Journey Group LLC

Original Publish Date 02/07/2023