The Brief and Only Business Startup Checklist You’ll Ever Need
In 2021, over 5.4 million applications were filed to form new businesses in the United States. That was the most of any recorded year. Those startups would have had to go through many steps to operate.
Perhaps you want to create your startup but don’t know where to begin. Luckily for you, we can go over a business startup checklist we put together.
Read on to learn about the crucial steps to becoming a small business owner.
Business Startup Checklist
There are a lot of things to add to a business startup checklist. Here they are:
- Identify your business
- Seek investors if needed (family, friends, angels, bank, gov)
- Have a business plan
- Acquire EIN (Employer Identification Number)
- Lease an office or store location if needed
- Set up accounting
- Acquire a domain for business email
- Set up a website
- Acquire licenses and permits if needed
But let’s go over the main topics in the checklist below.
Name and Type of Business
You always want to identify a unique name that relates to what you are offering and must determine what type of business you’ll be running. Do you know your product and services and who they’re aimed at?
Will your business be an LLC (limited liability company), sole proprietorship, or corporation? A corporation would be too big for a startup, so it’s best to look into an LLC or sole proprietorship.
An LLC offers benefits where your accounts and expenses are separate from the company. So if any legal issues happen with your business, your personal accounts are not involved. If you want to learn more about the ins and outs of forming an LLC, you can check out company incorporation singapore.
But for a sole proprietorship, everything is on your personal accounts and records. So if anything happens to your business, it affects you directly.
These are some things to think about when deciding on a business structure.
Always Have a Plan
A small business owner like you will have a lot to handle. How do you plan on making money? How many employees will you have, and how do you plan on hiring advanced roles like marketing, legal, or IT?
Maybe you can do some of those advanced roles yourself, but that could be something to think about if you plan to make room for expanding.
Apply for an Employer Identification Number
To have business ownership, you must apply for an EIN with the IRS before opening your company and hiring employees. Generally, every company in the United States must have an EIN for tax purposes. This way, it’s easier to identify who you are and what business you’re operating.
So, it’s best to get on top of that and not get behind on taxes.
Get Your Money Accounts in Order
For everything relating to your startup, you should open up a business bank account. This is so your personal funds don’t get mixed up with the business and makes it easier to handle money.
If you don’t have experience with accounting, you can always hire another company to handle it. A good example of accounting and bookkeeping services can be eSenshi. Companies like this can offer smart management for all things related to money.
Start Your Business and Learn More
Business ownership is easier with a business startup checklist. It includes going over a name and type of business you want and having a business plan.
It would be best if you also got an EIN before you start operating your startup. After that, having your money accounts in order is crucial to having a healthy small business.
If you find this information helpful for your future business, check out our other useful business-related blogs.
