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Many people daydream of starting a business without ever contemplating everything that goes into that process. Entrepreneurship requires more than a great idea and passion. It also requires thoughtful planning and research to succeed since statistics show that 20% of businesses fail within their first year. Here are tips to help you get started.

1. Creating the Right Legal Entity

To protect your personal financial interests, it is wise to create a legal entity under which to operate your business. There are several entities to choose from, including:

• Sole proprietorship
• Limited partnership
• Limited liability partnership
• Limited liability company
• Corporation ( C corp or S corp)

Each type of business provides its founders with different advantages. Those advantages include limiting personal liability for owners and tax incentives. Check up on the regulations in your state to gain a full understanding of the various types of business structures before deciding which is right for you.

2. Securing Funding

Before you can secure funding from outside sources (anyone other than yourself), you need to know how much money you need to get your company off the ground. In your estimate for funding, include items such as:

• Office space and equipment
• Salaries
• Web design
• Market research
• Product development
• Insurance

Once you have developed a figure for the amount of capital you need, you must determine whether you can supply the cash yourself. If you cannot, you must either seek outside investors or loans. If you have solid credit and assets to back a loan, it is possible that a traditional lending institution will approve one for you. However, if you lack credit and assets, you may need to look into attracting investors.

3. Marketing Your Services

If no one knows your business exists, you will be hard-pressed to find customers. Create buzz about your company’s launch by getting the word out in your local area. Additionally, be sure to advertise your grand opening on social media getting as many people to share your information as possible. Make use of stunning visuals to engage your customers on a deeper level. Video is one of today’s preferred mediums and will be a sure hit with your target audience. Other ways to market your company include placing flyers locally, displaying your opening date in your storefront, and putting word of mouth out frequently.

Some people may feel unqualified to market their own company. If you fall into this category, consider employing key services, such as professional video editing services. You can also utilize a marketing agency to perform as many or few advertising functions as you deem necessary.

4. Hiring the Right People

One person cannot run a business alone so you will need to employ staff with the appropriate expertise. Though it can be costly, one source recommends hiring from the top down. This entails hiring executives and management first. One rationale for shelling out a chunk of your hard-earned capital is that leaders can assist you in taking the business in the direction of your choosing. Once you develop your policies with fellow leaders you can hire support staff to put those guidelines to good use.

Since you will be working with executives on a frequent basis, ensure that you select people you get along well with. Further, be sure that your hires are well-qualified for the positions they will fill and that they understand your vision for the enterprise.

Dreaming of starting a business is much easier than actually doing it. Nearly anyone can launch a company with the right idea, research, and dedication.

Image via Pexels

About the author: Elijah Dawson created lookforjobshere.com while he was furloughed from his retail management job at the beginning of the pandemic. With many still looking for work, he hopes his site will assist and motivate them as they look for their next big opportunity.