Small Business Startup Tips - How to get Started

So maybe you've had dreams of being your own boss and living the life of an entrepreneur, making your own decisions and doing something that you love. Startups are alive and well even in this economy, more and more unemployed individuals are making the step toward starting their own small businesses rather than continue looking for work in a struggling job market. Stats show that 2009 proved to be a popular year for start-ups, with the rate of new entrepreneurs increasing by 3.5% as compared to the previous year.

Here are some easy to follow steps to help you build a startup success.

Create a Life Plan - Before you get into business, you must know who you are, what you're all about, and what you want to do with your life as this will determine the type of business you get into. Life planning includes understanding your skills, passions, desires, how you want to spend your time, and what your practical realities are. When you know all of this, you are then ready to start thinking about the business that is right for you.

Business Model - There are a lot of options out there and you should explore them. You can choose a part time endeavor while you have a day job, or an online business such as an amazon store, or become a franchisee of a proven formula. Your business model will suit your life plan and those realities that you seek.

Business Plan - Your business plan will distill down the key strategies and the key resources that you need, such as what management you need in place, what kind of money you're going need, how you will develop customers and ramp up revenue over time, and marketing strategies. Your plan doesn't have to be completely structured for internal purposes, but if you are presenting it to a bank or investors your plan has to be more formalized.

Structure your Business - A structure for your business is there to make sure you're protected and that your business activity is optimized to your benefit, an "LLC" is a common structure these days. You might also want to have an "S" or a "C" corporation. These kind of options are available to you and you should consult an attorney and accountant to figure out the best structure for you. Do not go down the road too far as a sole proprietor without having a structure, this will leave you very exposed.

This is about laying the ground work for future success, once you get all these things done, then you can start building your assets, start getting funding, hire employees, etc.