Deciding to open a business is so much more than just deciding to sell a product or do a specific service and then doing it while charging people money. You have to be confident in your ability to complete the service, well enough for someone to want to pay you to do it because they can't do it for themselves. Believe me, that takes a lot of confidence. You don't want to sell a mediocre service. You want to obtain repeat customers and one form of FREE and POWERFUL advertising- Word of Mouth. The all-mighty recommendation will carry you further than anything else.
More things you have to do are pick a name (we've been over that before), register that name, set up your tax identification, and so much more. You have to pick marketing strategies and advertising. Another big thing to figure out is if you can be a sole proprietorship or if you need a partner to invest.
When I opened my own business, I was lost. I had no idea what to do. When I filed my first year's taxes I had to amend them because I did them wrong. So, here I am, 5 years later, trying to help anyone else as much as I can.
Service
If you are going to sell a service you have to pick one that either you can manage people to produce that service or be able to complete that service on your own. You have to pick a location for your base. Are you going to conduct work in one location or are you available to travel to other states to conduct business?
In the event of a sales tax nexus, you will need a professional to help you make sure you get the right things done. You don't want to get audited or have to amend everything like I had to. It is such a pain!
Do you have an office?
Do you offer a service that will serve in a brick and mortar setting? If you are dealing with people one-on-one you will want to have a professional area designed to help customers and potential clients feel comfortable and confident in giving their hard-earned dollars to you. Make sure you have tangible evidence of completed works to "show off" your accomplished works. A before and after themed college would be awesome.
Are you based online?
If you are an online service you will want to have a fast loading and easy to navigate website. You will want to have your offerings marked clearly so they know what to expect. You have to think about the person that is looking at the website. They came to the site to see if you can give them what they are looking for.
If you are selling a product, make sure you list what you are selling clearly. Have a search bar so your visitors can see it easily.
Example:
You sell wooden clocks. Someone wanting to purchase a wooden clock shaped like a cat will search cat clock or something similar to that. Make sure your listings will come up if they don't use the right tags. What if they search "swishing eyes wooden clock with a tail" or something that doesn't come right up on the search? If you don't have a great website they will miss your colorful collection of cat clocks that eyes and tail move.
I hope this post helps with any ideas that you may be having for starting up your own personal business. It's a lot of work but totally worth it!!
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