How to Start a Business

Whether you’ve been planning in your head for years or have just decided to turn one of your hobbies into a small business, all businesses go through similar first steps. Starting your dream business may seem daunting—where do you even begin? You might feel overwhelmed by the number of things you have to do to get your dream going but know that you are already on your way. To help you get started and take some of the stress away from this beginning period, here are four crucial steps to starting a business—

Do Some Research

Before you start taking action, you’ll want to know what the playing field looks like first. Doing some research into your prospective market will help you determine what your business needs to offer, and where it may fit into this market. Study similar businesses in your area to understand potential competition and to see what might be lacking. Find existing business plans in your market to get an idea of how you can move forward. The more you know about your desired market and all it entails, the more prepared you will be to create a strong plan and, someday, a successful business.

Create a Strong Business Plan

Once you’ve done your research, you can start constructing your business plan. The business plan is a written outline of what your business aims to achieve, how you’re going to achieve these goals, and what you need to achieve them. Make sure to use what you learned from your market research in your business plan. This plan needs to be thorough and well-thought-out, so it will most likely take a few drafts to create the best version possible. This plan will help you organize all you need to do to move forward in your business. Make sure to keep it handy through all stages of creating your business as a kind of checklist.

Don’t be afraid to revise if needed!

Pick a Location and a Structure

Part of starting your business is understanding how it will be presented to the world. Are you planning to have a brick-and-mortar location? Will it only be online? Will you be doing pop-up locations? These are important things to consider that can also help you decide how much funding you need later. In addition to your business location, you also need to decide on a structure. Is your business going to be an LLC, a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, or another type of establishment? Do your research on each of these types to determine which one best represents your business. Knowing your business structure lets you know what to register under, as well as how much you’ll have to pay in taxes and how much liability you’ll have in your company.

Secure Funding

Throughout the whole process of starting your business, you’re going to need to consider funding. When planning, think about each element that will require funds. Your storefront, your production, your licensing, your marketing campaigns, and many other parts of your business are going to need to be paid for outright. Securing funding for your business can be done through a number of different outlets—you might have the money on hand now, but if you don’t, there’s no need to worry. Working with your bank, you can secure commercial loans to help you get started. This is one of the most important steps in starting your business, as it can alter how you go about bringing your business dreams to fruition.

When starting a business, one of the hardest parts is coming up with the idea. Congratulate yourself; you’ve made it this far! It can be daunting to think of everything you need to to start your dream business, but don’t let it discourage you. To help you with funding and advice, 1st Advantage Bank offers personalized business banking solutions and commercial lending services. We will get to know you and your business personally in order to help you make the best financial decisions possible. Though our

in-person location is in St. Peters, MO, we have clients all over the country and can help you from anywhere. We are dedicated to helping you make your business vision a reality. For more information about our business banking and commercial lending services, visit this page.  Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender