Last year, Texas continued its trend of claiming a lead spot in CNBC’s Top 5 States for Businesses rankings due to its secure economy (2nd largest in the US and top ranking for growth), talented workforce and low cost of doing business.
As an ideal place to start a business, it is important for prospective entrepreneurs to understand what they need to establish early in order to lay strong foundations for their new business. This article will discuss the initial steps to do so, though more information can be found at a resource linked later in the document.
Choose The Right Business Idea
Before an entrepreneur can make any other steps towards owning their own business they must first think of the right idea for it. It is often optimal to choose an idea that revolves around your skills, interests and goals – as all these factors will help you as an owner to stay inspired when the business is going through challenging times, which it almost certainly will in its early stages.
To get started on brainstorming ideas it can be helpful to look at the most popular businesses in Texas. Comprehensive lists of ideas for small businesses can also be found online and are extremely useful for these use cases.
Form A Business Plan
Few successful businesses have been built without careful planning. When starting a business, you should complete the following steps at the minimum.
Business Name
Coming up with a name for your business can be quite tricky and time-consuming. Ideally the name should be consistent with your branding and vision for the business, as well as being easy to remember and pronounce. The name must also be compliant with Texas’s name regulations. You can use this website to help make the process of generating a name easier.
Business Location
Regardless of whether you will open a store for your business or work from home, you need to be aware of where your business will be located. Starting a business in Texas requires knowledge of the type of permits and licensing this state requires in order for your business to get up and running. On top of this, where your business is located can – to some extent – determine its growth potential; thankfully Texas is the top ranking state for growth.
Business Plan
An effective business plan does not merely help with its organization in the early stages of its life – they are intended to be used to help in the acquisition of lending and other important landmarks.
There are many resources online that can aid in the process of drafting a business plan but to give you some ideas to get started there are a few main ingredients that make a good one. These include: product development, sales and marketing and financial planning.
Get Funding
Businesses require money, it’s as simple as that. What is less simple for entrepreneurs to figure out is how to acquire this funding. Before reviewing the options it is important to have resolved several tasks including: working out your business’s costs and using this to create a financial plan.
There are several financing options available to new business startups: bootstrapping (the DIY route), friends and family, small business loans and small business grants.
Choose A Business Structure
Business structures are divided into two broad categories: formal and informal. Formal refers to LLCs and corporations, whereas informal is made up of general partnerships and sole proprietorships. Registering your business as a formal legal entity has two main advantages: it increases the credibility of your startup and protects you from personal liability for business debts.
Final Thoughts
While these steps are a good place to get your business up and running strong they are not a comprehensive plan. Other steps to be aware of in future include registering your business in Texas, setting up business banking and accounting, getting insurance, permits and licenses and hiring employees.
All of this information and more can be found on the helpful resources of The Really Useful Information Company’s (TRUiC) website.
