Starting a New Business Right Now? 5 Things to Do Before You Launch

Welcome back to Small Business Straight Talk, a weekly newsletter covering small business topics and highlighting the best small business resources. I am the editor of CO— by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. You can sign up for CO—’s newsletter here and follow us on LinkedIn here. 

Jeanette Mulvey is a passionate advocate for small business and the Executive Director of Content for CO— by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Follow CO— on Instagram!

Who would be brave enough to start a business during a pandemic? A lot of people, as it turns out. Some, like Greg Bryon, co-founder of Pasta Packs, saw opportunity in the pandemic. Others, like Ashley Haynes, founder of Learning Leaf Child Development Centers, had been planning her startup for years and, despite its opening coinciding with a global pandemic, she persevered. 

I’ll be interviewing Ashley and Greg tomorrow, along with Ramon Ray, founder of Smart Hustle Media, and Charlie O’Donnell, founder of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, to hear about how they started their businesses and get some advice from Ramon and Charlie on how to best find your customer and how to pitch your business to investors. You can sign up here to join us. 

If you’re thinking of starting a new business right now, here are five big things to do early on.

Ask for input: Sometimes, when you have a great business idea, you’re almost afraid to ask for other people’s takes on it. It’s hard to hear from folks who don’t love your idea. But, early in the game, it’s really important that you do. If your prospective customers don’t see a need or desire for your business, it’s time to go back to the drawing board - before you invest time and money in something that just won’t work. First, do some market research and figure out who your customers are and what they want. You can do that informally or you can set up some focus groups and test your ideas. Lastly, before you get started, focus on how you’ll go about building a loyal customer base who will keep coming back and evangelize your business for you. 

Lay the groundwork: Deciding what business entity is right for your business is a decision that you’ll be living with for a long time, so be sure you choose the one that’s right for you. Here’s how to decide. And if you’re considering starting a non- or not-for-profit, you’ll have some additional decisions to make because there are a lot more nonprofit designations than you might think (27, in fact)! You can figure out which one makes sense for your business here. 

If you think you want to start a business that gives back (even if it’s for profit) here’s a step-by-step guide to starting a socially responsible business. And if you’re a minority, Black, woman or veteran-owned business, check out what you have to do to get certified. It’s good for business and will open up opportunities, too. You can learn more about that here. 

Get your books in order: There’s no greater gift a new business owner can give to themselves than getting their bookkeeping in order from day one. No matter how small your business is in the beginning, it’s much easier to get your books set up properly in the beginning than to try to go back and fix things later. With that in mind, here’s a guide on how to set up your small business accounting properly from the start. And even if you have an accountant and a bookkeeper (here’s how to know which you need), you’ll want to be sure to know at least some basic accounting for yourself. Here are 17 accounting terms every small business owner should know. (Break-even point is my favorite.)

Pick your platform: It’s easy for early-stage startups to focus a lot of attention on social media because there’s no better, cheaper way to reach your customers. One mistake brand-new startups make, however, is spreading themselves too thin on social media and losing focus on where their target customer lives digitally. With that in mind, be sure you focus your efforts and resources on the platforms that make the most sense for you - especially in the early days when your time is precious and you’re likely to be operating very lean. If you’re not sure which platforms are right, here’s a guide to get started on building your social media strategy. 

And even if you’re a social media pro, you might want to check out some of the newest platforms for promoting your business including TikTok, Clubhouse and Facebook Shops. 

Get ready to pivot: No matter how solid your plan, you will undoubtedly encounter unforeseen circumstances that will require you to regroup. (Global pandemic, anyone?) Be ready to have a backup plan and be flexible if you need to make changes to your strategy, product or pricing. Here are four smart ways to pivot your business model when the unexpected happens. And here are some permanent changes small businesses can expect to see post-pandemic. It’s never too early to prepare your business to adapt. 

Lastly, it’s good to remind yourself of why you decided to start a business in the first place. Focus on your strengths and keep in mind that these are the things that will carry you through tough times. Here’s what researchers say are the top talents of successful entrepreneurs. And here’s a breakdown of the traits that make businesses successful, too.