Thinking of Starting Your Own Business? Follow These 3 Tips

Do you feel ready (or prepared) to start your own business? While some entrepreneurs take the plunge and try to figure things out as they go, others get so bogged down analyzing every detail that they never start. The sweet spot is usually found somewhere in between—with thoughtful planning and action. Follow these three tips and you’ll be a lot closer to getting your business off the ground.

Come up with your business idea.

Sometimes the things we love to do aren’t necessarily great business ideas. Your business concept should incorporate what you enjoy doing, of course—but it also needs to be something you are good at doing and can be profitable. Since successful businesses are those that fulfill a customer need, solve a problem, or improve an existing product or service, you may want to think about (and physically write out) answers to questions, such as:

What are you good at? (Include your skills and expertise.)

What is something you can do to make it easier for other people?

What do people come to you for advice about?

How can you improve something for someone else?

Is your market underserved in a particular product or service?

Also, conversely: What don’t you like to do?

Write out your business plan.

Think of your business plan as a tool that illustrates to other people (including lenders and potential business partners and investors) how you will structure, run and grow it. Traditional business plans are detailed and thorough, which is often needed to secure funding or get buy-in from investors. While there’s no right or wrong way to write a business plan, the Small Business Administration (sba.gov) suggests using some combination of the following nine sections for a traditional plan. ??

?1.?????? Executive summary

Briefly tell your reader what your company is and why it will be successful. Include your mission statement, your product or service, and basic information about your company’s leadership team, employees, and location. You should also include financial information and high-level growth plans if you plan to ask for financing.

?2.?????? Company description

Use your company description to provide detailed information about your company. Go into detail about the problems your business solves. Be specific, and list out the consumers, organizations, or businesses your company plans to serve.

Explain the competitive advantages that will make your business a success. Are there experts on your team? Have you found the perfect location for your store? Your company description is the place to boast about your strengths.

3.?????? Market analysis

You'll need a good understanding of your industry outlook and target market. Competitive research will show you what other businesses are doing and what their strengths are. In your market research, look for trends and themes. What do successful competitors do? Why does it work? Can you do it better? Now's the time to answer these questions.

?4.?????? Organization and management

Tell your reader how your company will be structured and who will run it.

Describe the legal structure of your business. State whether you have or intend to incorporate your business as a C or an S corporation, form a general or limited partnership, or if you're a sole proprietor or limited liability company (LLC).

Use an organizational chart to lay out who's in charge of what in your company. Show how each person's unique experience will contribute to the success of your venture. Consider including resumes and curriculum vitae (CVs) of key members of your team.

5.?????? Service or product line

Describe what you sell or what service you offer. Explain how it benefits your customers and what the product lifecycle looks like. Share your plans for intellectual property, like copyright or patent filings. If you're doing research and development for your service or product, explain it in detail.

6.?????? Marketing and sales

There's no single way to approach a marketing strategy. Your strategy should evolve and change to fit your unique needs.

Your goal in this section is to describe how you'll attract and retain customers. You'll also describe how a sale will actually happen. You'll refer to this section later when you make financial projections, so make sure to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales strategies.

7.?????? Funding request

If you're asking for funding, this is where you'll outline your funding requirements. Your goal is to clearly explain how much funding you’ll need over the next five years and what you'll use it for.

Specify whether you want debt or equity, the terms you'd like applied, and the length of time your request will cover. Give a detailed description of how you'll use your funds. Specify if you need funds to buy equipment or materials, pay salaries, or cover specific bills until revenue increases. Always include a description of your future strategic financial plans, like paying off debt or selling your business.

8.?????? Financial projections

Supplement your funding request with financial projections. Your goal is to convince the reader that your business is stable and will be a financial success.

If your business is already established, include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for the last three to five years. If you have other collateral you could put against a loan, make sure to list it now.

Provide a prospective financial outlook for the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and capital expenditure budgets. For the first year, be even more specific and use quarterly — or even monthly — projections. Make sure to clearly explain your projections, and match them to your funding requests.

This is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business.?

9.?????? Appendix

Use your appendix to provide supporting documents or other materials where specially requested. Common items to include are credit histories, resumes, product pictures, letters of reference, licenses, permits, patents, legal documents, and other contracts.

Get support for your business.

Getting your business finances in order is crucial, and one of the first steps is opening a business bank account. This account should be with a bank that not only supports local community businesses but also offers personalized services and fosters strong community connections. Peoples Bank is an excellent choice for entrepreneurs. Known for its commitment to local businesses, Peoples Bank provides entrepreneurs with the valuable resources and support needed to thrive. Their expertise in problem-solving and connection to other community leaders makes them a trusted partner for any new business venture. Visit PeoplesBankNC.com or call 877-802-1212 to learn more.