Welcome to StartUpPuppy’s Start-up Tips! We at StartUpPuppy.com are very passionate about the start-up process, and we want to share that passion with you. We will be posting tips and ideas on this page to help you with your own start-up. Also, if you have an idea that has proven useful to you, please share it with us by using the “Contact Us” page or by sending it to us at info@startuppuppy.com, Check back often to see what’s new!
Keep a Notebook or a Journal Handy
If you are in the formative stages of starting your own business (or even if you have already opened your doors for business), it is a good idea to keep a notebook handy to write down ideas as they occur to you. I have a notebook dedicated to ideas for StartUpPuppy.com, and I keep it close by. It is amazing how many good ideas you can get while discussing your business idea with a friend, or even a stranger. I find that if I don’t write things down right away, ideas or thoughts disappear before I get a chance to try them out. Of course, not every idea is a good one, but you never know which ideas will turn out to be money makers! Additionally, new ideas for your business help to keep things fresh and new in your mind, which helps keep your enthusiasm levels high.
Start Smart!
Here are some things to consider in the early stages of your start-up when you are trying to generate revenue and keep your start-up costs to a minimum:
1. If it is possible, use the tools and assets that you already have. For example, if you are stating a catering business, see if you can get through your first couple of jobs using the utensils and facilities in your own kitchen before you invest in commercial grade equipment. This way, you can make the assets that already own work for you. You may not be quite as efficient using “homeowner grade” equipment, but you are generating positive cash flow without a lot of overhead.
2. If you do not own the equipment or tools that you need, renting or borrowing them is another way start smart. This is particularly true if the equipment that you need is very specialized or expensive. Also, many equipment rental stores also offer their inventory for sale. This is a good way to tool up without paying a premium price.
3. Bartering is king! If you are just getting your business started and need some professional services, or just some manual labor, try bartering. You can trade your labor, expertise or services to someone in exchange for their skills. A good barter can go a long way to help cut costs and get things done.
Build a Strong Team
Every business start-up requires a solid team to make sure that all of the details are covered – even a sole proprietor! The team that I am referring to is the team of professionals that you need to ensure that your business and your assets are protected and set up in compliance with applicable laws and rules. Your team should include the following:
1. An accountant will help you to ensure that your financial reporting system is set up in such a way that you can perform the bookkeeping yourself and be sure that your records will be in accordance to IRS standards and expectations. If you are going to be performing the day-to-day accounting functions (payroll, invoicing, bill paying, etc.) an accounting software package will help you to get things right. Most of the software available makes the bookkeeping nearly as simple as writing a check, but having an accountant help you set up your accounts will save you from a lot of misery later. Also, you should rely on an accountant to help you at tax time. These professionals will definitely help to ensure that you and the IRS should see eye to eye!
2. Another valuable member of your start-up team is your lawyer. He or she will help with many important areas of concern, including establishing the proper legal structure for your business (see our Business Structures page) and helping you to protect any intellectual property that your business has (copyrights, trademarks, patents, etc.) A lawyer is crucial in helping you to create any contracts, proposal forms or other legal documents that your business will use. Your lawyer can also be invaluable in helping you to interpret and contracts or agreements before you sign on the dotted line.
3. The third team member that you should work closely with is your insurance agent. There are a great many areas of concern that can affect the insurance premium that you will pay to provide proper coverage for your liability, property and auto insurance. It is important to establish your various liability exposures, and determine the cost of the insurance to cover them, before you establish your cost of doing business to make sure that your pricing structure includes these expenses. For additional information on insurance, please visit our Commercial Insurance page.
Toot Your Own Horn!
In the earliest stages of your business start-up, it is entirely possible that you are the only person in the world who knows what you are up to. During this formative stage of your business, it is very easy to withdraw from the rest of the “real world” as you become focused on the many details and tasks required to build your business. From your insulated position “inside” your start-up, it is possible to lose sight of the forest because of all of the trees that you are focused on. Telling people about your idea is a great way for you to keep your enthusiasm level high. If you are fairly certain that your business concept won’t be co-opted by someone else, these early days are often a great time to tell people what you are working on. Talking to anyone who will listen can serve several purposes:
1. By letting people know about your soon-to-be business, you can start generating interest and a potential customer base for your new start-up.
2. Speaking to people whose opinions and knowledge that you respect can also help you to refine your concept. You may think that you have all of the bases covered, only to realize after speaking with someone with more business experience or acumen, that you have overlooked a great opportunity, or missed a major flaw in your plan.
3. Running your idea past someone early in the formative stages of your plan will force you to refine both your concept, and your sales pitch. Also, if you are shy, talking about your passion (your business) will help you get over your shyness.
4. Another advantage of these early conversations is that you learn to develop a “thick skin” which will help you handle rejections or disappointments as you begin to sell your ideas for real. In your mind, your business plan is probably the sweetest idea to come down the pike, but you will run into people who disagree, or don’t even care about what you are working on. Rather than letting naysayers get you down, you can try to turn them around to your way of thinking, or you can ask them why they think that your idea will not work. Who knows, they may see a major flaw that you have completely overlooked. Either way, learning to handle rejection will certainly help you as you move on with our business plan.
If your concept is one that could be picked up by someone better positioned that yourself, you will want to be careful how much information that you divulge, and to whom you share it with. Never the less, no one is better suited to talk about your business than you are, so get your ideas out in the world and see what you can learn!