Why Create A New Business
Those who follow me regularly know my exciting news! I exited my boutique digital marketing agency (Tammy’s Office Solutions) in December 2020 to embrace what I truly feel is my passion & what I have been called to now. “What is that?”, you may be asking. It is marketing consulting & business coaching to help business owners just like you. I have provided marketing strategy & consulting as well as mentoring & business coaching for a long time now. However, I was only able to offer it on a part-time basis previously. Owning the marketing agency did not allow enough time to offer these services to those outside of the current client base. Thus the final decision to exit one business in order to create a new online business, Fearless Business Boss.
New Beginnings
I have started a number of businesses over the years. I have also advised others on creating their business. I KNOW how to create a new online business but it has been a number of years since I last started one. Therefore, I had forgotten how many steps are involved and how much time it takes to create a new company or new beginnings as I like to refer to them.
Creating the current new beginnings (new business) took several weeks to put into place. Keep in mind, this is not an overnight process especially if you have other loyalties. To create it properly it will take some time to get set up.
Steps to Creating Your New Business
Simply, take it one step at a time. Let’s take a look at the steps to creating your new business.
Step One – Decision
The first step is to make a decision about what you will be doing? Are you providing a service or will you be selling a product? It is always best, when creating a business, to embrace something you are passionate about or truly believe in. Moving forward we are discussing steps involved in creating a service based business (no distributors or physical products).
Step Two – What’s In A Name
The second step is to name the business. Choose a name that may have an emotional appeal but ultimately gives indication of what the business provides to others. This will help the audience find the company easier. Whether you sell a product or service be sure to register the business name.
Step Three – Choose Business Entity
When registering the name they will ask you to choose the type of business entity it will be for the State (& ultimately the federal government). This will depend on a number of factors.
The possible types of business can include:
- DBA (Doing Business As)
- Sole Proprietorship
- Partnership
- LLC (Limited Liability Company) – most common
- Corporations – usually larger companies involving many more factors (including Board of Director, Executives, Employees, etc.)
There are advantages and disadvantages to all types of businesses*. Some of which include the following.
>DBA (Doing Business As)
Advantage: This often does not require registering or licensing. It is often used initially until a business is further established and has funds to incorporate.
Disadvantage: The owner is not covered should any liability occur. You risk your own belongings because they are not protected unless you have an insurance policy that covers you.
“Doing Business As (DBA) doesn’t give legal protection, but might be legally required.”
Small Business Administration
>Sole Proprietor
Advantage: The person who is associated with this company type is the sole owner and shares no profits with anyone else. You, as the owner, also has the ability to run the company as you want.
Disadvantage: The owner is responsible for all of the business’ liabilities and losses.
“There is no distinction between personal and business income. “Ownership is difficult to transfer.”
Rifkind Patrick LLC
>Partnership
[There are two kinds of partnerships: General & Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)]
Advantage: Often helps to have a partner who has resources to put into the business when first opening. Shared work &/or responsibilities so each can help the other.
Disadvantage: One partner may decide to exit and it ends the business. Profits musts be split according to initial agreements and investments.
General partnerships do not require a formal agreement—partnerships can be verbal or even implied between the two business owners.
“Limited partnerships require a formal agreement between the partners. They must also file a certificate of partnership with the state.”
The 4 Major Business Organization Forms
>LLC (Limited Liability Corporation)
Advantage: Often protects owner(s) from liability of the company.
Disadvantage: State or province regulations may effect this type of company (check with them before starting). It can be costly if a lawyer is needed if owner(s) cannot do the paperwork themselves.
>Corporation
Advantage: All profits and losses are the corporations and not owner(s). This protects the owner(s) from liability.
Disadvantage: Can be costly and involves much paperwork usually requiring a lawyer. Often taxes are affected and require expert help such as Lawyers as well as Accountants. This is also another high cost.
After you have chosen the type of company you will have then you should name your company.
Step Four – Register Name
Choose a name for the company. Once it has been chosen it should be checked with a State registry (or use the sba.gov ). In the United States it should be checked within the State that the business will be located. If it is not taken be sure to register the name. In the State of Virginia it can be ‘reserved’ or ‘registered’.
Reserving the name in this State will cost $10 until ready to register it. Registration can cost between $50 – $100+ depending on the type of business. *These cost are from the State of Virginia at the time of this writing.
Step Five – Domain
After registering the name and entity with the State or Province it is located within then the domain name should be reserved. I recommend doing both of these (registering name & domain name) side by side to be sure the name chosen is available in the State registry and the domain registry.
The domain can be registered through a number of providers including GoDaddy, Google Domains, NameCheap, and many others. Sometimes the exact name is not available so it is wise to check before registering it with the State. The other option is to be creative with the name or use the ‘LLC’ (if it is an LLC) at the end of the domain name to set it apart from the others.
Step Six – EIN#
File for the Federal EIN# as soon as you have the name and register it. An EIN# is simply a Federal ID Number for the Government. Fill out an application on the IRS website. Some types of companies (LLC Partnerships, LLCs, & others) may also require that you also file ‘Articles of Incorporation’. Which can be done fairly easily by looking for a simple template online from such sources as Rocket Lawyer, LegalZoom, and LawDepot to name just a few.
Step Seven – Research
After you decide the reason for the business (Your ‘WHY’), in other words what you do and why (whether offering services or products), a big step should be doing research. There a number of types of research that should be done before launching the startup.
- Where to Register the Business (Country, State, Province, etc.) the SBA (dot) gov can help with this.
- Type of Business (DBA, Sole-Proprietor, Partner, LLC, etc.) – SBA can also assist in the decision for this but ultimately it is up to the business owner. I suggest getting a lawyer if uncertain on the type of company it will be or how to do this.
- Audience Research – Ask these questions:
- Who does this service(s) (or provides the product)?
- Why does it appeal to their audience?
- Who needs these services?
- What problem are you solving & for who?
- From these questions develop the ‘Buyer Persona’ (details about those who will buy services from this business).
- Industry Research – see what others in the same industry are doing – how will the company standout?
- Market or Competitive Research – what are some of the competitors doing to market their companies? What can you do to be different and attract notice to draw clients in to your business?
- Research Industry or Types of Free Opt-ins – what type of free offer (or opt-in) can you offer to the audience? What is the audience in need of that the company can offer to them in order to build the company email list?
Some of this research could be outsourced to a Virtual Assistant, if need, for a reasonable fee.
Step Eight – Build Website
This next step should be done by a professional if possible. I highly recommend doing a WordPress website but if unable to do this there are also Wix, SquareSpace, and other platforms that are a little easier to navigate and build.
A website provides a professional view of what the business provides, a little about the company itself & those running it, and possibly service packages offered. Many potential clients will not start to engage or respond unless there is a professional website associated with the business.
Step Eight – Create Free Offer
In order to create a ‘Free Offer’ you will need to know your audience and their needs. The offer should meet one of those needs (does not mean you completely offer all services for free, just some of your tips &/or ‘how to’s’).
Step Nine – Begin Marketing Steps
Once the website is build then it is time to begin to create content and marketing the business. There are a few ways to begin the marketing steps.
- Create Content – start creating graphic content as well as copy (wording) to go along with the graphics. These should be scheduled on platform (either directly through Facebook & posted to other platforms) or use an online scheduler.
- Set Up Social Media Business Pages – set up all of the social media platforms that business may attract attention.
- Write Articles On The Business Website – begin blogging to help the SEO of the website. Also researching keywords can help this effort if those words are used in the articles. Google likes sites that are up to date and make changes regularly. Blogging helps Google know you are real and still relevant. The keywords added to the text will help when others are looking for those and the article comes up. This will help the article gain attention (when done properly) and also attract attention to the website.
These are some of the starting steps to create a business. Let me know if you need help starting your new business. Thank you for reading!
[*Thank you to Rifkind Patrick & the article on his website about The 4 Major Business Organization Forms]
