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Have you wanted to start your business for a very long time, but something inside you is making you procrastinate? Procrastination usually comes from fear of the unknown, not laziness. The best thing to do if you’re struggling with procrastination is to just admit you’re scared. When that’s out of the way, you can begin moving towards your goals, regardless of the fact that you’re scared. Below, there are 5 steps to making starting your business so much easier. If you’ve been struggling to get going, the steps here can help you.
1. Create Your Business Plan
One of the first things you should do is create your business plan. This can help you to see exactly where you’re going even when you’re frightened and can help you to keep on moving forward. You want to include everything you can possibly think of when doing your business plan. The questions below will help you:
- What is the purpose of the business? – knowing the purpose and value of your business is key. What problems does it solve?
- Who are my customers? – you should be sure of your target audience, as you can’t target everybody.
- Who is my competition and why is my product/service’s advantage? – you may think you have no competition, but you’re likely wrong.
- How will I price, position, market and support my product? – what’s your USP?
- What are my financial projections for the business for the next 3-5 years? – do the math and do it accurately!
2. Take Care Of The Paperwork And Legal Side Of Things
Business paperwork and legal issues aren’t too much fun, but they have to be done if you want to get started on this. The things you need to do will vary depending on the type of business you’d like to start. You may need to:
- Filing for applicable licenses and registrations from your state’s government.
- If you form a minority or women-owned business, you may qualify for special government programs that can provide startup capital.
- Purchase appropriate business insurance before you begin operations.
If you’re unsure of what you need to have in place, click here to visit this website where you can find legal packages for startups. Having a package put together will ensure you have everything you need in place.
3. Find A Mentor
A mentor can look at things objectively, whereas you may be too close to your business to do so. A mentor has usually also been there and done it all, so can help to guide you. This is usually an organic relationship, although you may be able to find paid services.
4. Do One Small Thing Towards Starting Each Day
Build momentum by simply doing one small thing each day to help start your business. What can you do today? It counts, no matter how small!
5. Know Why You Want To Do This
You need to have a very strong why so that you start this and don’t give up. Do you want flexibility and freedom? Asking yourself other important questions will help too, such as:
- What are you passionate about?
- What are you good at?
- Who do you want to help?
- What industries are you knowledgeable about?
- How much capital do you have to risk?
- What really matters to you?
When you’ve done all of the above, you will have gotten the ball rolling and have far more confidence to get started!
