The ultimate entrepreneur’s startup checklist
While setting up a business has never been easier, it is still as tough as ever to carve out a market share in a very competitive sector. If you are a budding digital entrepreneur, there is much to take on board when it comes to running a business and to ensure that nothing is overlooked, here is our startup checklist.
- Concept – Every business needs a concept; something that sets it apart from other companies. It might to be provide the very best service, or possibly a new line of products, while some business like to be unbeatable with price. Take a long look at your rivals, what are they offering? Is there something missing in the marketplace that you could provide? The answers to these questions will help you to develop a concept that you can use as your foundation.
- Business plan – This is your business Bible and the plan should be comprehensive, covering every aspect of the organisation and when you think the plan is complete, hand it to a business guru and he will no doubt find issues that you can address. If you are looking for private investors, they will want a copy of your business plan, which tells them everything they need to know about the business.
- Funding – Without money, your business idea will remain that, just an idea. Not only do you need to have the funding to set everything up, you need to support the business for the first few months, until sales are coming in. Crunch the numbers and then examine your borrowing options; let’s not forget things like invoice discounting services and credit lines from suppliers, which can stretch to 90 days. Many young businesses simply run out of money within the first 9-12 months; it only takes a couple of unexpected bills to put you in a precarious position.
- Organisation flowchart – This basically shows who is doing what and that includes outsourcing, whether you have several employees or several teams, each player should fully understand their role in the organisation. Here is an article on EU banks and the stress caused by the pandemic.
- Insurance – At least, you will need some public liability insurance (PLI), plus your business premises, any stock you are holding and all the company assets should be covered. Ask any business guru and they will confirm that you must cover every eventuality, as you can never tell what the future holds; a serious fire, for example, could ruin a business if they weren’t insured.
- Legality – This is a must; register the business (see government advice about registering a business in Australia) and hire an accountant to keep all records, while making sure that all company vehicles are road legal. Hiring staff puts a lot of liability your way and you must comply with Australian law regarding fair work.
- Digital marketing – Whatever the sector, you aren’t going anywhere without SEO. Every single business strives to create a strong digital profile and with e-commerce now the largest sector of retail, SEO services are a critical component to a winning business.
If you have a firm vision, a great business plan and lots of energy and enthusiasm, there’s every reason to expect a successful launch and steady growth thereafter.
