Getting Started

Once you've decided that you have what it takes to start a business of your own, determined the kind of business you want, and evaluated your chances of success, you have to begin setting it up. To get started, consider the following:

• Choosing professionals to assist you discusses your need for a professional when you are starting your business, including insight on how to assess your needs and how to find a professional.
• Building a business plan addresses what a business plan is and why it is essential for your new business.
• Organizing your business considers the legal steps necessary to get your business up and running, such as choosing a name and form of organization.
• Getting a loan for your business addresses the need for financing for your business and gives you some suggestions for raising startup funds.
• Setting up your books tells you what you should do to make sure that your business recordkeeping gets off to a good start, and explains how you can spread out some of your startup cost deductions for a period of up five years.
• Beginning operations gives you ideas for getting your business off the ground, including deciding where to open your new business, deciding when it should be opened, how to market your product or service, how to get licenses and permits for your business, how to find contractors and suppliers, how to hire employees, and how to join a business association.
• Protecting yourself and your ideas introduces the subject of business insurance and provides you with an overview of what intellectual property is, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and how it may affect your business.

Before you get started, we recommend that you download the startup checklist from the Business Tools area. You can use the checklist to keep track of the tasks you need to perform as you start up your new business.