With summer’s warm breeze, cool lemonade, and easygoing days finally here, the perfect time to start a small business never seemed like it made so much sense. What better way to spend a summer than to dive into the waters of entrepreneurdom? You have plenty of time to get a strong business plan established, make a strong profit, and even hire a few people to join you as seasonal staff members.
But before you begin imagining all of the fun and games to come, here are three things to keep at the top of your small business starter list:
It’s easy to go online and ask Google all of your questions on startups, but much more rewarding to skip the search engine in favor of talking with professionals. People love to talk about themselves; especially when they’ve been successful in their business endeavors. Ask those successful people about how they got to where they are. They’ll enjoy the chat and an inquiring future business owner can learn a thing or two about their past experiences, both good and bad. Keep in contact with a few of these people in case additional questions come up later or you need a recommendation or referral. Real, human contacts with personal experience will provide better answers concerning business choices than Google any day.
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Getting serious about your small business requires you to handle the legal side of it as soon as possible. Incorporating or forming an LLC is the first big, legal step to take when beginning a small business. Becoming legal with the state will not only protect personal assets against potential financial problems but will also bring an air of legitimacy to a business so the rest of the world (and all potential customers) will know an incorporated business means business.
Once a business name is legitimized by an Inc. or LLC title, the next thing to do is to trademark a logo. A logo will allow customers to get to know the vibe of your business; how you do what you do. For instance, if you decide to open up a bakery and choose to display your business name on a forest green, sofa-shaped logo with a illustration of a person lounging with a croissant in hand. A customer would look at that logo and think, “I bet that bakery has a relaxing atmosphere. I’d want to stay a while and enjoy some baked goods if I went there!”
Pick a logo that coincides with the vibe of your business, and then get it trademarked so no one else can have that logo and you can keep your brand protected. The living may be easy in the summertime, but getting the legal side of your small business squared away ensures smooth sailings well into your first year!
