Starting a Business - Getting from Concept to Reality
By Scott Allen, About.com Guide to Entrepreneurs
You've got your great idea and now you're ready to execute. How do you get from concept to reality? You'll find the answers here.
Naming Your Business and Products
How will your business be known? Will the name be descriptive or distinctive (they're rarely both)? And as you choose the names of your business and products, you'll also need to consider existing trademarks and domain names.
Business Legal Structures
Sole proprietor, partnership or corporation - what form will you do business in? The decision affects more than just your taxes. It's best to set up from the start with the end in mind.
- Business Legal Organizational Structures
- Doing Business As (DBA) an Assumed Name: Why and How
- How to Set Up a Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Setting Up Operations
Besides the legal structure and the development of your core product or service, there are a multitude of other things you'll need to take care of before you're fully "in business".
- Obtaining Business Licenses and Permits
- Choosing a Location for Your Business
- Top 10 Home Office Best Practices
Business Financing
While many entrepreneurs "bootstrap", or self-fund, their business, many more turn to friends, family, investors, banks and other lenders to obtain the capital they need. Explore all your options in order to determine which approach is best for your business.
- Private Lending as Alternative Funding
- Business Equipment Leasing
- Building Business Credit
- Investor Due Diligence
Positioning & Pricing
Before you can go to market, you have to decide how much to charge for your product and how to position your product in the marketplace, and the two are inextricably linked.
- Seek an Edge by Finding Your Niche
- Niche Marketing - Targeting the Best Prospects
- Pricing Strategy
- 4 Models for Calculating Pricing
Getting Help
Good news! You don't have to go it alone, and few successful entrepreneurs actually do. There are a multitude of organizations that offer help to entrepreneurs for free or very inexpensively. Also, every entrepreneur should have a mentor, and the sooner you find one, the better.
- Support Organizations and Associations
- Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Mentor
- Choosing a Business Mentor
- Working with a Business Mentor
Launching Your Business
You're all set up and ready to go. Now how do you go about launching your product or service and getting your first customers?
