If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you want to start a business because you’re passionate about something. Maybe you’ve found a new way to solve an age-old problem, or you have an incredibly creative and unique product. Maybe you’ve identified a gap in a market you’re dealing with every day and know the best possible way to fill it. Maybe you’re just sick of working for the man!
Whatever the impetus, you’re ready to go. You’ve probably already started in some capacity. Hurrah! We absolutely love new business ideas and are pretty sure entrepreneurs make the world go round.
The thing is, when you start a new business, there’s so much to think about:
- How are you going to scale your brilliant idea?
- Who’s going to manufacture your product?
- Will you have enough time to hand-make all those items when your customer base grows?
- How will you fund your growth and find the right people to help you?
Those are the questions that keep entrepreneurs up at night. If you’re going to be successful, you’re going to figure that stuff out (or align with some really smart advisors to help you). You probably also know that there are a lot of legal requirements that businesses need to comply with, not the least of which include a slew of tax regulations. No matter what type of business you’re starting, there are some basic things you need to put in place.
The founder’s guide to starting a business
As cloud accounting experts, we see a lot of new businesses that have gotten into trouble. Maybe they failed to make quarterly tax payments, selected the wrong legal structure, or didn’t give their workers the appropriate tax designation. Whatever the reason, it almost always happens because the founders were focused on the stuff that they love—the stuff that made them want to start a business in the first place. After all, most people don’t go into business because they love accounting or are passionate about tax law. Unless they’re starting an accounting firm, in which case they never, ever, ever make any mistakes. Ever.
But if you’re most of the rest of the world, you could use a little help managing all the requirements, which is why we created the Business Start-up Checklist. You’ll learn about everything you need to do to make your business official and avoid major headaches the future. By putting the effort into setting yourself up for success from the start, you keep your focus on the things you love.