How I would start a business (if I had to start over)

with just an idea some willpower and the determination to make something happen you can start a business the 0 to one of starting a business is probably one of the most exciting things that you can do in your life but you might be wondering where do I even begin what is that step one I started my first business when I was 26 and I made a ton of mistakes I hit some Pooles had to figure things out on the fly so I'm making this video as an overview of what I would do if I had a start over today I'll break up this video into three main sections beginning with how to come up with great business ideas and then we'll move on to the things you never want to overlook and then last How to Succeed whether you're looking to create a tech startup a side hustle business or your solo preneur this video is for you so how do you come up with great business Concepts well there's a few great ways to approach this one finding a problem to solve two improving on something that already exists or three monetizing something you love let me give you some examples when I think of solution-based companies I think of something like slack who solve the problem of inefficient communication within teams especially in remote or asynchronous work setups or something like Square who solved the challenge small businesses had with traditional Payment Processing when you're solving a problem target areas that you've noticed gaps in offerings or where there's a lot of customer dissatisfaction or maybe it's something that you've personally faced you can create a business around a valuable solution that you know there's an audience for what about Improv something that already exists an example of this would be LT who entered the ride sharing market after Uber's proof of concept or we can look at Bumble who became a prominent online dating app not long after the widespread popularity of Tinder but took a slightly different approach if something's already working maybe you don't need to recreate the wheel you know the Market's there so just approach it from a different angle now what about monetizing something you love let's say you love beer you can look into starting a Craft brewery or if you love ceramics launching a Ceramics course there are lots of ways to take something that you're good at and are passionate about and making it profitable for you so let's say you have a whole bunch of business ideas do you just pick your favorite and run with it no not all business ideas even if they follow approaches I mentioned are good business ideas so let's dive in into how to distinguish the good from the bad how to know what type of business to start well your first step is to do your research otherwise referred to as due diligence learn the market the competitive landscape and who your potential customers are if your business is going to be physical like a car wash put on your shoes and go visit what's already out there you can use a framework like the SWAT analysis to put your ideas into perspective identify what will make you stand out and also help guide the strategy and Direction you can take in some ideas might look good on paper but does it actually fit into your life and what you want you can ask yourself things like what are you good at that others find difficult what do you hate doing how much money do you have to put into this how much time do you have to spend on it do you need a team what's your exit strategy let's say you found that great idea that you want to pursue awesome but now what this is probably the biggest hurdle that people face when starting a company they got the idea but what's the next step that turns into something real so let's move on to the second part the things you need to do and those you can't overlook this is the quick and dirty one1 of setting up incorporating and registering when you incorporate choose a structure that suits your business the most common ones are sole proprietorship limited liability partnership LLC and Corporation for instance maybe you're a solopreneur and a sole proprietorship is right for you it's easy to form but you're personally liable for all business debts if you want to limit personal liability you can incorporate but corporations are more complex and are subject to double taxation if you're a startup looking to raise outside Capital you'll likely need to be a corporation make sure you understand the pros and cons and even talk to a lawyer and accountant to ensure you're set up properly I've put some links in the description that will go through these in more detail what do you name your business think about what makes sense now and in the future and also how others will find and perceive you for instance if you are a dog walker in New York searchability and Clarity is key so probably something about dogs and New York should be in the name but if you're building a SAS product or Marketplace maybe you want something that's less specific so you have that optionality as you grow some other considerations check to make sure the name is available as a domain or on social media is it ownable from a trademark perspective or is it confusingly similar to competitors can people pronounce it can they spell it is it memorable registering your business you're real as soon as you register your business which put simply means you filled some forms with the CRA and Canada the IRS if you're in the states or the relevant tax Authority in your Market you'll get a certificate with a business number which is what you'll need for all important things like applying for licenses and opening business bank accounts now for the things that you can't forget about I'll give you three words finances legal Insurance not everything needs to be done on day one but even though they're not the most fun to tackle these are crucial to the foundations of your business they're the things that they're not that bad if you kept up with it but they're absolute pain and often very expensive if you have to fix later on these are all really big topics so I'll just highlight the considerations for each so you have a good handle of where to start let me know if you want me to make a video on any of these specifically finances please keep your business and personal finances separate you can open up a business bank account which is what you'll use to make business transactions like buying inventory paying suppliers and invoicing customers get on top of your bookkeeping maybe that's by yourself on a spreadsheet or accounting software or maybe you're hiring someone part-time this will allow you to track Revenue expenses and how money flows through your business business budget get an idea of how much it costs to get your business off the ground and how much it will take to run it do you need real estate Professional Services inventory how does this change as you grow what are your fixed and variable costs what does break even look like taxes as a saying goes the only things you can't avoid in life are death and taxes follow your taxes correctly if this isn't in your wheelhouse get some expert help tax returns are one of the most important documents for licensing and due diligence for financings and acquisition if you want to raise money or sell your business Monday you'll be asked for these so it's not something you can ignore let's talk legal when engaging a legal professional which you absolutely should don't just accept their recommendations and drafts as is make sure you actually understand the commercial points and their impact for instance in your Articles of Incorporation this is where you get to determine the share classes the Privileges and restrictions of each class if you have a shareholders agreement you'll be able to outline how company officers and directors are determined what shareholders have a say on like declaring dividends and rights that might be crucial for potential future investors like preemptive rights roers tag and drag rights and liquidation preferences when planning for a capital raise you'll inevitably come across things like subscription documents and cap table other legal items to keep in mind are do you want to file for IP production do you want to have standard NDA or employment agreements on hand if so what do they look like let's talk about insurance different businesses require different types of insurance depending on the stakeholders you have your business business model and the risks you face for instance if you're a startup with a board in management you should look into dno insurance if you're a brick andw retailer in lease real estate your landlord will likely require property insurance if you sell product you should look into product liability insurance if you have employees you might need work Compensation Insurance talk to an insurance agent to determine what coverage is appropriate for you remember just like for your car shop around for coverage options and also for the best rates now I'm not going to sugarcoat it these are probably the parts of starting a business you're least excited about but I can't emphasize how important they are get on top of it as soon as you can because trying to fix it down the road is just a huge pain it will cost you more time and money than doing it right in the first place like imagine building a house without a foundation just doesn't work now on to the things I learned on the go what's worked for me and other Founders that I've talked to on how to succeed these are some of the most important practical lessons that you can take away from this video on your founder Journey learn how to hire well and fire well making a good hire is actually very challenging so put in the effort to find quality candidates do the appropriate onboarding and setting expectations firing is just as important and you need to act quickly holding on to someone because you don't want to have a tough conversation or because you might have a personal relationship with them is never the answer get good at delegating and trusting your team if you're like me it's really hard to trust and let go of work to others but I've learned the hard way you can't do everything yourself delegating lets you focus on only what you can do empowers outs to take ownership of their work and allows the business to actually scale you got to stay focused you're going to be pulled in a million different directions and everything's going to seem important there going to be new opportunities Partners knocking at your door a new markets to expand to but don't get distracted you have to be clear on what you're working towards prioritize and then execute with discipline get feedback and act on it feedback is powerful information for you so talk to your team and customers to figure out what what's working what's not set your ego aside easier said and done and be open to iterating and improving nurture your relationships have an awareness for the existing and secondary Connections in your network that might play a role in your journey one day don't let those relationships go to waste build them or maybe you're looking for Partnerships or to sell your business one day it's never too early to build a connection with the people at those companies and most importantly build a resilient mindset 99% of being a founder and an entrepreneur is not glamorous it takes time it takes work and get me pretty lonely so you have to be consistent and passionate and push through the times where it feels impossible again and again and that's exactly why I detail the seven small changes that made a massive impact on my founder life in this video here that's it for me today let me know in the comments what you're building and where you are in your journey

Channel: The Founder's Edition

Views: 833

Keywords: founder, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, interview, leadership, leader, growth, strategy, venture capital, startup, startup story, story, challenge, conversation, podcast, startup podcast, entrepreneur podcast, real talk, business, business tip, business tips, startup tips, learning, education

Id: J63uK5sqHGQ

Length: 10min 21sec (621 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 24 2024