There are quality websites that will provide you with steps to take in starting a small business without cost. Beware of websites that offer information, but in fact will only take your money.
Small Business Administration - Business plan tutorial and outline provided by the US Small Business Administration.
Internal Revenue Service - basic federal tax information for people who are starting a business.
Entrepreneur.com - How to Start a Small Business, Small Business Startup.
AllBusiness.com - Starting a Business Tips and Advice
California Business Portal - When starting a new business, there are many important decisions to make and many rules and procedures that must be addressed. While there is no single source for all filing requirements, the following steps have been developed to assist you in starting your business
The first step in putting up a business HAS to be to figure out exactly what it is that your business will do.
You've got to get a handle on who your business will serve and what your business will do.
Once you've got a handle on the purpose behind your business, you've got to figure out all of the who's, what's, when's, where's, how's and whys.
What are the local registration and regulatory requirements that your business will need to comply with?
* What type of business structure will your business be?
* How will your business operate?
* How will your business make money?
* What will your business's claim to fame be?
* How will you attract customer's to your business?
* How will your business be designed to gain an edge on the competition?
* Why should customer's even care enough to want to patronize your business?
* How will you get the word out about your business?
After you get a handle on many of these preliminary business development questions, then begin to sketch out a Business Blueprint that will highlight exactly how your business will survive.
During this business development phase, it's extremely important to be as detailed as possible, for it's the detailed planning of a business that will enable you to determine whether or not your business will be strong enough to survive.
This is where you start your business planning activity.
But this is no means where you stop.
In fact, I recommend that you put together a preliminary set of answers to the above questions and then you go and take one of your preliminary customers out to lunch.
* And just ask him about what's going on with his business? What are his concerns?
* What are his gripes?
* What is it that he wishes people in your line of work would figure out already?
* What are some of his greatest frustrations?
And whatever you do during this lunch date, don't sell yourself or your potential new business...just listen. Listen and observe and ask as many questions about what it is that makes your potential customer tick.
And after this lunch date, repeat it again...and again...and again until you fully understand the needs, concerns, gripes and inner wishes of your potential customer base.
And I promise you, after you done many of these preliminary steps, you will be well on your way to building an extremely successful business.
For your business will have a competitive advantage that others may not be able to copy. And that competitive advantage is good-ole-fashioned customer focus!
Be encouraged to build them a business that is built to make your targeted customer base go Absolutely Wild!