How to start a business

 It can be so hard and stressful planning a business. So I’ll share with you the simple checklist I use when planning one of my crafting adventures. This has helped me with my blog, my graphic design, my soap shop, and a new party planning idea I’m currently developing. 

1. Come up with a name. This is the name that will define your business and draw people in. Be informative, catchy, and as unique as possible. If you use a common name, people will mix up your business with others. 

2. Decide what social media to use. You can make a simple (and free) Blogger like I did, or a different website tool. Or you can make an app, establish a presence on Facebook, and more. 

3. Plan out the money. This is the most stressful part of business planning in my opinion, but it can be easy if you complete it all at once. If you are trying to sell something (a product or a service), determine the cost using this simple formula. Every hour you’ll dedicate to your business per day is ten dollars. If you only will work at it for half an hour, that is five dollars. Then add the cost of the materials you’ll need to make your product or aid in your services. So if you are selling candles, and wax is five dollars per bag, and you make candles for one hour per day, that would be fifteen dollars. Then you add five dollars for profit. In total, a professional candle would be twenty dollars which isn’t bad for a first business at all.

4. Focus on your customers. For a small business, you’ll want to focus on a specific niche market. Large scale business cater to a larger audience- for example, hats for cats. For your business, you will want to be one of the first results people see when they look you up. So you’d want to make “hats for cats- that cats won’t hate” which is a much more specific niche market. 

5. Write it all down. Write down your website/blog ideas, your money goals, and your niche market. This is your business contract. If you are going into business with someone else, make sure they sign the contract and agree with what it says. 

6.  Create a home office space to work from.

7. Differentiate yourself with the enemy. There will be competitors- I once was Googling my blog, and a new Christian craft blog showed up as well. I am not including the name so you will not leave me and betray me. I KNOW ALL. But it wasn’t too big of a problem- I simply found something that was lacking with that blog and tried my best to make up for it in my own blog. So research the competition, and make yourself different from them. 

8. Check with the adults. If you are creating a lemonade stand, for example, you’ll need permission to sell on a particular spot of land. Make sure you have all the permission you need. 

9. Create your website. Now there’s the fun part of creating your website and designing it. 

10. Post a business number on your website. Decide what number to use. Your parents might want you to use theirs for privacy and safety reasons. This will be the number that potential customers will use to reach out to you about your product or services.

11. Download a graphic design app. It will come in so much handy, I promise you. There is a free app I use called Sketchbook. You can upload photos and add text, colors, and designs. 

12. Order the materials you’ll need to make your product. If you are making soaps, this will be the time you get your scents, glitters, and molds. If you are offering your services as a babysitter, you’ll make a box of toys for the kids now. If you are making products, keep track of the material costs in your business contract. 

13. Stock up your home office with papers, pens, and other necessary items. These items do not add up to the selling cost of your product, since these items do not directly affect the making of the product. For example, if you were making custom dog sweaters, the yarn would count to the cost, but the scissors would not. 

14. Create a sample item. This is the time for trial and error. Later down the road, you can enlist a team of friends to keep up with the product demand, but for the sample you’ll want to make it yourself. Photograph it for your website, and use it as your social media profile. That way people will get interested and want to buy your product. Then show your team the product and a detailed list of how to make it. But you should never rely on a team fully. Make at least half of the items yourself, and call on your team if you are burnt out or the demand is too much. If you are working without a team, I suggest you pick one day a week to make a large amount of products to prevent burning out. If you are offering services, skip this step. 

15. Host a product photo shoot. These will be the photos you use for your website. If you are offering a service, take photos of you doing what you’re offering. Party planning: take pics of your best party. Babysitting: take photos of you with kids (as long as the parents consent). 

16. Set up a business place to sell your product from. A lemonade stand would be where there are a lot of hikers or bikers who get thirsty. If you are selling homemade goods you can set up an Etsy platform or operate right from your blog or website. 

17. Write out your prices on your website, and make tags for your products. If your business demands get to be too much, I would recommend using generic tags that don’t require too much effort to attach or make.

18. Order the product packaging, boxes, filling, and tape. 

19. Create a strategy for keeping up with the demands of the job. Make a schedule and add to your contract. 

20. Announce that you are open for business on your blog and social media platforms. Tell the public a bit about your business and include the photos you took. 

21. Make sure your email is included on the blog and social media. It should be in a visible spot for people to use. 

22. Respond to your first customers! Add them to a list of clients that is included in your business contract. Make sure to always be professional and start the email with your name and business, and end with a sincerely and your signature.

23. Respond to social media comments. People are more likely to comment if you try your best to respond as soon as possible. This is a trick I use with my blog. 

24. Congratulations, you are now open for business!