Starting a Business

How to start a business? 

Welcome to another piece of value from AWA, short for Atomic Web App and Services Inc. We, AWA don’t like wasting time, as a result we will always try to provide you with the most value in less time and effort from your end. In that same spirit, we created a Short Version of this article to help you the reader easily decide what is most useful to you right from the start, this is the Long Version. If you find this article valuable feel free to share it with others, for our goal is to provide as much Value as we can with minimal Effort on your end. That being said, let’s get right into it! 

Long Version

Topics covered in this article: 

• What is “Business”? 
• Starting a business
• Business Plan 
• Product vs Service
• Customer Description & Relations
• Company Structure & Description 
• Market Analysis
• Marketing and Sales

What is “business” or “a Business”? 

Business simply put is the the activity of making, buying, and selling goods and/or services. Business normally happens between individuals, organizations, and/or entities by engaging in a wide range of activities – that’s our definition. Here are some other definitions: The Dictionary or Investopedia which we find to be a good source of information. The world is filled with businesses, and the majority of products and/or services available are provided by different businesses in just about all walks of life. All business fall under one of the two basic types of organization which are Nonprofit or For-Profit Organization. We find IRS.GOV to be one the best source of info for everything business.

Starting a Business

Now that you understand what is a Business, how can you start one? 

Starting a business can be complicated and simple at the same time. The challenges in starting a business usually come in the multiple factors of creating said business. On a personal level, we find that the hardest part of anything is usually in starting. So our personal advice for everyone is to “Start” — Simply start! You can start by defining your business, answer one simple question: what does your business do? We recommend answering that question in a note on something that is almost always with you such as the notes on your phone or anything similar that your prefer. Once you have that note going, consider this to be the big first step of your business and let’s call it the “Business Plan”. 

The Business Plan 

We believe one of the best and fastest ways to get your business on its feet with all the necessary tools for success is by having a Business Plan. Creating a business plan can be a bit tedious and sometimes even harder than the business itself, but a good business plan should include all you need to get started right away. In our opinion, it is a step by step guide for starting, and one of the best ways to learn/prepare yourself even if you’re in a market as small as Dog-Walking. A good business plan doesn’t have to start as a large complex project. Start small but gather as much information as you can about the business. In most cases, the more you know about your own business, the more prepared you will be. 

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), a good business plan can guide you through each stage of starting and managing your business. Use your business plan as a roadmap, or guide on how to structure, run, and grow your business. It’s a powerful way to think through the key elements of your business, and a great way to understand your market and plan for the road ahead. Many people have started businesses without a business plan, which goes to show you there isn’t a wrong way to write a business plan. What matters most is gathering all the information necessary for your business, it will put you a step ahead. In the following sections, we will list what a useful business plan can/should include (you don’t have to follow our way). After giving you a short list, we will go more in-depth and highlight how they relate to and will benefit your business. 

All business plans vary to some extent, but one common aspect should be its completeness in describing your business. Your business plan should be the manual which you can rely on to run your daily operations. Here’s what a simple but complete business plan should include: 

• Product vs Service
• Customer Description & Relations
• Company Structure & Description 
• Market Analysis
• Marketing and Sales

Scenario Example 

To help you best understand the rest of the content in this article, we will use one scenario for all the examples of the varying factors related to starting a business. The examples below will help you understand how to start a business and what you should focus on while writing your business plan. — Let’s say you are a dog person and love to walk your dog and other dogs in general; we have nothing against cats or any other animals. So back to our dog example, so one day while walking your neighbor’s dog you get the great idea that you can charge for your time, and boom a business idea! — In this simple scenario, there are many business opportunities which an entrepreneur can take advantage of. Let’s start with the business activities: Product vs Service. 

Products and Services (P/S)

In most cases, a product is an item (sometimes tangible) that the business sell to a consumer to use in beneficial ways. Meanwhile, a service is usually a task completed for or along with another person, business or entity. It is usually intangible, and benefit the consumer in many different but fitting ways. Using our scenarios from above, here are some options if you wanted to start a business in the dog walking or pet industry: 

Product: Leash

A product you can chose to sell to dog owners to safely walk their dogs. 

Service: Dog Walking Service 

Offer your services as a dog walker for anyone who don’t want to or cannot walk their dog.

Combination: Product + Service

A combination of both P/S to increase your profit margin by offering a service and selling a product. 

This mostly covers the difference between product and services. To start your business you must have a product and/or services for the consumer to pay for. Remember you don’t necessarily have to chose just Product or Service, you can start offering both. To further understand the basics of Products and Services, read our Article on Product and Service, it should help you decide which would best fit your business idea.

Customer Description & Relations

One thing all businesses have in common is that they all need customers. A customer is not necessarily a “person” (B2C), but can also be another business(B2B), government and more. We believe one great advantage in business is truly knowing who your customers are. Knowing who your customers are (profile not personally) will help you focus your business on serving them in the most complete way. Using our scenario above, we know that your customers would be dog owners. This information can help you focus all your effort on targeting pet owner but specifically just dog owners. Your business plan will help create products and services that only relate to that clientele, and in return more profits. 

Company Structure & Description 

Knowing what you offer (products & services) and who (customer) to offer them to isn’t all there is in starting a business, the company structure and description is just as important. We consider this part to be the engine of the operation. Here are a few key components of the company structure and description: 

• Naming your business: help your business stand out by picking something catchy, descriptive and more importantly different. You would not want to be the third Jane/John the dog walker in the same building.
• Location: very important factor that can also make or break your business. Offering your dog walking service in a strictly pet free area would not help you make money.
• Company Description: detailed information about your company and what you do, contact information, a representative which can be you the owner, your qualifications, expertise, and experience in that specific industry if necessary. 
• Mission Statement: a Mission Statement is a powerful action-based statement which highlights the purpose, values, and goals of the company.
• Cost & Funding: starting a business can require a lot of capital sometimes, and none other times. Startup capital can be very little and sometimes a whole lot, more the reason why you should be clear about your startup cost (funding). In our Dog-Walker scenario above, both options are present. For example, you might need some capital to acquire Products (your cost of goods) to sell such as the leashes, and for the Service of just walking the dogs maybe there is no capital required at all. Both products and services may or may not require capital from the start. However, knowing those number will help you better manage the business.
• Prices & Fees: in order to understand how to price your P/S, you’ll need to understand your numbers such as fees, prices and revenues in order to know if you are generating profit. Some expenses may be recurring and others might be just a one time expense. 
• Legal Structure: bills, taxes, and structures are other very important parts of a business. All companies need someone to be in charge, and describe their legal structure regardless of size. A company can have one (sole proprietor) or a million employees (LLC, C or S corporation and more). We recommend talking to your accountant and get those matters situated even before you start your business to avoid problems in the future.
• Banking: one of the best ways to keep track of your numbers (income and expenses) is using a bank account. We find business accounts to be very beneficial in maximizing deductions, and separating personal and business transactions. A business account can have more requirements than a personal account, make sure to take care of your legal structures first and do your research. 
• Additional Company Detail: All other detail relevant to you business should also go on that list.

Market Analysis 

Marketing Analysis is the activity of gathering information about conditions that affect a marketplace, lots of things can affect a Marketplace! One major example is competition. Most businesses have plenty of competition, but on the bright side there are plenty more customers than businesses. In certain markets, there isn’t enough businesses to supply for the demand from customers. Sometimes in other markets, there isn’t enough demand but too much supply. It is absolutely useful to know the competitors in your market. Market Analysis and/or Research is an actual business in itself, larger businesses spend lots of money on just gathering information via these other market analysis and research companies.

In the smaller scale (the dog walker scenario), you would need to know factors such as: the price your competitors charge, how they operate, why they do certain things and more. This will give you the opportunity to provide more options and conveniences your competitors aren’t providing. Let’s say most of your competitors only accept cash, to be innovative and different you can accept credit card payments and transfers to facilitate the process and broaden your reach. Analyze and find your competitors weakness and compared to yours, then make it your strength. Here at AWA our strength is in our mission statement “More Value, Less Effort”.

Marketing, Branding and Sales

All businesses need to generate sales, Facts! That being said, it is not as simple as it sounds. People will not purchase your products and services if they don’t know you exist, and that is certain! Businesses must market themselves, their products and services in order for potential customers to engage with them. Notice how large company like Walmart or Amazon still do a whole lot of marketing. Those Amazon trucks with the logo on them isn’t just to mark the trucks, this is a marketing strategy for Amazon. In our scenario above just like Amazon, Jane and John the dog walkers can use a shirt with their business name and logo while walking the dogs to boost up their marketing. This will create exposure (marketing) for their business, and generate sales. There are plenty of ways to market in today’s world. 

Conclusion

To conclude, if we had to answer in one sentence we would say “the fastest way to start a business is by creating a solid business plan”. Using the information above, you can build a business and succeed in today’s market. Please understand that we are not suggesting that our way is the only way, nor are we suggesting that a business will fail without a business plan. Heck, many successful business owners never wrote a word on paper or create anything similar. However we recommend you do not do the same.

Thank you taking the time to read this article. If you find this article valuable, feel free to share it with others for our goal is to provide as much Value as we can with minimal Effort on your end. As always thank you for your time.

Atomic Business Kit

If you need help starting your business, check out the Atomic Business Kit coming October 2022. It is an absolute game changer! The Atomic Business Kit is a customizable and interactive Startup Plan for Solo Entrepreneurs, Small Businesses and Startups. We provide value, strategic support, and data-driven leadership to help you (our client) plan your company’s future and build its performance. Get ahead of the competition!

Jeff Daniel

Founder – Atomic Web App and Services Inc.