Build a business

In the internet age it is the best time in history to be an entrepreneur! You can quickly learn just about any skill for free online or finding a freelance professional to help you. You can leverage free online resources to plan and organize your business. Automate your business so you can do more in less time with fewer errors.

First you need to discover why you want to be an entrepreneur. Do you want to help people? Generate passive income? Be seen as an expert in your industry? Maybe you enjoy the freedom of not having to answer to a boss. Discovering a "why" is paramount when starting a business. This will drive you when times get tough and you question if the effort is worth it. Finding meaning in our work is often overlooked and also happens to be one of the most rewarding aspects of starting a business.

Envision how your business will function, how it will make money, and how it will grow. Finding talented confounders and employees can make or break your new company. At the same time, trying to do everything yourself can hold back your vision in the long run. "If you want to go quickly - go alone. If you want to go far - go together"

Starting a business requires you to learn a variety of different skills quickly. You will need to make sure your business stays in legal compliance, handle the marketing to reach new customers, and set up separate accounts to organize the business finances. This is all in addition to actually running the business that you set out to start in the first place!

Part of the startup expertise is learning all of the legal requirements and processes to follow. ClinkUp does not offer legal advice so these matters should be worked out with professional legal help to ensure you have it right. One of the first things to consider is to incorporate your new business with an LLC (limited liability company) or an S Corporation. These will also need you to register for a tax id number so your business can stay on the good side of the IRS. Another consideration is to properly inform your customers of how you run your business and their information. A great resource for creating privacy policies, terms of services, and refund policies is a website called TermsFeed.

The startup costs are an initial hurdle to overcome. These are industry-specific so you will need to do your own due diligence to plan for all startup costs. There will most likely be a period of time where your business profits are not enough to cover your expenses. You will either need to factor this into the business loan or continue to work at a job to maintain an income. This is where maintaining separate bank accounts and credit cards becomes very important. Mixing personal and business accounts might seem like the easier solution initially but will cause problems when filing taxes and determining when you are profitable enough to work for your business full time.

Another hurdle to overcome is standing out from the competition. Providing value to your customers is crucial in growing your business but is easier said than done. Finding your niche and exceeding customer's expectations will lead to loyal customers that will want to share your business with people around them. Who does not love free marketing? However, you cannot rely solely on word-of-mouth advertising. You will also need to have an online advertising strategy, maintain a social media presence, and maybe even local advertisements.