There are many things you have to consider when starting a business. You’ll want to pick a name, get a mailing address, find a way to accept payments and figure out how to gain customers. If you fail to do one of these correctly, it can cause problems down the road.
It’s all about setting up your business in the right order so that your customers can learn about you, communicate with you and make a purchase easily.
Below is a list of things to keep in mind when starting out your business journey.
Topics covered in this guide:
- Making sure your idea will work
- Establishing a professional address & business name
- Registering, paying money & liability
- What to expect once you have customers coming in
Does Your Idea Have Demand?
Do you have someone that needs your product/service? Make sure to identify who that is before diving into your new business.
“Homeowners who need weekend lawn care” is a more useful target customer description than “people who need lawn services”.
Once you have an idea of who your ideal customer is you can research how they currently resolve this need. What is frustrating about the current solution?
See if you can offer them your idea as a paid pilot or gather some leads. Talk to your ideal customer and pitch them your business. They may even tell you that they love your idea, but don’t let that fool you into thinking they will buy from you.
Now that you have your ideal customer, figure out what you are selling, how much it costs you to provide it and why they should buy it from you. You will use this when determining your price, website info and how you approach selling to others.
How To Get An Address For Your Business
It seems like a small detail. But you want your business to have an address that you can give out to customers and others who may need to send you information or packages.
If you plan to run your business from home, you may want to look into getting a business address. For a home-based owner, an ipostal1 business address is one option for receiving company mail at a separate street address and managing it online. This can help you keep your home address private from business associates.
Find a business address that will fit your needs. Can you pick up mail, packages, etc.? Make sure to find out what the cost will be for a commercial mail receiving agency. You will need to fill out a USPS Form 1583 and show ID to sign up for these services.
A business mailing address is not automatically suitable for every official purpose. Check your state’s registration rules, your bank’s requirements and any relevant licensing rules. A mailing-only virtual office does not qualify as the location of a Google Business Profile. If you provide a service to your customers you can check Google’s rules for service-area Business Profiles.
Have an address that can be trusted and meets your business needs. Having a flashy address will not help if you don’t have a workspace that requires one.
Learn About Your Business Entity
Once you know what your business will do, check whether you need to register it. The right steps depend on your business structure and state, so here are some starting points for owners in the United States.
- Know the difference between a sole proprietorship, LLC and corporation. Find out which one will benefit you the most based on your needs.
- Check your proposed business name against existing businesses and trademarks, and see whether a suitable domain name is available.
- Once you have chosen a name, check whether it must be registered with your state or local government. If you use a trade name, you may also need a DBA filing.
- Look into licenses and permits for your industry and state. If you will be working with food, building or anything else you may need additional licenses or insurance.
- Once you have decided to register your business, you will need to apply for an EIN from the IRS if you qualify.
Remember to have your registered agent set up if your business entity requires one. Do not rely on a business address to act as your registered agent, unless you are certain that the company offers this service.
Store your business entity information, licenses, permits, registrations and taxes in a safe place. This will help you if you ever need to prove your business to others or a bank.
Ensure Your Business Will Be Profitable
Just because you had a great week of sales, doesn’t mean that you will continue to see high revenue each month. There will be months where your customers pay you late or you do not make enough money to cover your costs.
According to the Federal Reserve, 77% of surveyed firms cited increased costs of goods, services or wages, tariff related costs or both as causes of financial stress in 2025. While this was based on small businesses that employ, it’s something to remember when you are getting started.
Create a plan on how you will manage your finances and what your business can handle.
- Cost of permits, materials, initial deposits, inventory, etc.
- Recurring payments for software, insurance, cell phone, materials, rent, etc.
- How long it takes for you to receive money from your customers.
Once you know how much it costs you to provide your product/service, create a price that will allow you to profit from each sale. You don’t want to lose money when you make a sale.
Make sure to open a business bank account, depending on your entity and bank requirements. Separate your personal purchases and record your income/expenses.
Create A Website
Your customers need to know who you are and how to reach you when they have a question or want to purchase from you.
Start with a simple website that can tell your customers about your business, who you serve, where you provide your service, how much it costs and what to do next. Include a contact email, phone number or inquiry form that is easy to find.
Keep your business name, phone number and appropriate contact details consistent across your website, invoices and listings. Only publish an address where the platform allows it, and never present a mailing address as a walk-in office.
Have clear business practices, such as how and when you will be paid, if you offer refunds, shipping times, etc. If you take credit card payments online, use a reputable payment provider and enable multifactor authentication on the account.
After providing services to your customers, ask for reviews and display them on your website if you feel comfortable. Never buy or fake reviews, your business can appear professional without doing that.
How To Get Your First Customers
Now that your business is all set up, it’s time to get out there and start selling! There are many ways to find your first customers, but you want to know what will work best for you.
Choose 1-2 methods that you think will reach your ideal customer and try it out. Maybe your ideal customer will hear about you through word of mouth or a business directory listing. Try reaching out to them directly or creating samples of your work to show others.
Allow your customers to find you, ask you questions, purchase your product/service, pay for it and follow up with them after your sale. Make sure this process works by testing it out yourself before you advertise your business is open.
Monitor your number of inquiries, sales, money you collect, money you spend and what questions your customers are asking you. From there you can begin to improve on what’s not working for you.
Don’t expand your business until you know it’s necessary. You can always add employees, square footage or more subscriptions once your workload increases.
Use This List When Starting Your Business
These are some things you want to make sure you have taken care of when opening your small business. Learn about your market, establish your address, business name, learn about your entity, taxes, create a website and allow your customers to make a purchase.
Having these things in place will allow you to grow your business and tackle any new problems that arise.
