5 tips on how to start a new business

Life is better as an entrepreneur. Want to know how to start a new business? ... photo by CC user internetassociation on Flickr

Finally had enough of life in Corporate America? It’s hard enough working when you could be the next person that gets the ax so that the price of your company’s stock can go up another two dollars, but for many, the constraining culture is what drives their desire to flee (what does having a plant on your desk do to disrupt productivity anyway?).

If you want to make 2015 the year that you finally seize the means of your own production, follow these tips on how to start a new business, and you’ll be well on your way to earning your freedom…

1) Get every idea you have in your head onto a piece of paper

The hardest part of starting a business is figuring out where to start. The number of problems out there that are waiting to be solved by a person just like you is practically infinite. By getting all your ideas for improving processes or ways of doing things out of your brain and onto a page, you will begin to see what ideas can be monetized quickly, as well as identifying the ones that require more time and money, and the ones that don’t even stand a chance of making it off the ground.

2) Stumped? Have a good long look at franchising

If you know that you aren’t the second coming of Steve Jobs, or if the intellectual yeoman’s work of putting together business processes from scratch is intimidating to you, don’t despair. You can still barge your way into the world of entrepreneurship via franchising.

Franchising allows you to take a pre-assembled business system (complete with brand power and marketing that small business owners can only dream about) and with a ton of hard work and commitment, you can achieve results the likes of which you never thought you were capable of producing.

From Subway to the Lawn Doctor, your success is only limited by your work ethic and your ability to execute a game plan written by your parent company.

3) Get your admin stuff done

Another aspect of entrepreneurship that cause many wantrepreneurs to drag their feet is having to jump through the bureaucratic hurdles that governments impose on the self-employed. Many believe that it will take weeks or even months to tackle, but in reality, most of these tasks can be done in an afternoon.

The acquisition of employer ID numbers, trade names, business licenses and other mundane but necessary realities of doing business in the USA can often be done together in one big batch, taking no more than three hours on average.

4) Draft a business plan

Depending on what your business does, this step might not even be necessary. Freelance writers, for example, can get started on day 1 without having to draft a single sentence of a business plan, as they typically don’t need to convince investors to fund a product or a process.

If you are making a better tennis racket though, explaining how your revolutionary piece of equipment will change the game forever, estimating expected expenditures and revenues, etc. via a business plan will help convince prospects to take you seriously.

5) Start cold calling/e-mailing clients

You won’t start making bank unless you pick up the phone or put your fingers to the keyboard and start contacting potential customers. Research businesses that could use your services or products, figure out who their decision makers are, and start dialing!