Starting a new business is an exciting and rewarding endeavor that can be challenging. To make the process easier, I have compiled a checklist to get you started! This post will give you a basic overview of the steps to starting your new business. There are many more complications and considerations, but this should at least get you started!

Understand your customer profile

1. Ensure you are clear about your reasons for starting the startup. Heads up, it should not be about gaining financial freedom. Financial freedom is just a by-product of filling an essential need for your customers.
2. Before spending resources on a business idea, do your research to confirm there is a need for what you want to sell.
3. Research your competition to identify the unmet opportunities that you can leverage in your new venture. You do not want to be a clone of others in your industry.
4. Understand what drives your customer: pain points, motivation, joys, and unmet needs. The insights you gain will be the foundation for whatever products or services you provide them.

Confirm you are adding value

1. Develop value propositions that help you address what matters most to your customers.
2. Decide how best to get your offer to your customer. Do you want to offer a physical or digital product? Will you serve them from a physical location, or will you rather stay online? 
3. Decide on a pricing strategy that works for you and your customer.
4. Map a detailed customer journey to eliminate surprises down the road.

Assemble a winning team

1. Form partnerships required to serve your customers. Business is a team sport, and you cannot go it alone.
2. Identify the internal skills required to build your business and get the team for them.
3. Find the right partners for collaboration outside of your internal team.
4. Decide on the best business model for you, your team, customers, and partners. Your business has to be profitable to make sense.

Create systems and processes

1. Put suitable systems and processes in place to replicate tasks and roles. You will thank me for that later.
2. Create a plan for how to keep your business afloat. Will it be self-sustaining after the initial startup capital, or will it need a periodic infusion of cash?
3. Choose the appropriate legal structure for your new venture: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation. Decide on what type of entity you will be operating under (e.g., LLC). Then register with state authorities and federal agencies as needed by law.
4. Decide on the financial knowledge required to manage your startup effectively and learn them.
5. Consider hiring an accountant before finalizing taxes with IRS; find one specializing in entrepreneurs and small businesses when possible.
6. Find out all the necessary licenses required from local government offices – check online databases too!

Attract the attention of your target audience

1. Engage the services of a brand strategist/designer to create an identity system and brand assets that will resonate with your ideal customer.
2. Package your offering in a way that will be most appealing to your target market. The language of your marketing materials should align with your customer needs.
3. Identify places online that your ideal audience tends to be and engage with them consistently.
4. Develop a communication funnel that keeps the attention of your audience.
5. Be consistent everywhere. Your branding and marketing efforts must be cohesive: printed materials, websites, and social media footprint must show synergy.
6. Develop a launch strategy that drums up urgency among the target audience.

The journey from new business to success is not a road with many shortcuts. It’ll take time and hard work, but it will become easier when you build upon an existing framework.