Checklist for Your Startup Launch

The months and weeks leading up to the launch of your startup can be simultaneously exciting and nerve-wracking. You’re worried about whether you might have forgotten something, or you’re wondering how customers are going to respond to your product or service even if you’ve done your homework on that. Below are a few things to keep in mind as you get ready to open your doors.

Get Your Finances Organized

Your personal finances are not your business finances. In fact, they should be kept entirely separate, but you still should get your personal finances in order before you launch your business. There are a number of different reasons for this, but one of the big ones is simply that it makes things much less difficult for you. If your finances are a mess, it’s hard to figure out what kind of salary you need to survive. This can also help you cut your expenses, which can also be useful when you are looking at what kind of profit you need.

There are a number of different ways to reduce your spending. You’ll get a better handle on your spending by making a budget. You should also take a look at your debts. Refinancing your student loans can help you get a better payment plan. You can research lenders online. If you have a great deal of credit card or similar consumer debt, you may want to consider paying it down before your launch.

Have Your Paperwork in Order

Make sure you’ve filled out the forms that you need and completed all the necessary paperwork. This includes figuring out what kind of business entity you’ll be, whether you will have a DBA and if you need a tax identification number. If you’re going to be running the business out of your home, you might also need to find out if there are any zoning issues you need to be aware of. For more complex paperwork, such as contracts, you may want to consult an attorney. While this isn’t cheap up front, it may cost you less in the long run than trying to wing it and doing it wrong.

Your Business Plan

You do have a business plan, don’t you? If not, you need to stop what you’re doing and make one, even if you aren’t looking for investors or loans. By forcing you to put your ideas into writing, a professional business plan can sometimes reveal the areas where you don’t actually have any ideas. Common blind spots including marketing, identifying your customers or understanding the competition. Your business plan should also include some concrete profit goals. If it’s for your eyes only, it doesn’t necessarily have to be particularly long, but it should be thorough.

Identify Key People

These key people could be business partners, employees or simply be mentors and other entrepreneurs in your industry. Surrounding yourself with the right people is critical to your startup success, and your relationship building skills are key. If you’re a sole proprietor and you don’t yet know many people in your industry, look for opportunities to network online and offline at meetups, conferences and similar events.