Starting a business is no easy task, that’s why i’ve decided to write this article to help guide you on your journey. In this article i’ll share resources that will help you get up to speed on where you need to be or where you can get started.
Before you start spending money on any of the resources below be sure to have a separate bank account. This will be the account you use for only business related expenses.
You can track your expenses using quickbooks accounting for business. Their plans start at $12 and go all the way up to $75. It’s best to have a plan on how an expense like this will pay for itself before spending.
- Business Name
The first thing that comes to mind for most people who have a business idea is a business name. They wonder what a cool name I can use for my business? or How do I pick a business name?
While all these questions are valid there’s no need to give yourself a headache and worry about it too much. The important thing is to make sure you are making progress.
To make things easy here are some links to places which can help you come up with a business name for your company. You will need a keyword (a word or concept in the industry you are in).
For example if you’re selling products related to tea then your keyword would be “tea”. Visit any of the websites below type in your keyword and click on generate names to get ideas.
Shopify Business Name Generator
Oberlo Business Name Generator
Wix Business Name Generator
Slogan for your business incase you need that too. Catchy Slogans.
Be sure to type your new business name on google and check if it’s taken. Also check social media pages and make sure they are available before you start branding.
More about choosing a business name on sba.gov.
- Business Plan
I never thought you need a business plan until I tried to launch my first business. I won’t get into the details about that in this post, i’ll save that for another day.
Having a business plan is vital for the survival of your business. A business plan guides you on what your vision is for the company. It makes things a whole lot easier for you if you write down a plan of action and how you plan to execute.
A great resource to help you get started is sba.gov. You will also need to read about business formations. Knowing what business structure you need can help you save on costs such as taxes.
- Website
Do you need a website to run your business? You need a platform where you can share what you want with others. You’ve started a business and to get things more professional then a website is a must.
Having a website gives you the freedom to do things your way. You get to define the rules and boundaries on what you can and can’t do for your clients.
You only need two things to get a website going the first is a domain name and second hosting service.
What’s a domain name? google.com consists of the website’s name (google) and the domain name extension (.com). Domain name is what people type in to access your site. It also points the web browser to the server that stores those resources.
You buy this first, then hosting service.
What’s hosting? is the place where all the files of your website live. It is like the home of your website where it actually lives.
Where do you get a domain name? Google.com, Siteground.com
Where do you buy hosting service? Siteground.com.
- Images and Image Editors
As you start building your empire you will notice that getting images can turn out to be quite tough. It doesn’t have to be that way, there are resources you can use to get started.
To edit images or get free images you can use Canva. Design anything, from logos and social media content to documents, prints and more.
Photopea.com is another wonderful tool. It lets you edit photos, apply effects, filters, add text, crop or resize pictures. Do Online Photo Editing in your browser for free! No need to pay crazy subscription fees on Photoshop when you’re first starting out.
Pexels: One of the best stock photos in the web updated daily, and it’s for free. Free stock photos and videos you can use everywhere. ✓ High-quality ✓ 100% free ✓ No attribution needed.
- Team Collaboration
Working as a team is now easier than ever, it’s like there’s a new app for project management every year. Here is a list of a few apps we use here at Bold Beauty Hair to collaborate and ensure we are all on the same page.
Whatsapp: Simple. Secure. Reliable messaging. With WhatsApp, you’ll get fast, simple, secure messaging and calling for free.
Workspace: This used to be known as Gsuite. A team needs tools to create, communicate, and collaborate, all in one place. Get started with Google Workspace to help your team get more done, from anywhere. You can create a professional email address using this too.
Do you have any resource that’s helped you get your business off the ground?
Please share with us down below in the comments. We would love to get your help in growing our resource library and help others as well.