13 Simple Ideas for Starting Your Own Business

So, you’ve decided to start out your own business. Congratulations! this can be a large decision, and it’s important to try and do your research before you start. Let's talk about five simple ideas for starting your own business, things that anyone can do. These are just general ideas–you will tailor them to suit your specific needs and interests. These are good starting points from which you'll be able to broaden later.

Whichever business idea you choose, learning about marketing may be a key skill you’ll succeed in. It’ll be hard to start out anything without having the knowledge or skills to attract customers. Marketing shouldn’t be expensive, either. you'll be able to use cost-effective tools like feather flags, which might be purchased from Flagdom

How To Start A Business?

At now, you'll be wondering where to begin start. do you have to work on your business name and logo or tackle your business structure? Does it add up to already starting applying for loans or focusing on product development?

It will be difficult to know the right steps to take. But that’s ok. Starting your own venture is all about trial and error. Working through this process to find out what works for you and what resonates with potential customers. But instead of being overwhelmed by all the decisions and tasks you have got at hand, there are steps you'll be able to want to kickstart the event of your business. Let’s start.

1. Online Courses

If you have got lots of information about a particular subject, you may start selling online courses. this is often a good business idea because it allows you to share your knowledge with others and earn money at the same time. the best part about selling online courses is that you just only need to create them once. After that, you sit down and watch your income grow month by month, without doing any extra work on the courses, other than marketing them.

You can create a web course about any topic, from cooking to gardening to web development. you may also go in-depth in one niche. for example, if you wish to create courses for cooking, you'll make separate courses on a way to cook different cuisines, like Italian or Chinese. Alternatively, you'll take a course on the way to cook healthy meals or vegan meals. The sky’s the limit!

Once you’ve decided on a topic, you’ll have to create the course content, which might be in the form of videos, PDFs, audio files, or simple text documents. this can be the most time-consuming part, and it must be done well. Otherwise, you’re going to receive lots of complaints and should issue refunds. There are platforms like Udemy and Teachable which will help you create and sell your courses with ease.

2. Freelancer or Contractor

A freelancer or contractor is someone who provides services to clients, on a project basis or hourly rate. Hourly rates are usually much higher than those of traditional employees because they are doing not receive benefits like health insurance or vacation days. In fact, most freelancers and contractors are not employed at all. they'll get terminated at any time or will not work for a client once the contract period is over.

Starting your own business as a freelancer or contractor gives you lots of flexibility. you'll work from home, set your own hours, and tackle as many or as few clients as you would like. The downside is that you will most likely not have the stability of an everyday income, and you'll hustle to seek out new clients. you'll be able to use platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, or other freelancing websites to seek out clients. As long as you’re skilful at what you are doing, this could be a nice and simple business to sell your professional services.

3. Make your business legal

Realistically, registering your business is the first step toward making it real. However, like the personal evaluation step, take it slow to induce to know the pros and cons of various business entities.

If at all possible, work with an attorney to iron out the details. this can be not an area you wish to urge wrong. you'll also get the correct business licenses and permits. Depending upon the business, there is also the city, county, or state regulations still. this is often also the time to check into insurance and to find a good accountant.

Types of business formations include:

• Sole proprietorship
  


• Partnership
  


• Corporation
  


• Limited Liability Company (LLC)
  

Spend a while getting to know the pros and cons of every business formation. If you would like help, we’ve

got a full guide on Legal Entities, Licenses, and Permits. While incorporating are often expensive, it’s well definitely worth the money. a corporation becomes a separate entity that's legally responsible for the business. If something goes wrong, you're less likely to be held personally liable.

Other things you will do include deciding on a business name and researching availability for that name.

4. E-commerce

E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services online. this will be done through a website or an online marketplace like Amazon or eBay. E-commerce businesses are very successful, but they require a major investment of your time in terms of research, with some upfront cash to get inventory. you may create or purchase a sites, set up a cart, create or outsource products to sell, and then market your business to potential customers.

You'll find e-commerce stores everywhere, especially on popular platforms like Amazon and social media networks - TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc. The best part is that almost all people won’t just create their own products as they will find manufacturers on websites like Alibaba and Aliexpress to drop ship products.

Dropshipping is after you sell a product that you just don’t physically have in stock. Instead, the manufacturer ships it on to the customer on your behalf. this type of e-commerce business is low risk and easy to urge started. If you have got a winning product to sell, this could be a good option for starting your own business with very minimal risk. Remember that you just can’t just pick any product to sell and expect to get rich. It’ll take a lot of research, planning, and smart marketing.

5. Pick your business location

Your business plan has been laid out, the money is within the bank, and you’re able to go. If your business is online and you won’t need a storefront, you’re probably looking at building your website and selecting a shopping cart solution. Maybe you’ll be ready to see of an office or a co-working space instead of renting or buying office space. But if your business needs a dedicated brick and mortar location, there are many considerations.

Finding a location. Negotiating leases. Buying inventory. Getting the phones installed. Having stationery printed. Hiring staff. Setting your prices. Throwing a grand opening party. Think through each of those steps carefully. Your business location will dictate the kind of customers you attract, what types of promotions you'll be able to run, and the way long it'll take you to grow. While a good location won’t necessarily guarantee your success, a nasty location can contribute to failure.

6. Hobby Businesses

Everyone has hobbies, and a few people make a living out of them. regardless of what your hobbies are, there's always going to be some way to show them into a business. does one wish to bake? you'll start a cake decorating business or sell homemade pies at your local farmer’s market. does one like to knit or crochet? you may sell your handmade goods on Etsy or at craft fairs. does one enjoy woodworking? you may make and sell custom furniture. the choices are endless!

The key to turning your hobby into a business is to find how to monetize it, which can take some creativity. for example, as someone who loves animals, you'll start searching for a dog sitting opportunities online. There’s an infinite number of how to monetize your hobbies, including charging for your services, selling products you make, or teaching others the way to do what you are doing. If you’re confident enough, you'll even start a YouTube or streaming channel–these may be very rewarding!

7. Start a Blog

Similar to selling your own online courses, you'll also start a blog to share your knowledge on a particular topic. Starting a blog is easy and doesn’t require much to begin. you'll be able to start a blog at no cost on platforms like WordPress or Blogger. Alternatively, you'll buy your own domain to access more features and customize your blog the way you wish it.

Once you’ve created your blog, all you need to do is start writing content. the most difficult part about blogging is that you simply have to create the best content possible so as to try to do well. this implies writing articles that are well researched, informative, engaging, and unique. Learning about search engine optimization is going to be key. Once your blog starts gaining some traffic, you'll be able to monetize it in some ways. This includes affiliate marketing, placing ads, selling digital products or services (your online courses we talked about above), and more.

8. Determine if entrepreneurship is what you wish

Before diving into the details of your potential business, it’s best to require a stock of yourself and your situation.

Why does one want to start out a business? Is it money, freedom, and flexibility, to resolve a problem or another reason?

• What are your skills?


• What industries does one know about?


• Do you want to provide a service or a product?


• What do you wish to do?


• How much capital should you risk?


• Will it be a full-time or a part-time venture?

Your answers to those kinds of questions will help you narrow your focus.


This step isn't supposed to dissuade you from starting your own business. Rather, it’s here to get you thinking and planning. so as to start a successful business, passion alone isn’t enough.

9. Refine your idea

Once you know why you wish to start a business, it’s time to find and develop your idea. quite likely, you already have something in mind after researching your self-assessment. But if you wish for inspiration, you'll be able to take a look at our sample plan library to explore different industries or read au fait trending start-up ideas.

Now it’s not enough to only think you have got a good idea and run with it. you wish to validate that there's a need. you also have to start addressing whether this idea is sustainable or not.

Start with a Lean Plan

We’ll get into the specifics of the way to explore the market and determine if you’re idea may be a good slot in just a flash. Right now, we recommend that you just consider starting a Lean plan to help make the rest of this process much easier.

The Lean Plan may be a simple, one-page document that helps you refine your idea. It ensures that you’re considering your mission and value proposition timely, while also providing structure for the more technical portions of your business. In fact, it'll provide you with the perfect template to tackle the rest of those steps.

10. Conduct marketing research

Once you opt for a business that fits your goals and lifestyle, it’s time to evaluate your idea. Who will buy your product or service? Who will your competitors be? This process will help you address your opportunity, value proposition, market size, and competition sections of your Lean Plan.

11. Write your business plan

If you'll be seeking outside financing, a business plan may be a necessity. But, whether or not you're going to finance the venture yourself, a business plan will help you work out how much money you may have to start, what it'll go to make your business profitable, what has to get done when, and where you're headed.

A roadmap for your business

In the simplest terms, a business plan may be a roadmap—something you may use to help you chart your progress which will outline the items you wish to try and do so as to reach your goals. rather than thinking of a business plan as a hefty document that you’ll only use once (perhaps to get a loan from a bank), think of it as a tool to manage how your business grows and achieves its goals.

While you may use your business plan as a part of your pitch to investors and banks, and to attract potential partners and board members, you'll primarily use it to define your strategy, tactics, and specific activities for execution, including key milestones, deadlines, and budgets, and cash flow.

You have a head start together with your Lean Plan

Here’s the thing, your business plan doesn't need to be a formal document at all if you don’t have to present your plan to outsiders. Instead, your plan can follow a Lean Planning process that involves creating a pitch, forecasting your key business numbers, outlining key milestones you hope to achieve, and regular progress checks where you review and revise your plan. If you aren’t presenting to investors, don’t think about this as a proper pitch presentation, but instead a high-level overview of who you're, the issue you're solving, your solution to the problem, your target market, and also the key tactics you'll use to achieve your goals.

Hopefully, you’ve already started developing your Lean Plan at now as you explore your business idea. If not, now could be the time to urge started. Because, whether or not you don’t think you would like a formal business plan, you must bear the look process anyway. the process will help to uncover any holes or areas you've got not thought through well enough.

12. Prepare for growth

Whether you’re starting your first or your third business, expect to create mistakes. this is natural so long as you learn from them, also beneficial. The best thing you'll be able to do to take advantage of any mistakes is about up review processes to assist you to create decisions. this is often where the Lean Plan, or full business plan, you’ve been working on comes into play.

If you've got your plan up to now, you'll set up monthly review meetings to go over the numbers, and your strategy and develop forecasts for the next month, quarter, and year. this is often simple thanks to keeping track of performance and actively making decisions supported by actual results. So, rather than reacting to bad situations, you're preparing for them and facing uncertainty with certainty.

To help you begin your review process, you'll download our free income statement and record examples to start tracking your financials. And for a simpler solution, that makes reviewing forecasts and financial statements faster and simpler, you'll want to consider LivePlan. With LivePlan, you'll be able to create your Lean Plan, full business plan, pitch, and develop forecasts all within one platform. But, if you’re virtually ready to invest in an exceedingly planning platform, the templates within this guide are enough to assist you to get your business up and running.

13. Fund your business

Depending on the size and goals of your venture, you'll seek financing from an “angel” investor or from a venture capital firm. But, most small businesses begin with a loan, financing from credit cards, help from friends and family, and so on.

Investment and lending options include:

• Venture capital
  


• Angel investment (similar to venture capital)
  


• Commercial (banks)
  


• Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans
  


• Accounts receivable specialists
  


• Friends and family
  


• Credit cards
  

For in-depth information on funding, see our complete guide on the way to get your business funded, which includes detailed information on each of the above-mentioned options.

Note: A beautifully fleshed-out business plan doesn't guarantee you'll get funded. In fact, in keeping with Guy Kawasaki, the business plan is one of all the least influential factors when it comes to raising money.