Advice on Starting a Business from A List Apart

This post is simultaneously jumping ahead and looking back. I say we’re jumping ahead because January is when Bridget and I will kick off a series of articles on getting started in your career or in your business. I say looking back because the article I’m talking about today is from 2003, which seems like a lifetime ago now that it’ll be 2008 in just a few days!

In his tips for starting a business, Kevin Potts suggests these important steps:

1. Write a business plan.
2. File for a fictitious name (in other words, “Doing Business As” or “DBA”)
3. Find funding.
4. Get an accountant.
5. Start with a partner.
6. Set up the right kind of office.
7. Create a thorough paper trail.
8. Start small and conserve money.
9. Don’t undercharge, but be flexible.
10. Use legal software.
11. Keep business and personal finances separate.
12. Market, market, market.
13. Establish and maintain a positive image.
14. Utilize external resources.

The article is geared toward website designers, but the advice is solid for everyone. And the reason this isn’t actually jumping the gun is that, before you can start really planning your business and putting those plans into action, you have to think about your business. Use this time before the end of the year to start thinking about your business, what it means to you, and what you want from it. Don’t feel committed to anything you come up with right now — just jot down some ideas and get the juices flowing. We’ll use those ideas next month.

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King

(photo via SXC.hu)