Entrepreneurs are excellent at identifying and creating ideas for new businesses. Unfortunately, some don’t complete the steps to make any of those dreams a reality. Although doing the necessary tasks to build the business isn’t as much fun as brainstorming new ideas, the satisfaction of seeing your vision come to life and sustain a profit is worth it.

1. Create a Business Plan

Every successful new company starts with a detailed plan that serves as a roadmap of the tasks needed to launch and manage the business. It will include a description of what your company will do, how it will be structured, a market analysis of your competition, your advertising strategy, and your projections for growth. You can find a business plan template from Growthink to help you get started.

If this is your first business venture, learn everything you can about running a business. One way to gain business knowledge is to enroll in an online program and earn a business degree. Whether you earn a degree in business management, accounting, or marketing, you’ll be better prepared to launch your business.

2. Get Financing in Place

Your business plan gives you a realistic look at how much money you need to start your new company. Unless you are self-funding the launch, you will need to find other options to provide the finances, such as getting private investors or loans from a bank or the government.

Another popular and creative way to get start-up money is through an internet crowdfunding campaign. This method gives you the needed cash in exchange for equity in the company or a future reward. It also gives you the chance to promote your new company on social media and provides you with customers ready to buy your products or services.

3. Complete the Legal Paperwork

Every state requires new businesses to complete a registration process that includes filing any necessary permits or licenses. The business structure you choose determines what paperwork is necessary, your tax burden, and your personal level of liability should your new company face future legal challenges.

Structuring your business as a limited liability corporation offers you many advantages as they are usually less complex to set up than partnerships or corporations. It also lets you decide how to share your company’s profits with stakeholders, protects your personal assets from liability, and requires less paperwork to file.

To help you understand which legal documents and contracts you need in place for your business, The Creative Law Shop® has you covered. For an overview of business essentials, check out the Legal Foundations e-book or for a more comprehensive guide, Legal Foundations A-Z Course Bundle is for you. Once you understand what you need, you can purchases the templates and agreements right from The Creative Law Shop®. Don’t forget to use the discount code: THEHALCYONHIVE10 at checkout to save an additional 10% off.

4. Hire Essential Employees or Contractors

With all the business necessities complete, you have reached a more fun stage of the start-up process, hiring your essential employees or contractors. These are the ones that are critical to getting your business up and running and on its way to quickly becoming profitable.

The first hire you need is an accountant to ensure that all your business’s legal and regulatory requirements are met from the start. He or she will also provide financial and data reporting that will help the rest of your team determine how they are progressing against their goals.

Your other essentials could include:

• Virtual Assistant
• Marketing specialist
• Customer support specialist

5. Outsource Payroll

Paying your employees or contractors needs to be completed correctly, or you could face expensive fines and penalties. The most convenient and easiest way to manage this process is to outsource payroll to a service. Look for a company with a great reputation that offers complete automated payroll processing and other perks like:

• Automated taxes and forms
• Employee timekeeping
• Tax penalty protection

Your employees will appreciate it if you select a service that offers the same-day direct deposit of their paycheck and a way to check online to view their vacation balance, pay stubs, and tax forms.

Following these steps will move your start-up out of the idea phase to a functioning business. And if you need help marketing your business, get in touch with The Halcyon Hive™ to learn more about the power of Pinterest marketing.

Article provided in collaboration with Jenna Sherman from parent-leaders.com