Here at The Startup Garage, we know that the startup phase can be a daunting process. The startup phase, or seed stage, is the very beginning in the life of a business. It starts with the formation of your business idea (sort of), and involves all the processes that your company has to go through before it launches. There is a great deal of preparation, creativity, decision making, infrastructure-building, idea changing, reworking and more. With so much up in the air all at once, the process can become very challenging, repetitive and confusing.
With all this in mind, we created the Guide to the Startup Phase blog series to help bring some clarity to the whole process. In the next 3 posts, well break down the complex process into 4 steps that will give you a clear, linear direction to get from a simple business idea to your launched company.
The startup phase can be broken down like this:
Step 1- Your Foundation
Technically a precursor to the startup phase, analyzing your personal foundation is an important step to becoming a successful entrepreneur. In this step, you set your personal goals that your company will achieve for you, analyze your passions and talents, and get your personal support team together. These exercises will prepare you to successfully launch a company that fits your financial/career goals in life.
Many entrepreneurs get their start because they are struck with inspiration or find a great opportunity, but others take the time to come up with an idea that they choose to turn into a business.
Step 2- Business Plan
Writing a business plan lays out the foundation for how you will turn your brilliant idea into a fully functioning business. You can write it on your own, get help writing it, or hire someone to do it for you (which is also our specialty at The Startup Garage).
Step 3- Pre-Launch Actions
Once your business plan is done, youll have a complete strategy for your business once you launch. You just have some preliminary steps to take before you get there, including setting up your office infrastructure, opening bank accounts, getting the appropriate business licenses, and a few other needs.
Once all of the pre-launch actions are completed, congratulations, youre ready to launch! But not so fastthis whole process usually takes about 6 months, but doing it right will lead to a smooth launch of your company, which is well worth it. If you would like a more detailed description of the pre-launch process, sign up for our newsletter and receive our Startup Toolkit for free!
Please follow this link to read on about how to build Your Personal Foundation.