“Steps to starting a small business in the digital age”

In this blog I will discuss the steps that you need to take when starting your own business in the 21st century or this digital age we live in.

[Disclaimer} I am NOT a lawyer or attorney, the advice I give is just advice. Anything I say cannot hold me liable in a court of law.

With that said let’s get this started. I’m going to keep all of my post as simple as possible. I’m not a scholar just someone who decided to start a blog to better my writing skills, push myself and have fun.

First there are a few things that you need to think about when starting your business.

1. First what will your business do, are you providing a service or are you providing a product. This is a precursor but this is something that must be said just for those who have not thought about it.
2. Ok step # 2 is actually two steps that must be combined and completed simultaneously. What is your business name going to be? This is very important because you need to know your business name because you will have to register this as your "trade name" or your doing business as name . You must register this name with your state to become a legal entity. This is where you choose whether you're a sole proprietor, corporation or an LLC. You must find a name in your state's database that has not been taken. This is where creative business names come in play. At this point you must also think of what do you want your website domain to be. You can search domain addresses on sites like GoDaddy.com . Here you can find out if the domain you want is available and also purchase the domain for a low price. Okay to sum this step up you must register your trade name and find the domain you want to use and make sure both are available .The trade name in my state of Maryland cost $150 online and the domain on GoDaddy.com cost $12 for for a full year with one email address .(These are all business expenses)
3. Register for your business EIN number this required when filing your taxes, getting loans and for any other financial purposes related to your business. You can register at irs.gov.There is no fee to register for this number but it does take a few weeks to get your EIN number in the mail.
4. Next I suggest finding a small graphics design or marketing company in your local area possibly on facebook or craigslist. This is important because when you get a logo or have graphics design by someone over the Internet it is hard to explain what problems you're having on your end. For instance I bought a logo over the internet but it needed resizing and also needed to be in vector format which is used to make this process easier to present you logo across multiple social and media sites. If you did not know this how could you explain this to a person on the internet. So working with someone in your town or someone you can find over the Internet in your area is the best option I think. You might be paying a little bit more money but you are going to get better service from somebody who's going to be able to speak with you face to face or at least answer your phone calls in a timely manner. Having a graphic design or marketing company is very important because they can design your logo, business cards, website, facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, IG marketing material etc all depending on the contract with your designer. Even if you are not starting a business at the moment just having business cards with your contact info and letting people know what you do is instrumental and they will remember you more than someone who does not have a card.
5. Get a Google Voice number or a separate business phone.This can be written off as a business expense on your taxes. Also important you do not want your business calls coming in after hours so you’ll be able to decipher, what is a business call and what is a personal call.
6. Depending on the industry you may want to consult an attorney before going into business. Attorneys run around 300+- an hour but most business discussions will take on average a half hour. Just be prepared with a list of questions as to not waste your time and money.
7. Booking/record Keeping-You will need to keep track of your revenue and expenses related to your business. Opening an account is possible but an initial balance is needed so if your light on funds skip this step. I will not go deep into this subject because I am not a financial expert but just keep any and all receipts related to your business on file for tax purposes . To keep track of your files you can use Windows office 365 but I prefer Google Drive. With Drive you can store files in the cloud. File types that can be stored are word, spread sheets, power point, forms and almost any file type that windows supports but free. With that said in the future you must use technology to gain an advantage in your business. This is how you multiply your growth.

These are the most necessary steps that you need to take when starting a small business. I hope this blog has been helpful and informative to all. Thank you believe in yourself and never stop dreaming...