Small Business Startup Checklist Items

Before actually putting out the welcome mat, a small business startup needs to put together a checklist and follow the plan. This checklist starts with such basic items as choosing a name for the business, and includes taking care of everything from financing to legal compliance, risk assessments and insurance. Not to mention plans for handling marketing, employees and setting up a daily routine.

Obviously some of the things will be applicable on a case-to-case basis and some may not apply at all. But generally speaking, the item(s) listed below are all essential for setting up and running a small business startup properly. Let's start with the name, which is a big deal these days.

It has to include the name of the main product/service or the industry it is in and the name of the city/neighborhood location. This is important these days because it helps improve traffic from local search and in getting the right domain for the website. The name also has to take into consideration the type of business structure.

The structure is in fact another item on the checklist, and it's important to decide early on what kind of form it will be (sole proprietorship, LLC, etc.). With the product, name and structure settled, the next step is figuring out what kind of assets will be needed and how much financing it will need. Instead of doing this piece-meal, it is better to put together a comprehensive business plan.

The plan will include the full list of office space, equipment, inventory, supplies, manpower and other needs. It will include the costing of all these things, and arrive at a figure for the total startup expense plus working capital. On the other side, it will include a marketing plan, target markets and sales forecasts for at least 3-5 years.

Another major item on the checklist is regulatory compliance, which includes registration of the firm and applying for licenses and permits (where necessary). Next on the checklist is insurance, which will need a risk assessment of the premises and all aspects of setting up and running the firm. Once all this has been done, the small business startup owner can start reaching out for finance, which can include help from federal and state agencies, commercial loans from lenders and/or equity investments.

Other things that follow are usually part of the day-to-day and ongoing operations. This includes things like record keeping, product pricing, purchasing office equipment and supplies, hiring employees and managing benefit plans, etc. This last one has to be paid special attention, because many businesses trip up in the growth phase over HR management and employee benefits.

No doubt this is nowhere near a complete checklist for a small business startup, but it should be enough to cover the core issues. There's very little that can be done afterwards, because it's almost impossible to change course midway once the operations are underway. For instance, how damaging would it be to change the name afterwards, or to find out that an unperformed risk assessment might have prevented a major incident and saved the firm? So look at the items above carefully, and chart out a detailed plan and a checklist.

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