Starting a business takes a lot more than just a great idea.  You need to plan out your business, validate your idea, determine how to protect yourself in the event that you get sued, and find money to invest (amongst many other things).

The most important thing when it comes to starting a business is doing the right work before the business starts, instead of just jumping in, missing steps and making it more challenging than it needs to be.

What You “Don’t Know” Can Get You In
Serious Trouble

There are a lot of mistakes entrepreneurs can make, and just because you don’t know the laws, doesn’t mean there won’t be serious consequences!

A “Great Idea” Can Lose You
A Lot Of Money

It takes more than a “great idea” to make money.  In fact, without a handful of other things, your “great idea” could actually lose you money.

How to Create Your Business Plan

A business plan will help you research and organize your business.  Find out how to put one together.

The Roadmap for Business Startup & Growth

There are specific phases and steps in starting a growing a business.  Listen to find out what they are.

The 7 Critical Aspects of a Business Plan

There are lots of things that you could include in your business plan.  Learn the 7 elements that need to be there.

Should Bootstrap Your Business?

Your business likely needs money to start.  One option is to bootstrap, but is it right for you?  Listen as we discuss.

NameCheap
Domain Name Registration
Starting under $10/year

NameCheap is a domain registration company.  They make it easy to purchase and manage multiple domain names.  By registering your domain names here and forwarding them to SiteGround, you protect yourself if you switch hosting.

SiteGround
Website Hosting
Starting at $3.95/month

SiteGround is the website hosting provider that we use and recommend.  It has lots of great features and support and will allow you to get your website up and running quick and easily (with excellent technical support).

Read About Why We Switched to SiteGround from BlueHost for Our Website Hosting

WordPress
Website Platform
Free

WordPress is the most popular Content Management Platform (CMS).  It is very easy to install in SiteGround and will allow you to make a simple website when starting, which can them morph and evolve as your business does.

Dropbox
Cloud File Storage
Free for 2GB, $9.99/month

Dropbox is a cloud file storage service.  It creates folders on your computer that then syncs your files to the cloud, backing them up and making them available on all of your devices (other computers, laptops, tablets & smart phones).

Evernote
Virtual Notebook
Free for 1 device, $35/year to sync across devices

Evernote is amazing!  You can create multiple notebooks and fill them with virtual notes.  These notebooks can then sync to all of your devices (with the paid version) so you have access to your notes and documents wverywhere.

Lean Startup
Business Startup
~$16 on Amazon

Rather than spending a lot of time & money creating a business (and praying that it succeeds), Lean Startup recommends a better approach through validated learning, which tests your vision and allows you to adjust/adapt as needed.

Running Lean
Business Planning/Idea Validation
~$16 on Amazon

Running Lean walks through using a one page “Lean Canvas” to document 9 key elements of an idea (such as problem, solution, and customer), then walks you through the process of validating an idea.

Profit First
Cashflow Management
~$18 on Amazon

The traditional calculstion for profit is revenue – expenses = profit.  The author recommends adjusting the formula to revenue – profit = expensive to help ensure that your business is profitable.  He also shares many other useful tips.