
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.
Free Resources For You
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.
Why You Shouldn’t Quit Your Day Job…
At Least Not Yet!
We’ve got 5 reasons you should think about before you quit your day job for the entrepreneur life. Are they things you’ve thought about?
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.
Creating a Website for Your Business
Your business needs a website, but it doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated. Learn how to create your website.
Recommended Tools
Website
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.
Divi
Premium WordPress Theme
$69/year or $249/lifetime access
Divi is our favorite theme for WordPress sites. We use it on every site that we own. It is very flexible and allows you to make beautiful looking websites. Skip the free themes and the headaches and go right to Divi.
Productivity
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.
Recommended Books
These books are some of the best to read when looking to start a business.
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.
The Pumpkin Plan
Business Strategy
~$15 on Amazon
There are a lot of things that you could focus on as an entrepreneur starting a business. In The Pumpkin Plan, the author outlines a basic yet effective strategy to use the 80/20 principle to help focus on the right things in business.
Want More?
Click to find out more about how Startup Academy can help you build a successful business.