Ask Christa! How Do I Startup a Business?

Hi everyone and welcome to Ask Christa!, the place where you can ask questions about how to work through business challenges and workplace issues. I'm Christa Dhimo and today's question is one I'm asked a lot and half of my advising and consulting is focused on this very topic. How do I start up a business? I'll give a flimsy immediate answer then a multi-part answer. First, it depends and that's my flimsy immediate answer.

This could be an Ask Christa series all on its own, and there are a lot of resources to help you. So my answer for this segment is going to be about what I believe to be the most important thing. How do you feel about what you intend to offer? Notice that I'm not asking about what your idea is or how you're thinking about it or what you think it should look like if it's a product or how you'll deliver the service if it's a service.

I'm asking about how you feel about what you intend to offer. Starting up a business can be easy from a mechanical perspective. The actual steps involved are perhaps the easiest they've ever been because so much of it can be done online with a variety of startup tools and support that's accessible and affordable. In fact, getting the transaction piece of a business started is easier than you think. 

The startup work, everything before, you put business items together, those transactional business items, but the startup work can be a workout if you do it right because it's about creating a strong, clear foundation where you can state your vision and mission and where you fit in your market. And a variety of other items too, those items that embolden you as a business owner to engage others in a compelling way. And this hard work becomes part of your pitch. 

But remember, the pitch isn't just about investing. Sure, you need a pitch if you're going to talk to potential investors, but the pitch is about selling. And that goes well beyond your investors and over to your customer base, potential suppliers and partners, and even future buyers of your business if at some point you want to exit through an acquisition. 

And a quick note about funding. Some people bootstrap their startups, which means they use their own money to put the investment into their business. And then they start to get revenues and incomes and then they pay themselves back. So it's important to note that there are different ways you can fund your business. Venture capital and bank loans isn't the right investment model for everybody. Those are two different models. Even though there's plenty of entertainment associated with venture capital right now in the mainstream, and a lot of businesses still look to banks and small business loans as a way to fund their startups, and there's nothing wrong with any of that. I just want to highlight that there are different ways you can fund your startup. 

So back to my question to you. How do you feel about what you intend to offer? When you start up a business, it's a part of your every moment of every day. In fact, many equate it with what it's like to have children. And of course, it's not literally the same, but I can certainly understand the similarities.

You're responsible for your business, the good and the bad. You think about it all the time, and it will be much easier to correct the bad if you're the type of person who can be honest with yourself and others and ask for help when your experience or energy isn't sufficient. And also be self-aware enough to know in advance if you're at risk for burning out. You should be confident enough to know when and how to ask for help because you will need it when it comes to starting up a business.

There's just a lot you won't know. But that's why it's so important to consider how you feel about what you intend to offer. And that's part of my answer. At least that's part one. Part two is to make space for it. And it doesn't have to be full time, and it doesn't mean important things in your life suffer. But take inventory of what matters most to you in your life and what your source of energy and inspiration is for your startup. You will need that. You will need that to start strong and you need to start strong. 

The third part of my answer is about your business. Finally, right? This can be really challenging because it's more than just deciding why your idea is a good one and why your business is a good one. It's about diving in deep to clearly and compellingly describe what you're trying to do. What need is out there unfulfilled that your business will provide? What problem are you solving? And what can you solve better than anyone else? Once you get this right, it'll take just a minute or two to walk through your business in a way that everyone can understand and anyone can get excited about. 

One of the biggest mistakes I see entrepreneurs make is they start on a premise and an assumption that their idea is the best idea ever. Then they start to build it without a clear foundation to stand on or any clarity about how to describe their business in a competitive and compelling way. Pretty soon they're describing how the product works or the service that they offer, but they've never gone through the work of describing why it should matter in the first place. And this does take work, a lot of it, but it's so worth it.

Quick aside, if you are looking for funding, doing the hard work upfront puts you in the lead. It demonstrates that you've thought through your product and service and you can talk about why it's worthy of an investment. As you do that, you're anticipating the answers and common questions investors have and that earns credibility. But again, you don't have to go for VC funding in every situation.

The last point I'll make is this: do not waste your time on elevator pitches. And I know that might sound very contrarian, perhaps even controversial, but it's a really old phrase and you don't need it if you do the work that creates clarity and enables you to be concise about describing why your business matters. You won't need to spend any time working on an elevator pitch. You'll already have it. So determine how you feel about what you intend to offer.

Make sure you're ready for the commitment. With that, take inventory of your life. Go into startup work with a strong foundation. And third, do your homework. What unmet need are you meeting? What is your startup offering better than anyone else, and why? What gap are you filling, and why does it matter? In essence, why should someone care? And if you care and you are meeting an unmet need, there should be plenty of people who care. It's up to you to get them there. 

Now, resources. There are so many resources available for startups these days, but there are two I want you to pay attention to right away. One of them is an award-winning show that I think best depicts what we can all learn from startups and also from small businesses. And no, it's not Shark Tank. Remember, that's entertainment-based and it's really focused on one aspect of a startup.

And that's very closely tied to the package, the package work of funding. The show I'm talking about brings you into the day to day, the nitty gritties, the aspects of startups and small growing businesses and established businesses that will really teach you a thing or two. The show is called Startup TV Show. 

And while it focuses on American small business owners, you're going to learn a lot about how they got started and some of the day-to-day aspects of starting up and growing a business, and then also sustaining that small startup so that as you grow it, you're strengthening it too. I've been following them for six or seven years now. It's such a good show. So check them out. 

The other resource is the US Small Business Administration page. The site has a lot of references, but the page I've posted in the show notes is 10 Steps to Start Your Business, and it's a great resource. Simple. Straightforward, plenty of links to other resources. I do want to say, and I'm very proud of this, that we have followers in and from other countries. So as we build our community, I will offer non-USA resources as well. At the same time, the basics about starting up a business and a lot of the things we're going to talk about here on Ask Christa! remain global and non-specific to geography. So my aim is to offer resources that will help everyone.

I've also included two resources that are general in nature but could be helpful. One is a list of community colleges within the United States where you can always take courses about startups. And another is the National Chamber of Commerce Directory so you can learn about your US-based Chamber of Commerce wherever you live. Local chambers of commerce are there to support your businesses within your community.

And it's always a good idea to get involved so you can take advantage of a variety of programs and support for those seeking to start up a business.

Okay, so there it is, another segment, and I'm getting a lot of questions, so thank you. In another couple of weeks, I may post more frequently. Right now, I post on Mondays and Thursdays. I really do appreciate the questions though and the level of engagement and support, so keep it up, and I promise to deliver. Join us on my podcast page, AskChrista.com, that's Christa with a C-H, where you can submit your question and sign up for the weekly newsletter too.

I issue that on Sundays to prepare everyone for the work week. Feel free to comment, like and subscribe as well. And as always, if you have a business challenge or a workplace issue, Ask Christa!