• 30 Oct

    New Startup Business Checklist

    A business startup checklist of things to consider when starting a new business.The following business startup checklist is a high-level list of the issues and items you need to think about when starting a new business.

    It is not in any order of importance and some of the items on the list are at a very high level, so there may be several subsidiary issues that you have to address under any of the following points.

    However, it should give anyone starting a new business some general guidance as to the issues that they should have considered and addressed where they are relevant.

    Business Startup Checklist

    Consider the following items:

    1. Product proposition designed.

    2. Is your idea unique or does it have something unique about it?

    3. Target market and target market segments identified.

    4. Confirm market demand via research or testing.

    5. Pricing tested with your target market.

    6. Competition assessed.

    7. The business plan is written.

    8. Business ownership, investors and partners agreed.

    9. Shareholder or partnership agreement in place.

    10. The business name is decided and the website and name for the corporate structure are available.

    11. The business structure is decided and the corporate entity is established.

    12. Stationary arranged e.g. headed paper, compliments slips and business cards.

    13. Sales and marketing plans are written. Including consideration of the use of the following: Advertising; newsletters and social media, direct marketing, telemarketing, networking and business contacts, internet-based marketing, customer mining, public relations & exhibitions.

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    14. Staff requirements established and recruitment planned. Also consider the need for Payroll, health and safety, premises, staff benefits, pensions and data protection.

    15. Premises requirements. Also consider the need for building and contents insurance, in addition to public liability insurance.

    16. Equipment requirements addressed e.g. IT, telecoms and other equipment, plant and machinery. You may also require equipment finance to spread the cost.

    17. Financial projections prepared. Variation scenarios are modelled and acceptable.

    18. Cash flow forecast prepared and sufficient funding in place to meet peak requirements.

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    19. Bank account set up.

    20. Funding needs to be addressed.

    21. Accountants and solicitors engaged.

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    22. Do you need to register for VAT? (Value Added Tax).

    23. Bookkeeping arranged and accounting package set up, including invoicing format.

    24. Insurances considered e.g. premises related, liability related e.g. public liability, employers liability and professional indemnity.

    25. Website and printed marketing materials in place.

    26. Licencing and regulatory requirements addressed. This could include sector-specific trading licences, data protection registration, and data protection processes.

    Please note that this checklist is guidance only and is not necessarily comprehensive for your business. You should take advice from an accountant and/or solicitor

    Further Topics

    Navigate to any of the other sections of this free business startup guide:

    By Glenn Blackman

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