Starting a new business is both an exciting and a nerve-wracking time. Exciting because of all the possibilities ahead of you and nerve-wracking because of all you don’t yet know. 

The good news is that you can learn as you go. Everyone does, in fact. However, the more you know in advance, the faster success will come.

There are probably 100 or more steps involved in starting and running a new business. That number can also vary by industry and company size. However, there are some universal steps that all entrepreneurs should consider taking. They can get you on the fastest path to success and help you avoid trouble down the line, when you’re up-and-running.

Here are the top nine things just about everyone should do during startup:

Prepare a business plan

Whether you need outside financing or not, taking the time to think through and put on paper a roadmap for your business is critical. Your business plan is a document that contains the details of what you’re selling, who your target customer is, what makes your business better than the competition, what you’ll charge, and how you’ll grow the company. It’s where you can think through where you’re headed and track your progress.

Make it official

Set up your business entity. That means choosing between a sole proprietorship, which is also referred to as a DBA because of the “Doing Business As” paperwork filed for that purpose. With a DBA, you are the business. However, if you choose to set up a limited liability company (LLC), subchapter S corporation, or partnership, those require a separate entity to be established—meaning an organization that is separate from you but which employs you. This option is often chosen for liability protection, though you should consult an attorney before making that choice.

Get a business bank account

Setting up a bank account separate from your personal checking or savings accounts is important for several reasons, not the least of which is being able to fill out your taxes more accurately. It also makes it possible to see whether your business is growing or not. Before you can take this step, however, you need to have your business officially formed, with the paperwork to prove it (the bank will ask).

Check whether you need permits

Depending on the type of business you’ve started, your local town or county may require you to fill out more paperwork. You may need a permit or license to operate your business, for example. Call your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to find out what you need to be legit.

Get insurance

Nearly every business needs to have Workers’ Compensation Insurance in place, but you may also want more than that, such as liability insurance (if you’ll have customers or employees on your premises), business interruption insurance (to cover you if your business has to close suddenly), or general coverage for your property and equipment.

Request an employer identification number (EIN).

An employer identification number (EIN) is a tax identification number and is a smart idea whether you intend to ever have employees or not. Once you have an EIN, you can use it in place of your social security number on things like invoices, loan applications, and other official documentation, which will help prevent identity theft.

Claim your domain name.

Before you design a website, stake your claim to your business domain name. Ideally, you’ll find your business name is still available as a URL with a .com suffix. If it’s already taken, try variations, such as by adding the city or state you operate in. GoDaddy is one of the biggest domain name sellers.

Create a website.

No matter what business you’re in, the majority of potential customers today are likely to head online to Google you before heading over to your store or buying from you online. They may want to find out where you’re located, what your hours are, what products or services you sell, or to straight up shop. You need to give them all that in one place—your website.

Start selling.

Sure, you may not have everything all figured out, but one of the first things you should be doing is selling, selling, selling. That’s the only way you’ll make any money in business. Let people know what you do, who your ideal customer is, who can benefit from your products or services—spread the word far and wide! Don’t put off marketing and promoting your business until everything is perfect, because it won’t ever be. 

Start where you are and keep improving as you go.

In a word, yes. You need insurance of some type to keep your company up-and-running long-term. Insurance is a tool to help mitigate some of the risks associated with running a business and having employees, both of which open you up to liability.

“If you have a business and hope to survive, you’ll want to protect against losses like property damage and liability claims against your business, says Fran Majidi of SmartFinancial Insurance. “Otherwise, you may have to pay for losses out of pocket or have no assistance if your business becomes inoperable.” 

Majidi points out that states each have their own specific laws and requirements regarding business insurance that you’ll want to check. However, in most states, workers compensation, unemployment, and disability insurance are required of employers.

Workers’ Comp Insurance

“Workers’ compensation will cover the costs associated with job-related injuries and illnesses,” explains Majidi. “When your employees experience work-related injuries, the company will be spared from paying their medical expenses because the insurance will cover, if not all, most of it,” says Nick Schrader, an insurance agent with Texas General Insurance.

Unemployment Insurance

Employers are often required to carry unemployment insurance, which helps support workers who lose their jobs “for reasons beyond their control,” Majidi says.

Liability Insurance

“It doesn’t matter what type of business you own; liability insurance can protect you from any customer accidents in your store. Liability insurance can help provide coverage from bodily injury or property damage,” explains Jim Pendergast, senior vice president of altLINE Sobanco, a business advisory firm.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Another type to consider is commercial umbrella insurance, which “is an added insurance that extends coverage. If you live in a place prone to break-ins or property damage, umbrella insurance is worth its weight in gold,” Pendergast says.

Property Insurance

If your company has a physical presence that employees and/or customers visit, you’ll want to consider liability insurance and property insurance. “You wouldn’t want to throw away your hard-earning money by not making your establishment, tools, and equipment insured,” says Schrader. “Having property insurance ensures that whatever unfortunate events may happen in your establishment, everything will not be wasted because you can file a claim for it.” Meaning, you can be reimbursed for your losses.

Data Breach Insurance

With the exponential rise in computer hackers stealing business data, or holding it hostage, data breach insurance may be something to consider, especially if a large portion of your intellectual property or assets reside online. Pendergast explains that “any costs you must pay when data is stolen can come from data breach insurance.”

Key Man Insurance

Lyle Deitch, an insurance professional and CEO of Parachute360, says, “I always recommend that small business owners have key man insurance….[it] can be invaluable in buying your business, investors and family the time it needs to sort out the business, so that it can continue operations.”

Business Interruption

“Business interruption insurance, or BII, can be bought separately from a BOP policy, but it’ll cost more,” Majidi explains. “BII isn’t just lost income insurance, either. In the event of a covered catastrophe, BII may help pay mortgages and leases, taxes, relocation costs (this is especially important if this determines whether or not a business can get back on track), payroll costs and more.”

Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)

“Most small businesses would do well to purchase a small business owner’s policy (BOP), which combines business property, business liability and business income in one affordable policy,” says Majidi. “With this policy, your business would be covered if there were damages done to the building, equipment, furniture, documents, and all other contents. You’d also be covered if your business operations came to a halt due to a covered catastrophe,” she says.

“Often, the difference between a business that overcomes a disaster and one that shuts down is the right business insurance policy,” says Majidi.

Heather Burns of Hutcheson Reynolds & Caswell Insurance in Ontario, Canada, points out that business insurance can help protect all the assets associated with a business and can help “absorb the financial burden of a loss to their business.”

Big picture, she says, business insurance “is designed to give all business owners peace of mind knowing their investment is protected.”

More than 4 in 10 women business owners had to pivot their business model to maintain revenue during the pandemic, according to American Express’ Entrepreneurial Spirit Trendex, conducted in 2020. 68 percent expected they would have to again in 2021.

By pivot, we mean fundamentally changing the company’s business model in order to react to market shifts or in response to changing internal dynamics. For some businesses, the pivot was temporary, such as Anheuser-Busch and Diageo, makers of liquors and beers, which switched from making spirits to hand sanitizer as the pandemic surged. Restaurants pivoted to carry out and delivery-only as states shut down in-person dining, and retailers pushed curbside pickup as an option for shoppers to get what they needed quickly, without having to step foot inside the store.

Some businesses pivoted on a dime from one type of business to a completely different one, while others evolved over time. More are still in the process of responding to continued market shifts.

A few of those savvy female business owners who successfully pivoted include:

In-person to virtual workshops. Krista Neher, CEO of Boot Camp Digital, which provides digital marketing training, says that, “prior to the pandemic, most of our business was generated from in-person workshops. We had to quickly pivot to provide virtual workshops instead.”

Although clients initially viewed virtual workshops as “a necessary evil,” Neher says, her team spent months “testing, optimizing, and perfecting our virtual workshops and they now out-score even our in-person trainings!”

Now that “clients have seen that it can be effective,” Neher anticipates that 50 percent of the firm’s revenue will continue to be in virtual training.

Similarly, Laura Sinclair ran a brick-and-mortar gym pre-COVID. However, in November 2020, following the birth of her son, Sinclair quickly transitioned to providing pre- and postnatal coaching—her specialty—online, at Blueprint Fitness.

“We had come to terms with the reality that our gym business would continue to be impacted and the demands of being a new mom and running a brick-and-mortar during COVID would not be realistic for me,” she explains. “To date, I have been able to replace much of the income I’d paid myself from my gym by pivoting my business online.”

Shifting service offerings. Sarah Schaer, founder and CEO of Kango, which provided transportation services for children, says, “When the pandemic hit, the need for Kango’s main services vanished immediately.” Children didn’t need safe rides to school, activities, and appointments during a pandemic lockdown.

Recognizing the need to pivot but unsure initially what that meant, Schaer distributed a survey to customers “to find out how their needs had changed.” She discovered that “the solution was contactless food and grocery delivery, and the introduction of tutoring services for kids struggling to learn in virtual classrooms.”

By expanding her company’s services to provide a wide array of offerings, she tapped into new revenue generating opportunities.

Melissa Tong, founder and CCO of Duck Punk, took a similar tack. Her business pre-COVID was video marketing, with a primary focus on TV commercials for Fortune 500 companies, including Nissan and Verizon, she says. However, when the industry shut down, Tong switched gears away from video, specifically, to storytelling. “Offering storytelling services to companies that want to brand and market through storytelling,” Tong explains.

Already, clients are achieving big wins. “One of my clients quadrupled their sales in just three months,” she says.

From product to service. Nechami Tenenbaum, CEO of Karmela Cosmetics, shifted from selling her high performance, natural lipstick line to providing marketing and image consulting services, “to guide women on actualizing their ideal self-image and up-level their business, for greater business and personal success.”

Instead of relying solely on product sales, Tenenbaum looked at the reason behind those purchases and discovered many clients wanted more guidance regarding their personal image.

Make needed changes. Leslie Polizzotto, co-founder of The Doughnut Project, a handcrafted doughnut shop in NYC, had two locations, 24 employees, and a business partner pre-pandemic. The company was not profitable, she reports. However, since the pandemic, the business partner exited the company, Polizzotto shrunk her employee count down to three, and the business is now profitable.

The difference? Polizzotto is now able to pay her staff well and includes them in creative decisions, sharing financial results regularly. “This has led them to be motivated to help my business excel,” she says. Weekly collaborations with local and national brands as part of the company’s Weekend Specials has also led to lines down the block and “the shop sells out daily,” she reports.

Even as vaccinations increase and hospitalizations continue to decline, it’s possible we may not ever revert to life as it was a couple of years ago. Some market shifts will become permanent, while others may continue to evolve over time. Companies that can be agile and able to respond to those shifting demands will come out on top.

In a study of 1,000 small business owners, email marketing ranked second as the most effective medium for branding and first for return on investment (ROI), according to a 2019 Campaign Monitor report. And when asked which marketing methods were expected to be relevant in 10 years, email marketing was tops.

We asked women business owners who have had success with email marketing for specific tips for crafting a successful campaign, as well as sharing our own experiences. Here is what we learned:

Understand your target audience. “Taking the time to understand your audience facilitates tailored messaging to each unique persona in your overall target audience,” says Starin Strategies founder and CEO Christene Starin. “Understanding your audience includes identifying their pain points, goals, values, and ultimately, what uniquely resonates with them regarding your services or offerings.” That information should then drive the type of content you share via email.

Craft a compelling subject line. When an email hits your reader’s inbox, they have limited information with which to decide whether to open and read it. The subject line can be a make-or-break factor, so make sure it is short, catchy, and interesting. Don’t try to be so clever that the recipient has no idea what you’re talking about, however.

Include a call-to-action (CTA). “The absolute, most important thing to include in a marketing email is at least one call to action,” says Kate MacDonnell, CMO of Coffee Affection. “A call to action is the point in the email where you are asking the recipient to interact with a hyperlink. It can be a sale for new customers, asking them to sign up for a new subscription, or anything else specific to whatever marketing campaign you’re running,” she says.

Throw in an emoji. MacDonnell also advocates using “one or two well-placed emojis in a subject line of an email.” She has found that “as long as they’re appropriate, emojis are a great eye-catcher and can greatly increase the amount of people who open your emails.”

Use a funnel format for content. “Put the most important points of your email at the top, so that people can quickly see what it’s about. It’s unlikely they will scroll down to find out more if the first few lines don’t interest them,” says Jill Canes, NP, founder and owner of Face Forward Medical Aesthetics.

Keep it short. “Too much content is a big no-no,” says Rachel Renken, content manager for More Naturals. “When it looks too heavy [meaning way too many words on the page], the reader shuts down and moves on to the next email.”

Stick to a schedule. Lindsey Ardmore, founder of Star Tower Systems, recommends “actually sending emails on a dedicated schedule.” Sending out messages whenever the mood strikes you, or on an occasional basis, is not nearly as effective as sending every Thursday, for example. Your fans will come to look forward to it, if you’re consistent with your schedule.

Make sure it’s mobile-friendly. Jeanine Duval, co-founder at Edelwyn, says, “A lot of the people you are emailing will be reading the email on their phone. So make sure that whatever you send is formatted to be readable both on a computer and on a mobile device, as if it requires a lot of effort to read, most people will simply delete your email without reading it.”

Don’t DIY it. Unless you’re technically savvy, it’s likely you’ll save considerable time and money by using an email platform like Mailchimp or Constant Contact. Says Savannah Scott, content and editorial lead at Supergreat, “Platforms like Mailchimp are very user-friendly to make template designs for your company’s newsletter, invitations, or other email marketing outreach.”

With consumers challenged with keeping their email inbox from becoming flooded, you need to be sure that what you’re sending them is worth their time. Keep messages short and attention-worthy, whether that’s a useful tip, a video, or some other idea or piece of information that improves your reader’s personal or business life. That’s how you develop a relationship with your prospects and customers that can yield significant revenue.

by Marcia Layton Turner

Success or failure in business often comes down to marketing. Developing a product or service that people want and are willing to pay for, that you can sell at a price that generates a profit, is at the core of building a sustainable company. Master that and you can build a strong foundation.

The good news is that, despite what it may appear to be, marketing doesn’t have to be complex. You can learn as you go, and there are many great books on the topic that can help you. Of course, there are very general books, including Duct Tape Marketing, by John Jantsch, as well as super niche titles, like The 1 Hour Social Media Plan, by Kelly Smith, or Be Brand Brilliant: It’s All About Instagram Hashtags, by Julie Christie-Clark, and everything in between.

Ten marketing titles worth at least skimming include:

303 Marketing Tips: Guaranteed to Boost Your Business

An oldie but goodie, this book is a treasure trove of short, actionable steps you can take to market your company, written by the former editor of Entrepreneur magazine, Rieva Lesonsky. Those tips include buying radio advertising for less, direct mail tactics, public speaking, networking, and hundreds of others, literally. 

Catapult: A Woman’s Guide to Building a 7-Figure Business

Abbie Widin, PhD combines practical business advice with money mindset guidance in this book, which is designed to help women imagine what a 7-figure business looks like and then leads them through steps to get there. Plenty of bonus materials, which are accessible through links listed at the end of each chapter, are useful supplementary information. The biggest takeaway is that to reach seven figures, you’ll need to take a different approach than you’re currently taking, starting with how you see yourself and your relationship with money.

Company of One

Although Paul Jarvis’ book is considered a book about entrepreneurship, rather than marketing, it is written to help business owners think about how they operate their companies, including the customers they pursue. In that sense, it does touch on marketing and resource allocation to best attract the work you want. Although it is not a marketing how-to guide, it will help you consider whether you need an empire to be successful.

Complete Publicity Plans

Since free publicity is one of the most cost-effective ways of building awareness of your business, you may want to read through Sandra Beckwith’s guide to the many ways of pursuing publicity. From writing pitch emails to press releases and press kits, you’ll find terrific templates for effective pursuit of media coverage. Although the book is a few years old, the strategies and advice are still spot on.

Content Chemistry: An Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing

You’ve probably heard that “Content is king,” in this era of social media. Demand for information has never been higher and shows no sign of slowing. So how can you keep up? Andy Crestodina’s book provides more specific, technical guidance in how to build content that will have an impact, with illustrations and research that back up his suggestions regarding things like  effective subject lines, best time of day for posting, and thank you message length.

Get Clients Now! A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches

For those entrepreneurs who like a step-by-step process with daily action items, CJ Hayden’s book may be for you, especially if you’re a service provider. You’ll find advice about defining your target audience to effective networking strategies and cold calling tips. The action worksheets and downloadable forms help with implementation of Hayden’s strategies.

Getting Business to Come to You

Granted, this marketing guide is more than 20 years old, but that doesn’t mean its principles are any less relevant. Written by the pioneers of the work from home movement, Paul and Sarah Edwards, this is a terrific basic guide to identifying your target customer and helping them find you. The marketing tools covered are simple and inexpensive to use, relying more on traditional methods than digital, due to its publication date.

Mastering Online Marketing

If you know that most of your work is going to originate online, or that you’ll be selling products through a website, you may want to start your reading with Mitch Meyerson’s book on digital marketing. He emphasizes the importance of a good website, how critical a mailing list is, and he reviews some of the basics of online copywriting and web design, to help improve sales conversions.

Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business

Businesses providing a service should take a look at Stephanie Chandler’s guide to dominating your market niche, using online marketing tactics to build a website that establishes credibility and establishing yourself as an authority in your field. Using content creation, social media, and networking tactics, she offers tips for standing out, even in a crowded field.

The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field

The idea that you should figure out what one thing you do better than everyone else, focus your resources on nurturing relationships with your best clients, and weed out those that are unprofitable or no longer a fit for your business is so simple that it’s brilliant. Mike Michalowicz offers guidance based on study of successful pumpkin farmers, which follow this same strategy. And it works.

There are great marketing lessons to be found in these pages, whether you order copies through your local bookstore or check them out for free from your library. You might even decide to listen to the audiobook versions while you commute to client meetings. However you tap into all the great information these authors have shared, you may want to keep a notebook handy so you can jot down notes for how you can apply their wisdom to your own venture.