Everyone gets a great idea from time to time. Sometimes it comes at the most unexpected time. These ideas may not seem like much, especially if nothing is done with them. Chances are, you’ve probably had an idea to start your own business. But for whatever reason, you’ve chosen not to follow through on the idea. Maybe it’s a fear of the unknown or perhaps you simply do not know how to get started. Well, we can’t help you overcome that fear, but we can show you how to start a business.

So How Do I Start, Anyway?

It’s probably obvious to you that anything you start requires a plan and some focus. A business is no different. In order to start a business, you need to think things through and stay focused. That’s one the 5 steps below help you to do.

1. Write That Idea Down

What kind of business do you envision starting? What is the focus of the business? What service/product do you want to offer? These are all questions to think about and answer before beginning the more formal process of starting a business. You need to determine what it is you intend for your business so that you are able to build a plan that actually works.

2. Develop a Business Plan

Now that you have a rough idea of what it is you want your business to do, you must now develop a business plan. Developing a business plan probably doesn’t sound like fun, and it really isn’t, but it is absolutely essential. This is because the business plan is a representation of who and what your business is. Without it, your business really isn’t a business. It’s simply a collection of people who do something. Also, your business plan can make or break what government aid you may get.

So how do you develop a business plan? Well, what you need to do is simply put everything about your business into the plan. State what it is your business does, what your business’ goal is etc. For this part of starting the business, you might want to hire a business analyst to help you with developing your plan.

3. Look Into Government Grants

The U.S. Government actually wants you to start a business. As such, they are very generous when it comes to government grants for businesses. There is a high probability that you can get such a grant for your business. Check out SBA for more information on potential grants and loans you can get to aid you in starting your business.

4. Find a Building to Lease

What size building you may need to lease will depend on the size your business (how many employees you anticipate having) and the scope of your business’ work. In previous years, leasing a building might have been extremely expensive, but nowadays, it is much cheaper. You should be able to find a suitable building to lease at a good price. It is important to remember, though, to take a building inspector with you when checking out potential buildings, just to make sure you are getting the building you think you are paying for.

5. Interview/Hire Employees

Next, you need to hire employees for your business. To this end, you will probably want to place classified ads in your local newspaper to let people know you are looking to hire. You may also want to list on Monster and HotJobs so that your business gets maximum exposure. Then you will want to interview perspective employees. If this is overwhelming to you, you may consider hiring someone that is experienced to help you with the hiring process. Make sure when you are considering hiring anyone that they pass a criminal background check. This saves you a lot of headache down the road.