Business Start-Up Essentials
Happy July! As you may have seen we are celebrating our 6th year in business this month! I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has celebrated with us as well as all of our team members, clients, advisors, social media followers for your partnership in making LoSeEd Financial and Business Solutions successful. 2019 seems like so long ago while it simultaneously feels like yesterday. What started out as a seed of an idea has grown into a sequoia of a business that is SBA certified and services clients internationally. As I reflect on how we’ve grown, I thought I would share a couple of steps I took when starting my business that can be helpful for you as well.
Step #1 - Creating a Business Concept
This is easy for some and hard for others, but no matter where you fall, we’re going to talk through it together. All of my businesses are connected to skills and personal interests that my husband and/or I have. LoSeEd specifically is directly tied to my accounting education and experience, which would be seen as common since many businesses are started from hobbies. But what if you know you want to have a business but do not know where to start because your interests just don’t seem like enough? My first suggestion is to start with how passive or active you would like to be in your business. If you don’t have much free time, I would not recommend you open a storefront; a nice parking lot management or vending machine operation would be great. Secondly, are there any enhancements that would improve certain products or services that you are affiliated with or already use? Whether you believe his story or not, as a native Californian and lover of Hot Cheetos, I will forever be intrigued by Richard Montanez, who claimed to create Hot Cheetos while working as a janitor for Frito-Lay. He saw the need for an enhancement and it changed his life forever. If all else fails, check out smallbiztrends.com for ideas.
Step #2 - Choosing a Business Name
Deciding on what to name your business can be tricky. You should want your name to be unique but not too weird or vague that people do not know what your product or service is. LoSeEd is a very unique name of course that always needs explaining but because the full name includes the words “financial” and “business”, it helps to define the service offerings. You always want to make sure that your business name is not taken before you start any business. You can do a simple free business search on the Secretary of State site where your company will be headquartered. The last thing you want is a business denial letter or even worse, a cease and desist letter. But be creative when deciding on your business name and make sure it’s something that will make you proud.