Are you ready to turn your ideas into real business? Well, hold your horses… first things first: You need to know how to start right. You need a plan; or better yet, you need a checklist and follow-the-dotted-line guide. While you are searching for resources, this blog post will enlighten you with 5 startup checklists you might have missed during your search.
Well, if you are doing business in the US I’m sure you know that the go-to site for startup advice is SBA.gov. But if you want different perspective, I can give you some gems I discover during my search for startup information. Without further adieu, here they are:
1. DocStoc’s Starting a Business: The Great Big Checklist of Everything
This DocStoc article is very useful, as you can benefit it in two ways: Firstly, you can get a comprehensive checklist of what you need to do in order to starting a business with minimal frictions. Secondly, you can access recommended resources to learn more – 100s of them!
Please note, some of the resources link to DocStoc premium – meaning, you can always view the documents, but you do need to pay to download or print the documents.
2. $5 startup checklist and project plan
This is actually a Fiverr gig of Marty Koenig, Award-winning Colorado CFO and CXO, Business Writer and Business Speaker. It’s unbelievable to know he offers his personal checklist for a fiver – yes, that’s right: You can get 196 item checklist (in PDF) Marty is personally using in his startup consulting sessions.
There’s a “catch” though – the list is not personalised. It’s more like a template, but it’s very, very useful anyway (I know because I’ve bought it from him for $5!) Here’s the deal: For $50, you will have the opportunity to have a Strategy Session with Marty for one-on-one conversation (and build your own checklist along the way.) This alone worth hundreds, if not thousands of dollar, in my opinion.
3. StartupNation’s Business Startup Checklist
The checklist here is not really comprehensive, by any means. However, it’s presented in plain English – easy to follow, easy to do, easy to understand. ‘Nuff said.
4. Smarta’s How to start a business: a checklist
Similar to DocStoc’s, Smarta’s startup checklist contains wealth of resources (all Smarta’s, though…) to learn more about the items in the list. However, unlike DocStoc’s, this checklist is essentially a guide from start to finish, with less details on legal issues, zoning, etc.
It kicked off with the checklist on what kind of business you want to start – a part-time business? A franchise? Buying an established business? – and finished off with a checklist to help you sell your products and services.
5. $9.99 Startup Checklist Android App
Entrepreneur Outfitters developed this 5-star rated Android app based on their VC firms’ 36-step checklist. They use the same checklist to help budding entrepreneurs start their own business for 5 years with great success.
The raving app reviews can tell very much how useful this app is – 5-star rating from 14 reviewers is no joke for a premium Android app priced at $9.99.
Bonus: Entrepreneur.com’s Startup How-To Guide
Entrepreneur.com is the go to online magazine for small business owners and entrepreneurs. So, perhaps it’s nothing new for you – but hey… it’s worth mentioning, nevertheless.
In fact, I strongly recommend you to read the articles – hundreds of them – in the startup guide: They are authoritative and very useful; just think of this startup hub as your textbook to learn the ins and outs of starting up a business.
Have any suggestions?
So – there you go: 5 checklists (plus one) that can help you get some ideas on what to do next in starting up your business.
I’m sure there are more checklists I have never discovered – so, if you have some valuable resources to recommend to our reader, please feel free to recommend yours via the comment section.
Ivan Widjaya
Founder/Editor BizPenguin.com
