What are the steps to making your business dream a reality?
So you’ve got that perfect business idea, and you’ve had it for while. You can visualise your new business space, you know exactly where you would put the ‘Girl Boss’ sign behind you on the wall. You’re ready! But it’s still just an idea and you still haven’t done anything about it. Well, keep on reading because by the end of this article you’ll be ready to turn your dream into a reality! Here are the steps to making your business dream a reality.
Make it clear and concise, and then start referring to your business by its name. The simple act of naming it instantly moves it from an idea to something real. That's one of the most important steps to making your business dream a reality.
Whether your business is a traditional brick and mortar establishment or you’re going to be operating in an online space, start getting that space ready. Buy a carpet for your store, choose a color scheme. Buy a domain for your website and start building it. Work from the notion that this is a real business that’s opening soon and you need to get everything ready for the big day!
At this early stage, your dream is still too fragile to share with the world. A discouraging comment could make you doubt yourself and want to quit, so you have to protect your dream. Do all the behind the scenes work privately, and when you’re ready and you have a clear direction and solid progress, THEN you can share your vision. You’ll be more secure and you’ll have tangible progress to present.
FYI, all that behind the scenes work takes a lot of time. Registering your business, applying for an EIN, getting permits, setting up a business account...you get the point. There is a lot to do, and a lot of it takes time to be finalized. Start now and you’ll thank yourself later. And nothing makes a business quite as real as registering it.
A realistic one. For example give yourself about two months to finalize the registration and setting up of everything, another month or two to get all your inventory ready (depending on the business), a month to advertise your new business to create awareness and a final month to get all your ducks in a row before your big opening.
You did the research, you did the work. Now follow your timeline and keep it moving. It won’t be perfect and not everything will be smooth. But a tiny step forward is better than standing still waiting for the right time. Just dive in and accept that you’ll learn most of what you need to know as you go. Welcome to business!