One of the best ways to learn the ropes is to heed advice from people who’ve already been there and done it. Beyond registering a company name and setting up a website, you need to know some critical things when starting a business—like assessing if your small business idea is worth pursuing, managing finances wisely and staying focused when difficulties arise.
Let’s explore key lessons from experienced entrepreneurs to help you avoid common pitfalls and build a strong foundation for success.
To dive deeper into these challenges and hear directly from small business owners, check out the video below from our Real Talk series, Getting Started and Funding Your Small Business. In this episode, entrepreneurs share their early struggles and creative solutions when they were starting out.
- Starting small with what you have can help you launch your business without heavy financial risk.
- Financial discipline, including budgeting and bootstrapping, is crucial for sustaining a new business.
- Passion, resilience and a strong “why” will help you navigate challenges and stay motivated.
- Networking, leveraging social media and surrounding yourself with the right people can accelerate growth.
- Experimentation, continuous learning and maintaining a work-life balance are key to long-term success.
1. Be prepared to use your savings
When you’re launching a new business, it’s not always easy to get funding or a loan, so be ready to pull from your personal savings. In a RealTalk interview conducted by VistaPrint, owners of a sustainable lifestyle brand tlali•pani tell us, “We are self-funded, we continue to be a self-funded, bootstrapped small business and started really pulling from our savings.”
2. “When in doubt, bootstrap”
Sometimes, using your own resources is the best way to start a business rather than convincing investors of your idea. So rather than waiting to get investments that might never come, start saving and—as owners of tlali•pani advise—pull from those savings when the time is right. “When in doubt, bootstrap!”
3. Take advantage of crowdfunding
Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Kickfurther make it possible to fund new businesses and products through small investments. Typically, crowdfunding involves some kind of payoff or reward for investors, such as a return on their initial investment or exclusive early access to your product.
4. “Grow as you go”
Kanda Chocolates founder Karen Blackwell tells us, “There are so many ways to get started without having to have every single piece of infrastructure, website or labeling… You can grow as you go.” Rather than wait to get started, the business owner advises entrepreneurs to take the leap early on and build their brand from there.
Learn how to start a business step by step, without feeling overwhelmed by an ever growing list of tasks, by checking out our guide.
5. Don’t break the bank
“Don’t assume that borrowing lots of money can make your startup fly, says Time Etc. founder Barnaby Lashbrooke. “There are many things to the business other than investors and it’s possible to succeed with your startup without breaking the bank.” Focus on the non-negotiables for launching and prioritize your budget for those. DIY the things you can and if there are things you can launch without, like branded packaging, save those for later.
6. “One thing at a time”
It can be tempting to try to do everything all at once, but when you’re launching a business, one of the best business advice pieces is to slow down and take it one step at a time. As FRUITLOOTS founder David Cruz tells us in an interview, “What I wish I knew was that I didn’t have to do everything all at once. And I really wish that I just did one thing at a time.” There will always be time to work down your checklist.
7. Surround yourself with inspirational people
When Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, was starting out in business, he wished he knew that “The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.” This is great advice for budding entrepreneurs—that the people you surround yourself with greatly impact the speed of your development.
8. It’s bigger than you
WildFlora co-founder Alexandra Scholtz explains how she set out to make the company “not just about us and what we have to offer, but giving jobs to people.” It’s important to remember that, even if you’re embarking on the entrepreneurial journey alone, your business touches people’s lives—perhaps more than you realize. Keep this in mind with every business decision you make, especially during the hiring process.
9. Don’t take things personally
In a New York Times article, Leila Janah, founder of Samasource and LXMI, says, “You have to get good at ceding control and not taking things personally…Even seasoned entrepreneurs have struggled with that. I think it’s about not taking failures personally and also not taking successes personally.” Your business may be your passion project, but it’s important to maintain a separate identity from the business. Give it room to grow and come into its own—and don’t blame yourself for your business’s challenges. Every business faces hurdles!
10. Keep experimenting
“It’s a big experiment,” small business owner Karen Blackwell says. “Going into business is experimenting with everything and being willing to experiment.” One year from launch, your business will be very different from how it was on day one. Five years from launch, it may be unrecognizable from that original vision. Be willing to experiment because this is how you find what really works.
11. Communication is key
“One really important thing for growing the business is communication, internally and externally,” says Mike Scholtz, co-founder of WildFlora. Building and running a business is a team effort, even if you run it alone. You need to communicate with your customers, vendors, partners and fellow entrepreneurs effectively because this is how your needs and theirs get met.
Discover how to grow a small business in our ultimate guide to business growth.
12. Be passionate, creative and resilient
You need to love what you do. No matter how passionate you are, though, there will always be days you don’t love the daily grind. But if you love what you’re doing, you’ll be equipped to power through those days and follow your dreams. As Mike Scholtz, co-founder of WildFlora, told us: “What makes a good idea for a business is really something that you live, eat, breathe, sleep and you believe in.”
13. De-risk by growing slowly
The amount of risk involved in starting a business can feel scary. “We did not want to take a massive risk, so we de-risked our plan and are growing, but very slowly,” Sabith Khan of tlali•pani says. “That’s part of the deliberate strategy to really figure out, ‘Okay, is this what we want to dedicate the rest, maybe a decade or more, of our lives to?’” So, if you also want to minimize risk, follow in Khan’s footsteps and ask yourself if you are willing to grow slower in exchange for putting less on the line.
Check out the most effective (and risk-free) small business growth strategies in our article.
14. Take a risk for opportunity
Taking risks is essential to progress. As Ashley Addison, founder of amarieacreates tells us about her journey, “I took the leap and asked who I live with if I could get rid of the couch, get a desk, and have a full-blown mini office.”
So when you quit your day job and plunge into your savings, remember that it’s all part of the messy, risky journey that is starting your own business. “People don’t start a business because they assume it’s an impossible task. My advice to anybody who’s thinking of starting or has an idea is to take the first step,” says Sabith Khan, co-founder of tlali•pani.
15. Learn to juggle
One thing that many entrepreneurs struggle with is their work-life balance. As Ashley Addison, founder of amarieacreates recalls, “Juggling my business from home with two littles is not an easy task. I’ve learned to incorporate them into my business as much as possible, whether it’s letting them print things for me with a printer or cutting my packaging paper.” So take a leaf out of her book and get creative—enlist family members and combine the two where possible.
16. Keep learning
It’s not enough to round up what to know before starting a business at the beginning of your entrepreneurial path and call it a day. Start with a business startup checklist, but don’t stop there. Every day is an opportunity to learn new things and deepen your knowledge of effective small business marketing strategies and growth hacks.
Go into business with a growth mindset because every day brings a new lesson (or multiple lessons!) that can make you a better and more resilient entrepreneur. As co-founder of FRUITLOOTS, David Cruz tells us, “The motivation is still here. And, you know, it is just like a child; you know, it is an investment that we’re happy to make as it grows.”
17. Don’t let it consume you
However, as you embark on your entrepreneurial journey, be cautious not to let your business take over your life. “You just have to truly be careful to not let it consume you and get so burnt out that it’s no longer your passion anymore,” warns Ashley Addison of amarieacreates. So take heed of this advice as you plough through and never lose sight of why you started your own business in the first place.
Branding is key to a successful business launch
As you continue to build your business plan and get ready to launch—or if you’ve already launched and you’re working on growing your brand—great branding is one of the most important investments to make if you want to see continuing returns.
Branding is a lot of things, from brand colors and voice to website design and packaging choices. But above all of the things to know before starting a business, you need a well-designed logo. Your logo is the face of your business, so it needs to be recognizable and effectively communicate who you are and what you offer.
FAQs
What do you need to know before starting a business?
Before starting a business, key things to know include managing finances wisely, validating your idea, understanding your target audience and preparing for the long haul. It’s not just about launching—it’s about staying in the game. Make sure you’re ready to pivot, problem-solve and keep learning as you go.
What are the 4 things to start a business?
At the core, you need four things:
- A solid business idea: Make sure there’s a demand for it.
- A business plan: Outline your goals, budget, and strategy.
- Funding: Whether it’s savings, loans or crowdfunding, know how you’ll finance it.
- Marketing & branding: Visibility from your logo to your social media is key.
The things to know when starting a business go beyond just these four, but nailing these early sets you up for success.
What is the easiest business to start?
The easiest business to start depends on your skills and resources. Service-based businesses like freelancing, consulting or social media management require little upfront investment. E-commerce (dropshipping or print-on-demand) is another low-cost option. The trick is to start small, validate demand and grow from there. When considering what you need to know when starting a business, focus on keeping startup costs low and testing your market early.
How hard is it to start a business?
It’s as hard as you make it! The logistics—registering your business, setting up a website—are relatively simple. The real challenge is staying consistent, handling setbacks and adapting to changes.
One of the biggest things to know before starting a business is that persistence and resilience matter more than perfection. If you’re ready to learn, iterate, and keep going, you’ll be ahead of the curve.
What does a business need first?
The first thing a business needs is clarity—on what you’re offering, who you’re serving and how you’ll make money.
Before you get caught up in branding or paperwork, make sure you have a clear value proposition. Among the things you need to know when starting a business, the most important is ensuring your idea solves a real problem for a real audience. If you get that right, everything else will follow.
