This article contains the second 3 of 10 total steps I follow to start businesses. See Steps 1 through 3 here. Next week we will discuss steps 7-10. STAY TUNED!

Starting a business can be a daunting task. There are a million variations to accomplish
a variety of goals. And when you list it all out, it can cause you to second guess the idea. However, as a persistent business owner, you must acknowledge that the road won’t be easy. Identifying a plan and chopping it into bite size pieces is important. 

While there may be no one single way to create a business every time, the ten steps discussed on this blog series over the next few weeks have been proven to work in my businesses (no matter how big or small) TIME and TIME again.  For this case study, we will also use my business, The Cashflow Hustle, to go through how I utilized each of these steps

4. Establish your contract / employee needs & budget

Check out this article which talks about the importance of understanding what you are NOT good at. In essence, that is what we want to then delegate so we can focus on things we are good at and therefore help the business thrive.

There are many ways to build a team – from bringing on partners to hiring employees. Starting out, the idea is to put your ideas onto paper. Identify the tasks needed for your organization to stabilize and begin to grow over the first 1, 3 and 5-year periods. This will give you a list that you can then put into groups.

The Cashflow Hustle: Tasks included in my list were website creation, logo creation, blog content creation, guest scheduling, editing audio, art/marketing creation, podcast hosting management, website podcast content updating, affiliate linking, basic bookkeeping to track revenue and expenses.

I can do (or figure out how to do) all of these items listed. I enjoy a few of these items. I dislike other items. And I am bootstrapping this effort (financially) as well as working full time. So, I definitely need some help. But I don’t have the money or need to hire anyone full time.

Enter the arena of contract labor and “gigs”. Fiverr offers a unique solution for qualified help on an easy to use and understand platform. Think of it as shopping for a new car online – you get to pick your budget, style and ever read the reviews.

A few examples of tasks for year 1:

• Logo creation – I have a friend that did me a favor
• web creation – I enjoy doing and have experience with this in Weebly so I talk about that in step 5 below
• blog content creation – I enjoy writing so I will do this for now
• guest scheduling – I have an email template using Office365 and the Outlook application. That, along with a free scheduling tool provided by Calendly allows me to seamlessly schedule all of my calls during blocks of time and during days that I want. It syncs with my calendar and keeps me organized.
• Edit content – freelancer from Fiverr
• Load audio to hosting site – Fiverr VA
• Create episode art and shownotes – Fiverr VA

​In the very beginning, I did it all. Now I am building out my teams. Years two and three have target milestones for management of other business tasks.  The idea is to have a plan in place with goals and then take action and work your plan as you move forward.

5. Build your website
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here are various web building platforms out there. If you are new to the space and not overly savvy in website design, Weebly is a phenomenal resource for all things from blogs to e-commerce.  

The importance of having a well built and effective website should not be overlooked. Many times, your website is the first thing people will see when they begin researching you and or your business. As you look at different “templates” to use, no matter the platform you choose, keep in mind the brand’s message as well as your target audience.  You want to make sure that as soon as people land on your page, they are captured by what you have to offer.  From images to text, every piece paints a picture of the quality and value you are providing.

A few samples of business sites I have built include:
Real Estate Service - NoteFlowRei.com
Grooming E-Commerce - ElChoppoHairCartel.com
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If you are interested in some help on building out your site, I would be happy to look at your project with you.  Click Here to get in touch.  

6. Build your social platform

Once you’ve got you website built out and have a basic “look” and “feel” for consumers to connect with, it is time to tie in social media accounts. Like it or not, social media participation and presence is an aspect of your business that will be judged by your target audience. Therefore, it is important maintain consistency with your branding.

This can be as simple as using the same or similar images and text. For example, when you look at TheCashflowHustle.com and then compare that to our Facebook group page and Twitter account, you know when you land on any of the accounts, they are connected. Our website headers and social media headers all match.  This may seem like common sense, but I have seen many brands with significant inconsistencies in their various platforms.

A terrific app I use to maintain consistency on branding is Canva.  The platform basically allows you to use templates (sized according to your target platform) and create designs that have a very professional look and feel.  As an example, all of The Cashflow Hustle podcast episode artwork has been made using this simple drag and drop app.

Next week, we will talk about ways to automate social media posting in order to remain top of mind when it comes to your target audience as well as making sure you are setup to keep clean accounting records and boost sales by driving traffic. STAY TUNED

This article contains the first 3 of 10 total steps I follow to start businesses. In the following weeks, articles will be provided consisting of the remainder 7 steps. STAY TUNED!

Starting a business can be a daunting task. There are a million variations to accomplish
a variety of goals. And when you list it all out, it can cause you to second guess the idea. However, as a persistent business owner, you must acknowledge that the road won’t be easy. Identifying a plan and chopping it into bite size pieces is important. 

While there may be no one single way to create a business every time, the ten steps discussed on this blog series over the next few weeks have been proven to work in my businesses (no matter how big or small) TIME and TIME again.  For this case study, we will also use mu business, The Cashflow Hustle, to go through how I utilized each of these steps.

2. Search for legal entity name and domain availability

Once you’ve identified the niche you want to pursue, its time to start thinking about a brand identity. I’ve heard some people say differently, but in my opinion, it is important that you identify your brand well right out of the gate.

I make a list of business names and start spit balling with my wife or business partner. This is one of my favorite parts of the business creation process – its when I can start to think of the business as “alive.” Eventually, we come up with a few key words that we can use interchangeably.

Next, I do an entity name search (see point three below) along with a domain search.  I primarily use Google Domains for all of my websites and businesses – they are very affordable with quick hosting speed and great customer support which comes in handy in step 5 when you are creating a website and linking your domain. Using Google Domains, I run through variations of all of our listed key words that we liked. I list those that are available and cross out those that are not.  Given the nature of the keywords (competitive or not), I purchase the domain. Sometimes, if we are undecided between a few, I buy the top three or four available for one year to make sure we don’t miss the opportunity. However, like a good community member, once we decide on a name, we put the items we own back on the market for others to buy.

Once I have purchased the domain, I get it hosted at SiteGround. There are other hosting services out there but for all of my websites and businesses, I host with them – they are very affordable with quick hosting speed and great customer support which comes in handy in step 5 when you are creating a website and linking your domain.
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Another simple and professional addition available is to signup for an email and Office365 account.  When I am interacting with a business representative, my impression of the overall quality of the business (as a consumer) is much more favorable if I am talking with an established domain email as opposed to a gmail or yahoo account.  If I am taking to frankstires@gmail.com I feel much les of a personal connection to the person as opposed to fsmith@frankstires.com. For me, a few bucks for a domain specific email address is a small price to pay for the perception of higher quality in the eyes of a consumer.​​

3. Establish your entity & trademark
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As noted, this is likely best done at the same time as step 2 above. To have a domain without a matching entity may be a bit confusing. Depending on where and how you are going to market, there are ways to operate under an assumed name at the state level. However, lets keep things simple and unified at this point. 
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There are many options when it comes to entity formation. Companies, lawyers and friends are all options to plug into the creation of your entity. Each one serves a purpose, as I will explain.

Option A:
If you have a large budget, a highly scrutinized service/niche (such as tax planning) or complicated operation (such as an international brokerage firm trading widgets and cryptocurrency), a lawyer is the way to go.  The nuances of covering specific risks in those types of businesses requires a little more than a cookie cutter members agreement. Please also note that if you have a business partner that you are sharing responsibilities with to run the operation, it is worth getting a document drawn up by a lawyer outlining specific details.  Examples of issues that arise is what happens if one party dies or you partner does something negligent that harms the entity.  Having those clauses in the members agreement can be "life savers" when the unthinkable happens. 

Option B:
However, if you have a tighter budget or a less risky business type, LegalZoom is the way to go. There are other options out there but these guys have always delivered for me. It is worth noting that while you fill out their seamless questionnaire during the registration process, you will have to un-select a variety of buttons that auto-enroll you into additional services.  It is worth noting that when I forgot to uncheck an opt-in button once, they refunded me the entire amount when I noticed I was being billed for a service that I had never used and didn’t mean to sign up for. Again, fair and honest customer service. 

One of the options you will have to choose is whether or not to be your own “registered agent” or to pay for them to. To learn what this entails, please read here. For me, it comes down to personal preference and how much/many calls I want from solicitors selling me products off of the new business owner lists publicly available on government websites. If you have one business, it may not be important. If you have 10 entities, your phone or email may well turn into a catchall for sellers of all services. 

Please note, using a friend is not recommended above to set up your entity. Even for my friends who ask, I recommend they follow Options A or B above. I have used each of those two methods without issue and I am not an expert at entity formation. 
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​Next week, we will cover tools to utilize automation and technology to build your team out to achieve better results, faster.  We will also cover establishing a web and social presence. 

Have any questions or comments on this material? Please contact me at jgrimes@thecashflowhustle.com - I always enjoy talking business and cashflow.