Being Successful in Your Own Business: A Step-by-Step Guide to Success - Book 1 of 3 in the Series: Your Business Setup

Introduction

Being an entrepreneur is an exciting prospect. After all, who would be a better boss for you than you? Would you rather see all of your daily efforts put money in the pockets of someone else or your own? Are you really being paid what you think you are worth?

Many people have thought about or dreamed of being in business for themselves. Life would be so much easier. You could work when you wanted to, take time off whenever you needed to, and keep all of the profits made for your efforts, instead of seeing someone else benefitting from all your hard work.

For some, that’s where the dream ends. They talk themselves out of it before they even get started. They tell themselves things like: ‘I would love to have my own business, but I do not know anything about starting or running a business.’ or ‘Sure, I know how to do the work, but can I be successful working for myself?’

Others throw caution to the wind, and give it a try, but have no clue what it actually takes to start and run a business or how to be successful. They try it for a while, but fail miserably. Now, their confidence is shaken.

Whether you already know what you want to do for your business based on what you know that you are good at and enjoy, or are undecided on what type of business that you want to start, but simply know that you are tired of working for someone else, or you are already in business for yourself, but things are not going as well as you had hoped for and need some assistance to take your business to the next level, then this Series of Books are for you.

I will take you through the complete process from start to finish with easy to understand, step-by-step instructions. If you are starting a new business from scratch, then you will benefit from every step in the process. If you already have an existing business, you can skim through the sections that you feel have already been completed, being sure that you have not missed anything in your process, and make any needed corrections. Then concentrate on the steps that you need to complete in order to improve your business.

I wrote this series of books because there are many, many, people who are either tired of working for someone else, or are seeking a better life for themselves and their families. From the beginning of time, every civilization was built on entrepreneurs. Each person had a major skill which they honed over time in order to contribute to the community. There were carpenters, plumbers, hair dressers, jewelry makers, clothes makers, etc.

Those that were good at what they did exchanged their services for compensation within the group. Individuals that were really good at what they did commanded high compensation for their services. Some were also good teachers, and had others working for them, teaching them the skills that they needed in order to be productive. It’s the same way today.

Book Series

There are (3) Books in this Series. They are as follows:

1. Your Business Setup

You will learn how to choose: your Business, your Business Name, and your Business Structure. You will also learn how to: set up a Home Office, set up your Bookkeeping, create a Business Plan, get your Business Licenses, choose and purchase your Domain Name, choose a Host, choose a Website Theme, and initially set your site up.

2. Work on Your Website

You will learn how to create: a Logo, a Home Page, additional Pages, Menus, Sidebar Widgets, and a Blog Post. You will also learn about: Keywords, Images, Affiliate Links, Product Reviews, and how to best benefit from Google and Bing.

3. Get Social, Videos, & Money Management

You will learn how to set up and work with: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You will also learn: how to create Videos, about Money Management, how to do your own Taxes, and how to create Additional Income Streams.

Each of these books will walk you through the process for each key element in a true, step-by-step fashion that is easy to follow and understand. You should complete each Step as you read them, and you will soon be on your way to becoming successful in your own business.

So let’s get started creating your new business or tweaking your existing one, and start living the good life that you deserve. On to Phase 1 - Step 1 . . .

Best of Luck in All of Your Business Ventures.

Sincerely,

CJ Dodaro

Phase 1 – Business Name and Structure

Step 1: Let’s Get Started

Step 2: Choose the Type of Business

Step 3: Choose Your Business Name

Step 4: Choose Your Business Structure

Phase 1 – Step 1: Let’s Get Started

Whether you are starting a new business from scratch, purchasing an existing business, or you already have a business that needs some tweaking, there are some key elements that are needed in order for you to become truly successful. Depending on your particular situation, you should either implement these from the beginning or make some adjustments to your existing business.

Organization is Key

Being highly organized from the beginning will set a precedent that will assist you in being continuously organized as you move on through your business phases. If you have an existing business, make sure that you are thoroughly organized in every aspect. If not, institute some changes. Organization increases efficiency, and efficiency increases profits.

I have arranged the Steps in these books in a certain order; to teach you what you need to learn in a natural progression. Although you can surely complete certain tasks out of the order that I have set up here, putting the cart before the horse in some instances is not really smart. Building a business is like building a house. There is a natural progression to the process. You start with a foundation first, then the framework, then the roof, and then complete the interior. If you were to attempt to build it in any other order, it would be much more difficult, if not downright impossible.

The order that I have outlined for completing the business setup process has been well thought out and will work well for any type of business. If there are any additional elements that need to be added for your particular setup, specific to your business, you can add them in at the appropriate time.

Items Needed for Your Business

Whether you are starting or already have: a blog for an online marketing business, an MLM, a charity, a local brick and mortar, a service, an e-commerce, or other type of business, there is a list of common items that you will need. These will include:

• Decide on the Type of Business

• Business Name

• Structure (sole-proprietor, partnership, or corporation)

• Home Office

• Bookkeeping

• Business Plan

• Business Licenses

• Domain Name (.com, .net, .org, or other)

• Website Host

• Theme

• Website

• Domain Email Address

• Logo

• Social Media

• Etc.

Each item will take some thought and knowledge to set up your business for efficiency, correctness, and legality. In the pages that follow, I will discuss each of the items and give you some insight into making the right choices, as well as walk you through the process in order to complete each task.

Focusing on each task until completed to your satisfaction, before moving on to the next is highly recommended. Apply each lesson learned as you go.

Your Website

An online presence is a key element for your businesses’ success. Building a website for any type of business can be done at any time, but if you are starting a new business, it should be one of your beginning steps. It will take Google about (3) to (6) months to recognize your new website for it to be of any benefit to you, so starting your site early in the process will insure that your site will be ready when your business is. I will show you how to accomplish this, as well as, how to get the most out of your efforts.

Building a business from scratch and becoming successful can be a dream that can be achieved if you follow my simple, step-by-step instructions and apply them as you progress. If you are tweaking an existing business, completing any missing Steps or making the necessary adjustments will increase your profits. Regardless of what type of business you are planning to start, there are key components that will be needed and they should be implemented in a specific order. Existing businesses should make any changes in the same order.

Multiple Income Streams

Making sure that you have multiple streams of income will help you avoid putting ‘all of your eggs in one basket’; which if that basket breaks, will cause you to lose all of your eggs. Once your first business is fully operational and running smoothly, you may consider diversifying and starting multiple businesses, thus giving yourself a chance at becoming an extremely successful entrepreneur. I will show you how to do this.

Ok. On to Step 2 . . .

Phase 1 - Step 2: Choose the Type of Business

Choose Your Business Field

Some of you may know exactly the type of business that you want to start. Others may not. They merely know that they are tired of working for someone else for trivial income, while watching the owners of the company get wealthy due to the contributions of the employees. It doesn’t really seem fair.

Perhaps you have been in a successful restaurant and watched the owner walk around and greet the patrons and converse with them. You might think, ‘I can do that’. Are you aware of what it took for that owner to get to that place? I am quite sure that he had many sleepless nights, long initial hours, and tons of hard work in order to get him there, not to mention the funding.

There is no such thing as instant success. Anyone who says otherwise is simply perpetrating a scam. It takes knowledge, lots of hard work, investment of funds, and a strong desire to succeed in order to become successful. More often than not, being in your own business will require you to initially work harder and longer hours than you ever did for any employer, but at the end of each day, the rewards will be yours.

So, what if you are one of the people that does not really know exactly what type of business to start? Your choice should be based on one or more of the following:

• Something that you know a lot about

• Something that you are very interested in and passionate about

• Something that you are willing to do a lot of research on

It has always been my opinion that the best boss is one that knows more than any of his employees about every aspect of the business. In other words, you should be able to do any task for the business better than the person you are asking to perform the task.

Not that you won’t be able to learn a few things from some of your sharper employees along the way, but initially, I believe that is best if you are able to efficiently perform the tasks that you will require your employees to perform. Knowing your business inside and out will not only earn you the respect of your employees, but will also help you to become more successful more quickly.

It is very difficult to be successful in a business that you have no interest in or are not passionate about. The interest and the passion are what will drive you toward success and keep you from getting bored.

If you don’t know everything about the business that you intend to start, then research the areas that you know little or nothing about. There is no shame in gaining needed knowledge that you may not have in a particular area. Few people know everything about everything (although there are some who think that they do).

Any ideas for your business coming to mind yet? If not, here is a simple exercise that may help to point you in the right direction. You can either do this on scratch paper or create a Word Processing Document for this exercise. If you create a Word Processing Document (best), name it: My Life’s Achievements. When it has been completed, Save it in a Folder titled: My Business (you can later change the name to the name of your business).

First, create an outline as follows:

My Life’s Achievements

• Jobs

• Other Life Skills

• Hobbies & Interests

Under the subheading of ‘Jobs’, number and list all of the jobs that you have ever held throughout your life, regardless of how trivial. Begin with any job that you did for which you earned money, from doing chores around the house to that lemonade stand you ran on the weekends to your babysitting jobs. Continue adding to the list, all of the jobs that you held while working for others, as well as any businesses that you have owned.

Now, under the subheading ‘Other Life Skills’, number and list all of the skills that you have learned well throughout your life. These can be job related or not. They might be things like: child care, organization, filing, cooking, problem solving, home remodeling (you can break home remodeling down into specific areas, like: plumbing, electrical, framing, trim work, etc.), etc.

Then, under ‘Hobbies & Interests’, number and list all of the hobbies and special interests that you once were, or are still, very passionate about. This might include things like: sports that you played, stamp collecting, coin collecting, crafts, cooking, reading books, or even astronomy.

Some ideas should be coming into focus for what type of business will be good for you to start. If you need a little more help, you can also, copy the number of all ‘Other Life Skills’ that apply to each of your ‘Jobs’ and each of your ‘Hobbies & Interests’. Look for patterns that begin to emerge, where the same skill is repeated multiple times. Highlight any of your ‘Other Life Skills’ that are repeated often. Your choice of business should include the need for these skills. Also, look at any of the items in your list that contain a large number of your ‘Other Life Skills’. These will also be good candidates for your choice of business.

You can also ask yourself these two questions:

1. ‘Which of these skills do I enjoy the most?’ Then, make sure that the business that you