How to Start a Business: The Steps I Would Follow If I Was Starting Again Today

If you’re thinking about starting a business, the chances are you’re feeling excited and overwhelmed in equal measure. One minute you’re imagining what your business could become, and the next you’re wondering whether you need a website, business cards, insurance, social media accounts, or a logo before you can even get started.

Having started businesses myself and helped many others launch theirs, I’ve learned that starting a business is often much simpler than people make it. That’s not to say it’s easy, but many new business owners spend their time focusing on the wrong things and delaying the actions that will actually help them succeed.

In this article, I want to share the steps I would follow if I was starting from scratch today. This isn’t a textbook guide or a list of complicated business jargon. It’s the practical advice I would give to a friend sitting at my kitchen table with an idea they can’t stop thinking about.

Start With Research

Before you spend money creating a product or building a website, spend some time understanding the market you want to serve. Research helps you understand whether there is genuine demand for your idea, who your customers are likely to be, and what problems they are looking to solve.

One thing I often hear from new business owners is that they’re worried someone else is already doing what they want to do. While it’s sensible to understand your competition, it’s important not to let it stop you. Almost every successful industry has multiple businesses operating within it because customers connect with different people, personalities, experiences and approaches.

Just because somebody else has done it doesn’t mean that you can’t.

The goal of your research isn’t to find a completely unique idea. The goal is to understand how you can deliver value and where your business fits into the market.

Check That the Numbers Work

Passion is important, but passion alone doesn’t create a sustainable business. Before moving forward, I always recommend spending time looking at the financial side of your idea.

Think about how much you plan to charge, what it will cost to deliver your product or service, and how many customers you would need to make a profit. The numbers don’t need to be perfect at this stage, but they do need to make sense.

I’ve seen people invest months creating something they love only to discover that the pricing doesn’t work or that they would need an unrealistic number of customers to generate an income. Taking time to do the maths at the beginning can save a lot of frustration later and give you confidence that you’re building something viable.

Don’t Waste Money on Things That Won’t Grow Your Business

When people start a business, it’s easy to get distracted by things that feel productive but don’t actually help you get customers. I’ve seen new business owners spend hundreds or even thousands of pounds on branded merchandise, expensive logos, printed materials, promotional products and fancy packaging before they’ve made their first sale.

Whilst good branding is great and important for your business it is important not to get carried away and order all of the merchandise! Things will change, you’ll not need as many business cards as you think and your cash is much better being invested in your product or service in the early days rather than branded pens and bags. 

If I was starting again today with a limited budget, I’d keep things simple, focus on building an email list and create content that helps people discover what I do. Once money starts coming into the business, you can always upgrade systems, improve branding and invest in merch and additional marketing.

When you’re deciding where to spend your time, energy and money, always ask yourself one simple question: “Will this help me attract, serve or retain customers?” If the answer is no, it may not need to be a priority right now.

Create Your Offer and Get Started

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in business is that your first version will never be your final version.

Many people spend months trying to perfect every detail before they launch. They tweak the logo, redesign the website, rewrite the sales page and keep adding more features because they don’t feel ready yet. The problem is that perfection is a moving target, and waiting for everything to be perfect often means never getting started.

Instead, focus on creating a version that solves a problem and delivers value. Once you’ve done that, put it into the world and start learning from real customers.

Some of my biggest business lessons haven’t come from courses, books or planning sessions. They’ve come from launching something, seeing what worked, understanding what didn’t, and improving it for the next round. There is so much learning to be done through doing, and no amount of planning can replace real-world experience.

Build Your Audience Before You Need It

If there is one piece of advice I wish every new business owner would take seriously, it is to start building an audience from day one. One of the most common mistakes I see is people spending months creating a product, course, service or website and then wondering why nobody buys when they launch. The reality is that even the best offer in the world needs people to see it, trust it and understand its value before they are ready to purchase.

As you are developing your business, start creating content that helps your ideal customer. Share your knowledge, answer common questions, provide useful tips and give people a reason to follow your journey. At the same time, look for ways to encourage people onto your email list through a simple free resource such as a guide, checklist, printable or tutorial. While social media can be a fantastic way to reach new people, an email list is one of the most valuable assets you can build because it gives you a direct way to communicate with people who have already expressed an interest in what you do.

I saw the power of this when helping someone launch a children’s craft class business. Instead of rushing to fill classes immediately, we focused on building an audience first. She shared helpful content about the benefits of crafting, reducing screen time and encouraging creativity, while offering free craft activities and tutorials in exchange for email addresses. By the time she launched, she had built a list of more than 1,000 local subscribers who already knew her work and trusted her expertise. Her first classes filled within 24 hours because she had spent time building relationships before asking people to buy.

The businesses that grow most quickly are rarely the ones with the fanciest branding or the most polished websites. More often, they are the businesses that have invested time in building an audience and creating trust long before they launch their first offer.

Don’t hesitate to reach out if we can help in any way.