The Fundamentals

If you’re already in the game and don’t need the basics, you can skip ahead to Playing Offense. You already have the all fundamentals you need, so why waste your time with things you probably already know?

For the rest of you, let’s start with an old adage: “Love what you do, do what you love, and success will almost surely follow.”

The secret to your success in business is two-fold. First, you have to find something that you’re passionate about. It can be a product you’ve created, service you can provide, a franchise opportunity, a consultancy, ecommerce, a cottage industry, a brick and mortar business – the possibilities are endless.

Second, you have to love it enough that you’re willing to put in the time to make it successful. In sports, professional athletes clock a lot of hours training for the big game. Business is no different. You need to spend the time required to make sure your business is set up correctly so that you can open your doors with a sense of direction, purpose and a laser focus on racking up sales and generating revenue.

10 Easy Steps and You’re in Business

There are 10 easy steps to start a business in Washington State. You can juggle the order some, but all the steps are required to get your business off the ground.

1. Write a business plan, or better yet, do a Business Canvas Model to test ideas more quickly and efficiently.
2. Choose a location for your business.
3. Determine, identify and secure financing.
4. Select a business name.
5. Determine the best legal structure and determine what’s required to create it.
6. Fill out a Washington State Business Application and get a Unified Business Indicator number.
7. Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service if you have employees.
8. Open a business bank account.
9. Obtain the necessary business licenses and permits.
10. Understand your tax, employer and filing obligations.