Interested in starting a small business but unsure where to start.

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Haha，I also find the right way to

I would start by resisting the urge to choose a logo, business name, website, or social platform too early. At The Branded Agency, we work with a lot of founders, and the strongest businesses usually begin with a clear problem, a specific customer, and evidence that people are willing to pay for a solution. A good place to start is by answering a few questions: What problem do you understand better than most people? Who experiences that problem often enough to pay for help? What experience, skill, access, or perspective gives you an advantage? Can you test the idea without investing heavily? I would then speak with 10 to 20 potential customers before building much of anything. Ask how they solve the problem today, what frustrates them, what they have already paid for, and what would make them consider something new. From there, create the smallest version of the offer you can actually sell. That might be a service, a landing page, a prototype, a small product run, or even a manual version of something you eventually plan to automate. I would also learn the basic numbers early: What will it cost to deliver? What can you reasonably charge? How many customers do you need to break even? How will people discover you? How long will it take to get paid? The biggest mistake is spending months building a business before finding out whether anyone wants it. You do not need a perfect business plan to begin. You need a real problem, a believable offer, a few conversations with potential customers, and a small test that gives you useful information. Once you know what you are selling and who it is for, branding, naming, website design, marketing, and growth strategy become much easier to make decisions around.

SCORE, free mentorship through retired business owners, good starting point when you're this early and don't even know what questions to ask yet honestly.

Check if ypur state has a small business development center. I stopped in to see what they offered and left with paperwork filed.

How much are you willing to pay?

Can you prepare a list of criteria of YOUR IDEAL BUSINESS that would help others point you in the "right" direction? Sit down a create a long list. Then leave it for a day or two and revisit your list. Start identifying industries and specific businesses that line up with your critieria. Give your mind a few days to process your info. Then put on your CRITICAL thinking hat and figure out why a business on your options list is a GO or a NOGO.

Before you find a mentor, you need to answer one question yourself. "Why do I want to start a business?" Not "I want to make money" or "I want freedom." But actually why. If you can't answer that clearly, mentorship won't help. A mentor will just be giving you advice you're not ready to hear. Once you can answer that, here's what actually matters: Don't research "starting a business." That's too broad. Research a specific problem you can solve. One problem. For one type of person. That's where you start. Talk to 20 people who have that problem. Not to pitch them. To understand what they actually need. Most people skip this. That's why most businesses fail. Then figure out: Can I solve this in a way that makes money? If yes, you're ready for mentorship. If you're still figuring it out, mentorship will just confuse you more. The uncomfortable truth: Most mentors can't help you find your idea. Only you can. What mentors can help with is executing the idea you've already committed to. So start there. Figure out what you actually want to build. Then find someone who's built something similar. That's when mentorship matters.

First step is to identify what type of business would be a best fit. For example, some folks with day job will turn a hobby (something they enjoy doing) into a part-time, home-based business they can manage on nights and weekends. If someone is an excellent cook and enjoys serving others, they might be well suited to open a mom and pop pizza shop. Next, is due diligence. For example, each of these businesses has very different financial requirements (start up expenses). Home-based might be as low as $10,000 or $20,000 whereas it might cost $150,000 to $200,000 to lease space and outfit a small pizza shop. This is usually a major hurdle for small business. Having enough capital to create the business and sustain it until it is cash flow positive. If you don’t have the money, you must obtain external funds. If you borrow from bank, you must qualify for loan. If you take investor money, you will have to give up portion of ownership and share of profits. So there is a lot to consider and process to follow. Let’s say you want to build or buy a carwash. I would contact International Carwash Association. Every industry has associations. Associations provide members with start up guidance, educational and training resources, buyer guides, trades shows, monthly trade magazines, industry benchmarks, networking opportunities, and more.

Hi, I'm studding Entrepreuneurship in Columbia university and me and my team are currently working on a product that helps people that want to start their own business find the problem they can focus on. So I wondered If you could reply to some of our questions.

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