Starting a Business: Planning, Registering and Funding

Testing a business idea with possible customers through interviews, landing pages, pre-sales and price discovery.

Scoping, building and measuring a minimum viable product (MVP) with a small group of users.

The parts of a business plan: the problem and offer, customers, competitors, business model, milestones, finances and risks.

Where to look for a mentor, how to ask, and how mentors differ from coaches, advisors and investors.

Setting up a law practice, from the requirements for founding a firm to the steps for starting one.

What a business entity is, the main entity types, and how an entity relates to taxes, liability and trade names.

Sole proprietorships, LLCs, S corporations and C corporations compared on liability, taxes and administration.

How a sole proprietorship works, its taxes and liability, and moving from a sole proprietorship to an LLC.

How an LLC works: limited liability, formation documents, taxation, and how it compares with a sole proprietorship and a corporation.

The steps to register a business, from choosing a structure and filing formation documents to an EIN, a bank account and licenses.

What an EIN is, why a business needs one, how to apply, and what to do if you lose it or need a new one.

Business licenses and permits: finding the jurisdictions that apply, applying, renewals, and licenses for online businesses.

Choosing a business name, including trademark and domain checks, the legal entity name and a DBA.

Funding options for a new business, from customer revenue and bootstrapping to loans, grants and investors.

Growing a business on revenue and savings instead of investors, and how bootstrapping compares with venture funding.

The types of crowdfunding for a business, and its advantages and disadvantages.

Opening a business bank account: documents, account features, signers and access, and connecting the account to bookkeeping.

Building a business budget: revenue drivers, fixed and variable costs, taxes, cash and profit, and a monthly review.

Managing a new business's liquidity: planning, paying bills, payment terms and installment payments.

Passive income ideas, how passive income differs from active income, and choosing a source of passive income.

Cost-plus, value-based and competitive pricing for services, packaging services, and raising prices.

Onboarding a new client: a welcome packet, the contract, a kickoff meeting and a communication rhythm.

The types of software a new business uses, and choosing software that suits it.

Choosing business tools as a first-time founder, such as money, communication and project management tools.

Choosing invoicing tools when a business is new.

Choosing invoicing software for a side business run alongside a job.

Choosing invoicing software for a one-person business.

Choosing billing software for a service business, including estimates, deposits and progress invoicing.