Planning is critical to successfully starting and building a business. That’s why we’ve dedicated a section for it. Here you’ll find guidance on the tools and resources necessary to write a winning business plan. From sample plans to a business plan primer, we’ll get you started on this very important activity. Once your business is up and running, you’ll need to regularly review and update your plan to manage growth.

Strategic Planning

Too many people think strategic planning is something meant only for big businesses, but it is equally applicable to small businesses. Strategic planning is matching the strengths of your business to available opportunities. To do this effectively, you need to collect, screen, and analyze information about the business environment. You also need to have a clear understanding of your business - its strengths and weaknesses - and develop a clear mission, goals, and objectives. Acquiring this understanding often involves more work than expected. You must realistically assess the business you are convinced you know well.

In addition, strategic planning has become more important to business managers because technology and competition have made the business environment less stable and less predictable. If you are to survive and prosper, you should take the time to identify the niches in which you are most likely to succeed, and to identify the resource demands that must be met. Learn more about this topic.

Never think you can do it alone! One of the best ways to insulate yourself against business failure is to find and work with a mentor, someone with business experience who can guide and assist you.

Finance Start-Up

All businesses require some form of financing. An integral component of starting a successful business is raising sufficient capital. There are many challenges here, but numerous resources are available to help you

Buy a Business

Once the decision is made to start a business, often the next decision is either to buy an existing business or start a new venture from scratch. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options.

Buy a Franchise

Business franchising offers many opportunities. This form of ownership has helped many entrepreneurs get started in business and succeed.

Name Your Business

There is more to naming your business than just coming up with something that sounds good and you happen to like. Thought must be given to state and local requirements and making sure you don’t infringe upon the rights of someone else’s business name.

Legal Requirements And Implications

Picking a name for your business requires much more than just creativity and a working knowledge of your target market. First you'll need to decide which business structure you will use, since each structure has its own peculiarities. For example, many states require a sole proprietor to use their own name for the business name unless they formally file another name as a trade name, or fictitious name. Read more about How Business Structure Affects Business Names.

Similarly, you will need to determine whether your trade name will be the same as the full legal name of your business. Of equal importance is finding out whether your name or a very similar name is being used by another business, and if so, what rights they may or may not have to use the name in the area where you do business. Keep in mind that some businesses only file trademarks within their locality, so it's possible that the same name can be used elsewhere. Here's some information on Trademark FAQs.

Search And Registration

Trade names can be registered through state Secretary of State offices, and for wider marketplace protection, through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO Trademark Search). Businesses should first use the USPTO's online system to search all state and federal trademark registers to see if their proposed name is being used.

Domain Names

For many businesses that operate on the Web, trade names are synonymous with domain names, such as Amazon.com and Monster.com. Domain names are not registered through state or local government; rather they can be obtained through numerous online businesses, most of which will allow you to conduct a name search prior to purchase to make sure your chosen name isn't taken.

Many factors must be considered when choosing the best form of business ownership or structure. The choice you make can have an impact on multiple aspects of your business, including taxes, liability, ownership succession, and others. 

The pros and cons of different types of ownership, including sole proprietorship, partnering, corporations, and limited liability companies. Brief descriptions of common business ownership structures. Some structures are only available in some states. If one of your employees causes an accident, can an injured person sue you and take your house, car, or savings account? Are you paying more taxes than you should on your business income? These are important questions that many small business owners ignore, yet the answers depend on the business' legal structure.