East End Chamber of Commerce Starting a Business East End Chamber of Commerce

In this guide you will find tips for: Determining the type of business you will have Setting goals and realistic expectations when growing your business Market research Creating a business plan Creating business formation and operational structure Product Development Staffing Fundraising Developing vision, mission and values

1. Type of business you want Determine the type of business you want to establish. In essence your business/idea needs to build a real-world solution to a real-world problem, preferably in a sizable market. Following what you are passionate about will get you through the good times and the bad times. Starting your business

2. Setting expectations Evaluating your business Starting a business obligates you to think about every detail that comes with a new business. You need to decide whether this business will be as a lifestyle for yourself, as the sole owner or if you are trying to attract outside capital and hire employees.

3. Research the Market Before starting your business, you need to look inside your market to take a close view at who and what your competitors are….How large is your market? How competitive is your industry? How well funded are your competitors? You can’t stop building your business without knowing what you will be competing with. Researching your competitors

4. Business planning Make a plan and determine your revenue model, build a sales and marketing plan and lastly build a budget for your business. Strategize to set reasonable milestones to shoot for along the way. Making a plan for your business

5. Business Formation Once you have good and well-researched idea and business/financial model that makes sense you should be able to launch your business. Including basics such as setting up your bank account, accounting policies and process, employee handbooks policies and insurance protection Step-by-Step Guide

6. Product development Making sure to start with a good product and plan out a good pricing strategy for your goods. In building your product and you will also have to decide whether you want to start with in-house employees or third party contractors. Developing your product

7. Staffing Recruiting employees is vital to the success of your business. You need to determine your team’s roles and responsibilities and start filling them in, determining employee compensation, benefits and potentially setting aside equity for key employees, protected by a time-based vesting schedule. When hiring you want to look for people who have had experience in fast-moving, nimble startup environments preferably with a record at prior startups. Hiring your first employees

8. Fundraising Every business will require money to start up whether it’s your money or finding investors for your startup, in all cases you will need build a reasonable bridge to a 10x return for your investors and structure the financing in a way that works for all parties. Fundraising for your business Start Up Funding Options: https://peoplefund.org/ https://houston.liftfund.com/

9. How to come up with your own vision and mission? A mission is the purpose of the organization and why it exists, it often informs the vision statement which describes where the company wants to be in the future. These two statements are often combined to clearly define why your organization exists. A good mission and vision statement will successfully create a connection with your customers and employees, many will stay loyal for life and you will have the chance to increase your overall profitability while building a solid foundation of brand promoters. It’s not easy achieving the connection but the companies that succeed are ones that stay true to their core values over the years and create a company that employees and customers are proud to associate with. Writing your vision statement Writing your mission statement Finding your business's values

Example of mission/vision statements Vision & mission cont. Patagonia: "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." Their mission statement focuses on the values that bring them marketing success as their efforts that contribute to a better world. Your company’s statement should represent who you are and what you represent and envision for the future. American Express: "We work hard every day to make American Express the world's most respected service brand." American Express sets itself apart from other credit card companies in its list of values, with an ode to great customer service, which is something it’s famous for. Supporting employees, so that the people inside of the organization can be in the best position to support their customers.

East End Chamber of Commerce Our mission is to connect businesses to promote economic expansion and investment in the East End. East End Chamber of Commerce