The Only Small Business Essentials Checklist You’ll Ever Need

p>Are you thinking of throwing your hat into the ring with the approximately 31.7 million small businesses in the US? If so, you’re acting on a dream shared by the majority of American adults, the dream of self-employment. The good news is that you can do it from home, part-time, and online if you want.

Even so, becoming a small business owner is more than just printing up some business cards. There are some key small business essentials you need in place if you want to make a serious go of business ownership. Keep reading for our essentials checklist to help keep you on course.

Office Equipment

Even if your open a one-person business, like selling hand-knitted mittens on Etsy, you’ll still need at least a few pieces of office equipment. At a bare minimum, you’ll need a computer of some kind. Some people prefer working on laptops, but others prefer the extra memory and processing power you get from a desktop system.

You’ll also like want a desk and a comfortable office chair.

Accounting Software

One of the main ways that new business owners get tripped up is with the business finances. You should make a point to find either a free bookkeeping/accounting software package or a paid one. Once you get it, make sure you enter your revenue and expenses on a regular basis.

If you get a lot of transactions, daily entries make sense. If you get less frequently, aim for dealing with the books at least once a week.

Website

It is the exceptionally rare business that can get by these days without a website. You should assume you’ll need either a dedicated website that you run yourself or a storefront through a sales platform.

Storefronts through sales platforms offer benefits, but you exercise far more complete control if you run your own. Eitehr way, yu need a web presence.

Time Management Tools

Entrepreneurs often work long hours, but that can grow out of control until your work/life balance disappears entirely. Time management tools can help you constrain your work activities enough that you can still have a personal life beyond the business.

Third-Party Services

Smart management means knowing that you can’t possibly master all of the skills necessary to personally control all aspects of your business. It’s simply too much information for any one person. That means you need third-party business services from a company like Avitus Group to shore up your weak areas.

Small Business Essentials and You

Successful business ownership starts with getting your small business essential lined up. Some of those essentials are simple things, like a computer and finance software.

Things like a website can prove more complicated, as they require hosting and maybe even a web designer. Time management tools are crucial for keeping your professional and personal life in some kind of balance. You must also recognize that you’ll need third-party help for some things.

Looking for more business management tips? Check out the posts over in our Business section.