Steps to success

There is no one right way to succeed in business. You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. It is a long and possibly expensive journey, but with perseverance and guidance, you can make it happen. A typical pathway to take during your start-up process is to follow these steps.

1. Prepare a written outline of your idea.

• 2. Establish your business structure. A business must be formed within some kind of legal framework. The law insists on it. Finding the correct legal form of doing business may be a challenging process, and each legal structure will affect the way you file your taxes. You will also need to register your business within your state. A Small Business Development Center can assist you with state registration forms. To learn more about legal structure and business tax concerns click here for IRS.gov

• 3. Prepare a business plan. This is a complex process that will become the blueprint of how you will run your business, market your business, and determine the funding requirements and viability of your new business. You can find a template for a business plan here: Business plan outline

• 4. Have a business counselor review your business plan . The Association of Small Business Development Centers offer free consulting and low cost training to help new entrepreneurs realize their dream of business ownership, and to assist existing businesses to remain competitive in the complex marketplace of an ever-changing global economy. To find the nearest SBDC to you, click on the following link: http://www.asbdc-us.org/

• 5. Implement the business plan  

• 6. Register your veteran-owned small business on the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database.

Never stop learning and asking questions. Call the Center for Veterans Enterprise toll free at 1-866-584-2344 or send an email to VACVE@va.gov for free coaching and advice on specific questions and referrals to local resources.