When starting a business everyone wants to immediately jump to the point of positive cash flow and picture taking at the annual company sponsored benefit. The problem with this is that there is much to be done in between a business idea on paper and this level of success. Having a plan of action and basic infrastructure in place can help save some individuals from becoming another failed business statistic. This approach of preparedness can be achieved by completing four separate tasks before cutting the ribbon on a new business. These are setting up a business budget complete with sources of estimated funding, creating a business vision for short, medium, and long term time periods, opening means of communication for response to marketing, and last, but certainly not least writing a UVP or Unique Value Proposition.

Setting a business budget is a simple, but crucial step that must be completed before actually launching a business. In the beginning dollars are tight and all young companies usually have one thing in common – debt. This should not be an overwhelming notion, but rather a reality that can be tackled with the correct planning. So, in order to set up a budget it is necessary to identify sources of funding

and costs that the business will have. Again, this will not be a daunting task, but without completion any business owner will find themselves falling financially short every month – for reasons that cannot be seen on paper! Ultimately, having a strict budget and an idea of where every dollar is going will help business owners manage existing debt, minimize future debt, and allow for calculated cost cutting if needed.

Next, and just as important to the success of a new business as budgeting, is the creation of a vision. This step needs to be completed before going into business because it will help clarify whether or not goals are being hit. In other words, a vision should lay out exactly where the business plans to be in the short term, medium term, and long term. After the creation of these future visions, any business can easily see if they are achieving their goals of desired success. Without this vision in place, it is impossible to gauge the level of business prosperity.

Following vision creation, on the pre-business start up checklist, is opening means of communication.

While seeming obvious, this is a step that many on the verge of starting a business forget to do. Everything seems to be in place and ready for launch, but there are not specific avenues for customers

to respond to marketing. Maybe it is because human nature is not always prepared for success at first, or because answering that first call can be, for lack of better terminology, scary! Whatever the reason may be, trying to set up means of communication, after the doors have been open for business, is like trying to put your seat belt on before a car accident – you will not have enough time and both can cause avoidable loss.

The final and most detailed measure to be in place ahead of any business's opening day is the writing of a UVP or Unique Value Proposition. UVP can be best explained by breaking it down into its three parts. Unique refers to the characteristics of service that set the business apart from as many of its competitors as possible. What about the business sets it apart? Take some time to really determine the uniqueness of the business as it will determine why customers make a choice. Value is the built-in worth of what a business is offering to the customers. In short, it describes what customers are paying for! Think about being in the client's/customer's shoes and define how the service or product has helped. Lastly, proposition is the true message to the client. Being able to measure and set business claims, with customers in mind, is crucial and makes for a solid UVP.

Starting a successful business will require hard work and planning. With this said, it is one of the most exciting tasks that can be undertaken! In order to minimize the chance of failure and significantly increase the chance of success, it is necessary to set a business budget, create a business vision, open means of communication, and write a UVP. These four easy, but necessary actions can be the difference between profit and loss and more importantly staying in, or going out of business. So, start your own business – Just be sure to think and plan before moving forward!