Small Business Checklist

The Small Business Checklist:

1. Find a business idea (look to the product ideas page for help)

   1. Finding a business idea is a fun yet challenging step in creating your own business. Products (goods or services to be sold to consumers) can come in the form of goods (tangible items such as books or shoes) or services (intangible activities such as entertainment or haircuts). 

1. 2. For the mini-market, most businesses will feature tangible goods as the products to be sold, but there can be a few exceptions. Find a product that you think you will enjoy making as it will be much easier to build up inventory (stored goods and materials to be sold). 

1. 3. Also, it is important to note any limitations (challenges associated with a certain material) that come with a product. Some examples include: a candle can melt, food can spoil, and a glass product can break easily. It is also vital to make sure that products abide by health and safety regulations to ensure the safety of customers.

2. Research your product

1. 1. It is vital to research your product before completely devoting your business to it. This step can help determine whether or not a product will be beneficial to your business. For example, selling mittens in the summertime will not likely be a very lucrative (profit-producing) business. It is hot in the summer so customers do not have a huge need for warm clothes. By researching and thinking deeper about what customers are looking to buy, you will likely increase your sales. 

1. 2. It is also important to learn exactly what goes into making your product. This can help you determine if making each product will be too time/energy-consuming. This will inhibit your ability to build up inventory, and you will have less to sell. Research the steps it takes to make and store your product to determine if it will be good for a business.

1. 3. Another important step in researching your product is looking at your competitors (other businesses with similar products). What is going to set your product apart from the others? Why would customers choose to buy from you? Maybe you have a better price than other businesses or maybe you have a variation of a product that is currently unavailable to consumers in your market. This step also ties into charitable or green marketing, which are seperate pages on this website.

1. 4. When you feel you have found a product that is suitable for your business, it is important to analyze the costs of your product. Measure how much of each material (something from which a product is made) goes into creating one product. Determine the cost to make each product and use this information to determine the price of the product.

1. 5. For example, a business that sells macrame plant hangers determines that it takes ¼ spools of string and 1 fake plant to create the product. 1 spool of string costs $8 and 1 fake plant costs $2. It costs $2 for string and $2 for a plant that goes into making each product. So it costs $4 to produce each product. The business determines that they can sell their plant hangers for $10 which allows them to profit $6 for each plant hanger they sell. The cost to produce, the time it takes to make, and the end price are not too high for the product. 

3. Create a brand for your business

2. 1. Once you have a solid plan for your business, it is time to build your brand. A brand consists of the names, logos, designs, and other factors that differentiate a business from competitors. This helps set a business apart and make it more recognizable to customers. This step at the most basic level involves creating a business name. Your business name should be relevant to your business, recognizable, and memorable. 

2. 2. For example, Crumbl Cookies has a very memorable name that is relevant, recognizable, and memorable. Have fun with this step, and allow yourself to be creative. If you want to further build your brand, you can choose a color scheme that will be used for products or your table at the market. Choose tablecloths, gift bags, and price tags that coordinate with your brand.

4. Build Inventory

1. Building inventory involves beginning to produce your products and store them to be sold. However many products you make is how many you have to be sold. More products equals more potential profit (how much money you could make if you sold all your products). It is important to note the shelf life (how long a product stays good) and potential challenges that come with storing your product. 

2. For example, a baking business can't begin building up its product inventory until maybe the day before they are to sells its products, but it can build up an inventory of the materials needed to create these products. They can buy all the flour, sugar, and eggs they need to create their desired amount of baked goods for the market. However, if your business has a product such as bracelets that do not present storing challenges, you can begin building up inventory early so you will have more products to sell.

5. Advertise your business (tell people about the mini-market)

2. 1. Advertising is a vital step to generate more profit for your business. With social media and technology, marketing (activities to promote the buying or selling of a product) is at an all-time high in terms of its importance to a business’s success. Marketing involves promoting a product to increase its sales. We see this every day through television advertisements, website advertisements, and many other advertisements. The advertisements all show a benefit to buying a company’s product such as a lower price, a benefit, or an ethical aspect. Overall, marketing your product is extremely important to get the word out and increase your sales.

2. 2. There are many different kinds of marketing such as green/charitable marketing and different pricing strategies which are seperate pages on this website.

2. 3. In terms of the mini-market, the best way to advertise your product is to spread the word about the market. Tell your friends and family the date and location. The more consumers (people who buy products) there are in the market the more potential customers (people who will buy from your business).

6. Track your sales and earnings 

2. 1. Yet another important step in creating a business is tracking your finances throughout the process. Perform simple calculations to determine your total profit by multiplying the number of products sold by the profit per product. Another simple way to do this is revenue - expenses = profit. Revenue is the total money that comes into a business, and expenses are money that leaves the business. By subtracting expenses from revenue, you find the profit of your business or the amount of money you make. Using a table or spreadsheet can be very helpful in tracking your sales and earnings.

2. 2. In tracking your finances, you can also find new ways to save money and cut back on your costs to make each product. One example is buying materials in bulk with your profits. 

Link to Financial Guide PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CWsotH-9mOErucAy48Xye4Vr6MNrrCTi/view?usp=drive_link