How to start a small business, one useful decision at a time.

If you're employed and wondering whether this could become your living, begin with your time and household budget. If you already have an offer, jump to testing it with customers. If the first job is booked, move to registration, money and delivery. You don't have to read the whole internet before doing the next sensible thing.

The order is flexible. A food business may need permits before a paid test; a regulated trade may need a license before offering work at all. Research and customer conversations can begin earlier, but a promising idea doesn't waive the rules.

Work through the sequence or pick the question that is keeping you stuck. Each guide ends with a small, concrete task.

1. Before you quit

   A realistic weekly time budget and a household cash calculation.

2. Business ideas

   A shortlist built from your experience and problems people already pay to solve.

3. Validate your idea

   Questions to ask, a small test to run and a reason to change your mind.

4. One-page plan

   A working offer, rough costs and the unanswered questions that matter next.

5. Business name

   A usable name checked against more than an available web address.

6. Structure and registration

   The difference between your entity, tax ID and permission to operate.

7. Money basics

   A way to see what came in, what went out and what is still owed.

8. First ten customers

   A focused approach to finding buyers and following through.

9. First 90 days

   A weekly routine you can adjust as you learn.

Before a big purchase, write what it would let you learn or deliver. Renting equipment for a booked job answers a different question from buying it because owning it feels like progress. A sensible early budget leaves room to be wrong about something.

The same goes for your time. An hour talking to a likely customer can change the offer. An hour choosing the seventh shade of blue for the logo may only change the shade of blue. Both have their moment. Usually not the same moment.

SBA's local assistance directory connects you with resources including SBDCs and SCORE mentors. Use it to find counseling on a plan, financing or the next office to contact. Ask the local provider about appointment availability and any training fees. (SBA: local business counseling)

Bring specific questions: which permit covers this activity, which expense have I missed, and how many jobs would cover the monthly bills? That gives an advisor a place to start.

Once the business has customers, the details start multiplying: a quote, a changed address, a visit next week, a note you absolutely meant to remember. Keep them somewhere you can find them while a customer is on the phone.

BizzyBot brings customer records, projects, tasks and calendars into one workspace. Start with the tools you use and hide the rest. The business can be ambitious without making every Tuesday complicated.