Avoid unnecessary distractions

Most people who start a new business are doing it for the first time. So they don’t have the firsthand experience of knowing what to do and what not to do during those critical first couple of months.

If you head off to the library or a bookstore or surf the Internet, for example, you’ll find dozens… or hundreds… or thousands… of books, resources, and references that speak to the question of how to start a business.

Many of these start by telling you to write a business plan, talk to an attorney about how best to structure your business (as a corporation, LLC, or sole-proprietor), talk to an accountant about how to keep your books (manual versus computer versus part-time bookkeeper), open a bank account, create a business logo, purchase business cards and letterhead, and on and on.

These are all important things to do when you start a new business… and I’m never going to advise you NOT to do them.

I’m just going to recommend that you don’t do them too soon.

For example, visiting with an attorney too soon to decide what kind of corporate structure would be best for your new business. Granted, it’s an important activity. But I see it as a distraction that could steal months of revenue stream from you.

Here’s a better start up approach. John W. in Denver repairs computers. He’s been at it over 5 years and has a loyal, steady clientele.

When he first started in business, he asked people to write checks to him personally, rather than to a corporate business name attached to a corporate business bank account. No one objected. Plus, this bought him time to validate that he had a viable business before he spent money hiring an attorney. (Remember, they’re not cheap.)

The same goes for logos and business cards. I’ve seen many business owners (untrained as graphic artists) burn hours, days, weeks, and months trying to perfect a logo design that essentially means nothing. In the beginning it adds no value at all to the business. But it does distract the start up business owner from the primary task.

Start up businesses need clients and customers. They need a revenue stream. Anything that distracts them from these primary tasks constitutes a critical mistake.