Entrepreneurship Basics: How to Start a Business in 2025

Ready to make the ultimate investment in yourself? Whether your side hustle has evolved into a meaningful revenue stream or you’re ready to launch a startup from scratch, there’s more to consider and complete than meets the eye. The steps below teach you how to start a business. Use this as a framework to create a foundation that promotes profitability and sustainability. Tailor these steps to your industry and individual needs.

#1 Market Research and Idea Validation

You’ve got an idea, but before you get too far, conduct market research. You may be so pumped up about your idea, that you have a blind spot or two. So, consider hiring a third-party specialist to complete the business essentials below on your behalf.

• Identify a market gap: If you haven’t yet, pinpoint an unmet or underserved opportunity in your market. If you’ve already identified a gap in your market, confirm the gap with quantifiable data. You can utilize AI for this ideation process. Ensure your AI findings are supported with real-time and relevant data.

• Identify your target demographic: Create 3 to 5 unique buyer personas. These should include who the buyer is, what their goals are, what their challenges are, how you solve their pain points, and more. A common mistake many first-time entrepreneurs make is only targeting someone with their exact needs. Every product can meet a multitude of needs. If you don’t identify and gain an understanding of what these needs are, you miss out on sales from profit-driving demographics.

• Competitive analysis: Now that you know what you have to offer and who you’ll be serving, it’s time to identify your top competitors. If you plan to sell your products or provide your services nationwide or globally, this may include nationwide and global competitors. If you’ll only serve a few cities, stick with local competitors. Identify their strengths and weaknesses to strategize how you can do better and how you are unique.

• Conduct a feasibility study: Before you dive into building your new business, you must determine the likelihood of your success. This includes whether your idea is viable, if you meet industry compliance, and if you have the financial resources, technology, and operational tools. If you don’t currently have the business essentials you require, this study will help you determine what you need and make informed next-step decisions.

How often should you conduct market research and validation?

You should revisit your market and product validation data at least once per year to ensure it’s up to date. To remain competitive, complete these steps with every new product expansion and product launch. 

Do you need to complete the steps above if you’re transitioning a side hustle into a full-time business?

Yes! Even if your side hustle has turned into a full-time or near-full-time stream of income, you should complete the steps above and below. This will help you to refine and evolve your business, improve product and service quality, and accelerate the rate at which you scale.

#2 Create a Business Plan

Now it’s time to create a formal business plan. This plan isn’t just for you, as it’s required when applying for grants, loans, and other funding. Again, this isn’t something you have to go alone. You can find business consultants and business strategists who can create a plan that is both compliant and strategic.

Your business plan will require elements from several of the steps below, but start planning, and add the remaining elements as they’re complete. For example, you may not be ready to interview and hire employees, but it’s time to consider what roles need to be filled and who will be responsible for what.

• Company description: This includes your mission statement, vision, and values. Maybe write your thoughts and hire a writer to perfect them for you.

• Executive summary: For a startup, an executive summary is typically 1 to 2 pages long and no more than 5 pages. It must include your business concept, market research, market trends, and financial projections. Details vary depending on your industry.

• Detailed product/service description: Your executive summary must include a clear and concise description of your products and services.

• Marketing and sales strategy: We detail this more in Step #5, but you’ll need to include the basics of your marketing and sales plan.

• Organizational structure: You’ll need to outline who your founders, executives, and key employees are. This includes roles and basic responsibilities.

• Funding request (if applicable): Revise your business plan’s funding request section in a relevant matter for each grant, loan, or funding request. This includes how you will utilize the funds to launch or expand your business.

• Financial projections: If you aren’t generating profit yet, you want to provide a realistic but challenging financial forecast. If your business is live, include your income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet.

Do all businesses need a business plan?

Technically no, but they’re considered one of many entrepreneurial basics. If you don’t require external funding, you may be tempted to skip this step. However, businesses with a plan are more likely to succeed. Even if you don’t follow the framework above, clearly outline your goals and objectives. This keeps you in check and ensures your mindset is future-thinking and growth-oriented.

Do I need a business consultant?

Need, no. Highly suggest, yes! A business consultant (often an accountant) can advise you on what entrepreneurship basics on this list apply to you. Consultants create a hierarchy of purposes and priorities designed to increase your odds of success and time to profitability.

Ongoing, they advise you on your blind spots and help you avoid common mistakes, navigate roadblocks, optimize your cash flow, boost productivity, and accelerate the rate at which you scale.

#3 Secure Banking and Funding

Now it’s time to set up your business bank account and begin the process of securing funding. Even if you are 100% self-funded, the money you invest (and generate) must not be deposited in your personal bank account. You must create a separate business bank account.

• Business bank account: Think beyond traditional bank accounts, to a no-fee, no-minimum, high-yield account from Holdings. Like traditional business bank accounts, we’re FDIC Insured, SOC Compliant, and Registered with the SEC. In addition to our fee-free structure, you earn 3.5% on all balances!

• Setup digital payment processing: Modern business essentials include digital wallets and third-party payment processors to process online and mobile payments. From PayPal to Stripe, Amazon Pay, Google Wallet, and more. Depending on your business model, you may require a traditional credit card processor, contactless payment processor, mobile payment app, and mobile/wireless card reader. If you conduct business internationally, you’ll need to set up internationally compliant, multi-currency third-party payment processing.

• Secure external funding: You can secure funding from friends, family, angel investors, VC firms, loans, grants, lines of credit, and crowdfunding. A financial advisor can guide you on your best path to funding and how to secure grants and investors.

How much does it cost to start a new business?

There’s no set dollar amount for funding a startup. It may cost a few thousand dollars to launch an online business, or $5,000, $10,000, or $50,000+ to get an online or brick-and-mortar business up and running. Sometimes significantly more funding is required. Be mindful that your startup costs should cover much of your first year (or more) in business.

Even if you rapidly generate sales, it can take time to generate profit. Once you begin generating a profit, you may need to reinvest your profit back into your business for payroll, inventory, rent, and other monthly expenses.

A financial advisor can assist you with identifying the amount of money required to launch your business and how to maximize your earnings.

How to start a business for less?

Some business models cost less. This includes digital products and services, freelancing, gig work, coaching, and consulting. 

Other ways to launch your business for less include:

• Leverage existing skills.

• Work from home.

• Have your employees work from home.

• Utilize freelancers and virtual assistants.

• Start small and scale as you generate profit.

#4 Determine Your Business Structure and Registration

To make your business “official” you’ll need to determine, apply for, and invest in your legal structure, business permits, and industry-specific compliance requirements.

Choose your legal structure

Each structure below provides an increased layer of personal protection, but as the level of protection increases—so do the associated fees. Your business consultant or accountant can help you determine your starting structure. Your structure may evolve as your business scales.

Sole proprietorship

You’re the sole owner and operator, you have complete control, and you are financially and legally liable for your business.

Partnership

Similar to a sole proprietorship, but with 2 or more co-founders. You and your business partners are financially and legally liable for your shared business.

Limited liability company (LLC)

As an LLC, you (or you and your partners) have a wider range of personal protection. For example, if your business fails, you aren’t personally responsible for the debt.

Corporation

A corporation is a complex business model, where the business is a separate legal entity from the founders. As a startup, you typically won’t pursue this route unless you intend to seek shareholders from day 1.

Business Essentials

• Name your company.

• Ensure your business name isn’t taken in your area of registration.

• Ensure your business name isn’t trademarked by someone else.

• Consider if any nationwide or global businesses have the same name.

• Consider if you want to trademark your name.

• Consider if you need to trademark/copyright your intellectual property.

• Obtain a business license/registration in your state.

• Obtain required industry-specific insurance, licenses, permits, etc.

#5 Develop Your Brand Identity

Here’s where the fun begins! Branding is one of the top entrepreneurship basics. Most brands hire a branding expert, website developer, and marketing team to complete the tasks below. It may cost more, but the look and feel of your brand matter. You have 7 seconds or less to connect and engage with an online visitor. Quality branding makes the most of every second. 

• Create a brand kit: Branding includes your brand colors, primary logo, digital logo variations, online typeface, offline typeface, imagery, uniforms (if applicable), and more. You’ll also need to print your branded collateral such as business cards, signage, letterhead, etc.

• Online presence: You’ll need to set up any combination of a website, Google Analytics, LinkedIn company page, Linktree, business social media accounts, online review profiles, YouTube channel, Substack, WhatsApp, etc.

• Search engine optimization (SEO): SEO implements strategies that help drive organic (aka. unpaid) traffic to your website. These strategies ensure your website populates when people type your products or services into search engines. They are vital to achieving and maintaining a high page rank. This includes utilizing keywords, creating a backlink strategy, and completing a technical SEO audit to ensure search engines view your website as secure and trusted.    

• Create your marketing strategy: Set up a digital newsletter and email marketing campaigns for lead generation and lead nurturing. If relevant to your demographic, set up SMS marketing. Invest in relevant paid marketing. This includes PPC ads, cold calling, cold emailing, hyper-targeted digital ads, social media ads, sponsored content from influencers, affiliate programs, LED sign marketing, blog posts, article marketing, and relevant offline marketing.

Can I build my own business website?

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Many startups design their own website to save money. But if the website you design isn’t visually engaging or designed with current SEO it can be detrimental to your success.

If you possess website design skills or graphic design skills, you may design an effective website. If you don’t have an eye for design, hire a professional. If you must do it yourself, at least use a modern and mobile-responsive website template. Ensure the template you select was updated in the last 12 months.

Do I really need to market my website?

Yes! Going viral is rarely an accident. It happens, but it’s the exception, not the rule. Too many businesses adopt the “if I build it, they will come” mindset to their website and social media. Creating a website and social media accounts aren’t enough to ensure your website ranks well online.

Do I have to have business social media accounts?

Yes! If your business began organically, you may have got up and running utilizing your personal social media accounts. However, it’s time to create and transition to business accounts. Business accounts build trust and authority, maintain your personal privacy, provide in-depth metrics, and offer advanced features and functions. Not only are business accounts business essentials, but if you sell your business—you need to be able to assign a new owner to your accounts. You can’t assign new owners to personal accounts.

If your personal following is large:

1. Create a business account and invite all your personal followers to follow your business account.

2. Create a post on your personal social media account announcing your new business account. If applicable, pin the post to the top of your page.

3. Start posting and prescheduling all new social media posts to your business account. Once live, share each post to your personal account.

4. Sharing posts from your business account to your personal account will serve as a reminder to follow and engage with you on your business account.  

5. As business followers follow your business account, consider limiting their access to your personal account. Or delete them all together. 

6. Alternatively, you can continue to use your personal accounts for business but create new personal accounts to keep your personal life separate. This will be of increased importance as your business grows. If you take this route, your social media analytics remain limited, so utilize a third-party analytics tool.

#6 Set Up Your Business

Your foundation is set, now it’s time to prepare to launch your business. What this looks like varies from one business to the next and often requires less time and investment for virtual businesses.

• Vet and select vendors and contractors: You’ll need to determine who to order inventory and supplies from and who to contract services from. From freelancers to a cleaning company, internet security provider, marketing firm, payroll processor, specialty service providers (such as virtual assistant firms), and other third-party partners. Have a lawyer advise on all contracts, NDAs, and confidentiality agreements.

• Select and set up your location: This can be your brick-and-mortar location or co-working space. For brick-and-mortar locations, you’ll need to provide branded décor and office furniture. Maybe even a full space remodel. For virtual operations, identify your online meeting place, such as Zoom and PM tools. You’ll also need to invest in office supplies and inventory.

• Select and set up your tools and technology: You’ll need to identify what types of laptops, computers, mobile devices, software, cloud and digital storage, process automation tools, PM tool, CRM/lead nurturing software, sales software, and other tools and technology are required to launch your new business. 

• Create your systems, policies, and procedures: You’ll need to create any combination of company policies, benefits packages, benefits policies, pay scales, workflows, training programs, non-competes, confidentiality contracts, and operational standards.

• Interview, onboard, and train: Create job descriptions and interview, hire, and train your team. Whether live, hybrid, or virtual, invest time in building a cohesive team. If you’re new to management, it may be a good idea to invest in your development. From reading books to free and paid leadership training. Prioritize ongoing development for yourself and your team. This includes developing individual skill sets and attending industry workshops and events.

• Launch your business: Once everything is in place, open your live or virtual doors. Utilize your tools and technology to analyze performance and productivity, keep a close eye on your financials, and regularly seek and read client feedback.

Remember, starting a business is a journey, not a destination. As challenges arise, lean on your team, listen to your mentors and consultants, and adapt when needed.

Want to Learn More About Holdings?

Reach out to Holdings to discuss the benefits of our account vs. a traditional business bank account. Every dollar counts as a new business, and we eliminate costly business banking fees.

Here's to achieving or exceeding your entrepreneurial dreams!