New business owners are faced with a host of questions right off the mark, the most important of which is monetary. There should be funds available to not only start the business, but also enough to live on for at least 6 months and pay creditors while getting the company off the ground. Unless, of course, support comes from other means.

Starting any new enterprise is daunting; starting a new company is a lesson in humility several times over. The mantra at first is ‘Stay Alive’ then becomes something less primal over time, covered with the sheen of ‘they like us, they really like us’. But there’s no time to really think about that, because there aren’t really enough hours in the day.

Some things to consider:
State and local taxes.
Employees. Can you go it alone and can you really afford someone to help?
Suppliers. They don’t just hand stock over; there are so many credit forms to fill out it makes buying a home seem like a piece of cake.
Supply chain disruption. If one supplier runs low or out, suddenly considers your company a bad credit risk or is hit by a hurricane and spread to the four winds, there should be a backup - or three.
Service, service, service. It makes or breaks the business.
Adapt.. to the times and customers. Ever changing, is business. Don’t get stuck in a rut.
Expansion. Try to move out of the basement too soon and the whole thing may go up in smoke.
Incorporation.

Cheerful, eh? I read that two thirds of every business started in the United States fails. I believe it, as mine did. I was open for a year, and suffered a total loss - all stock was taken from my warehouse. As I was not insured, my business closed.

A sole proprietorship, I was looking forward to incorporating in the business’ 2nd year, but that never happened. It only takes 3 weeks and $389. to incorporate a Texas business. I wanted to do this for a number of reasons; limited liability, tax deductions, the cache of having the Inc. suffix… From a company to a corporation in one year. Heh.