Dear New Entrepreneur, The very fact that you're reading this suggests that you're at least considering setting up in business on your own account.
Setting up in business is an adventure, and like all adventures it involves a lot of hard work and a measure of risk.
That risk is both financial and reputational.
May I say from the outset, that as long as your financial risk is limited to what you can afford to lose, reputational risk can be the more devastating of the two.
So to limit both types of risk you need to go through a four stage sequence:-

1. Thinking it out, the desk study that comes before any investment of money or reputation;
2. The launch, when you finally commit to your new venture
3. Going on line, when you take your venture onto the internet
4. Getting seen, when you market your business.
   

Of course, you really need to have a business plan which serves three distinct purposes.
The business planning process

1. takes you through every stage and facet of your business so you can spot weak areas before you actually launch;
2. helps your investors - if any - to understand your business
3. but, more importantly it helps you to understand the warp and weft of your business.
   

So in stage 2 you need to go step-by-step through the business planning process.
Common sense tells us that there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all business launch, just as there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all model of an entrepreneur.
Some of you will be well aware of the demands a business launch will place on you.
The one thing that's common to all launches and all entrepreneurs is that your time is money and needs to be invested well.
Experience tells us that a launch involves 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.
So if you a naturally a grafter rather than thinker the next few paragraphs may be wasted on you.
In which case, please don't take offence but we want to provide a level playing field to everyone, irrespective of their starting point.
So from the moment you wake up tomorrow we want you to consider that your new business is already up and running so:

1. You will be up and working as if that is already the case, ie working office hours whatever they will be once your business is a going concern.
   
2. If you don't already have an office, we want to to set uo an area with a table, chair, telephone etc and work from there.
   
3. We want you dressed as you would if you were meeting your new clients face to face.
   
4. We want you to set up a work diary, logging:
   • What you plan to achieve today
   • what you have achieved that day
   • what is outstanding on your schedule (your 'todo' list)
   • any stray thoughts that you need to think more deeply about over the next few days.
     

Tomorrow is to be the first full working day of your new business.
Just bear in mind that http://www.
New2Business.
com is a free source of business advice and is organised to make your business set up as quick and effective as is humanly possible.