What If I Know Nothing About Running a Business?

You know your business. But do you actually know anything about business? Many people will answer no, but if you think you have to be an expert at running a business before you get started, you will never get that business off the ground. And if you said yes to the first question, I challenge you to be open to the idea that you don’t know what you don’t know. The problem is that there is no way to learn every single aspect of running a business before you start, unless you have several years before you actually want to launch.

It’s actually very easy to fail if you are not paying attention to the details of your business. It doesn’t matter how many sales you make if you still can’t pay the bills. There are numerous examples of people who came up with a fantastic idea but ran their business aground because they weren’t taking care of the business details. Some of those details have small consequences that will add up over time, and some are big whammies that will shut you down really fast. Like not paying in sales tax that has been collected. Or not making required tax deposits.

When you’re setting up your new small business, be honest with yourself about what your skills are. Obviously you are good at your trade, so having your own business is very attainable. For the things you haven’t learned yet, here are my two big suggestions:

Get Help

Don’t be afraid to hire help. If you aren’t an expert with business taxes, please hire an accountant. Hire a graphic designer if you need help designing a great looking website or logo. If you’re chronically disorganized, hire a virtual assistant to help you take care of the details of your business and your schedule. I know that it’s hard to spend extra money for anything at the start of a new business, but if you don’t, you could be setting your business up to fail. If you aren’t comfortable doing the bookwork, hire someone competent to do it for you so all you have to do is learn how to understand the information they give you.

It’s important to know what your legal obligations are in regard to taxation, and it’s also unrealistic to expect all small business owners to be able to grasp all of that in the beginning. Get help in the beginning, and invest in a good training program to help you learn those aspects of your business. Talk to an attorney if you’re worried about liability, and find a good insurance agent who can explain what kind of liability insurance you may need. Don’t spend time trying to figure it out on your own, that time is better spent on the part of the business that you are an expert at. Spend a bit of time researching who your best resources are instead, get in touch with them, then move on to the stuff you are excited about.

Get Training

It’s well worth investing in training that will help you complete the business tasks that you don’t understand yet. You need to be personally involved in the financial decisions of your business, so you’re going to have to try to learn how to read your financial statements. You may be able to do your own books, but make sure you get the proper training first so that the reports you are using are accurate and relevant.

No matter what your business skill level is, it’s possible to start and run a small business on your own. You must be willing to work hard using the skills you already have, and commit to learning the skills you haven’t acquired yet. No one ever started a business at the finish line, most start at the beginning and work their way up as they gain experience and knowledge. You can do this, far less capable humans have learned how to run a business successfully, so I’m confident you can too.