What To Do First

Step 1 - Evaluate your entrepreneurial abilities.
Click here to take the quiz, “What it takes to be a successful entrepreneur”.

Step 2 - Choose the venture based on your interests and skills and, of course, the need for that product or service in your market area. Once you have chosen your venture, you must determine the feasibility of your business idea.
To determine your concept feasibility click here.

Step 3 - Evaluate your personal creditworthiness. You can obtain a credit report from one of the national credit bureaus. You are entitled to one free credit report per year through AnnualCreditReport.com by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. If you have already obtained a free credit report for the year and need a current report, you can contact one of the following national credit bureaus. Each of these credit bureaus charge a nominal fee for the report.

Experian (Formerly TRW) 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com
Equifax 1-800-685-1111 www.equifax.com
TransUnion 1-877-322-8228 www.transunion.com/

Step 4 – Fully understand your personal financial status and monthly living expenses. Since your primary source of income may be from your business, you must have a thorough appreciation of the amount of sales you will need in order to reach both a business and personal break-even point. Complete the personal expense sheet at the end of the entrepreneurial examination.
Click here for Monthly Personal Cost of Living worksheet.

Step 5- Evaluate your ability and willingness to assume risk. Most new ventures fail and you should be willing and able to take that risk both psychologically and financially. The personal financial statement will assist you in more thoroughly analyzing your financial situation.
Click here for Personal Financial Statement.

Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the SBA.

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