Business Launchpad: Start a Small Business

From an idea to a business you can explain

What would it take to turn something you can do into a small business? Start with a useful offer, a clear picture of the costs and a way to check the requirements where you will work. Use this free path to build a launch notebook, one decision at a time.

This path begins with U.S. business basics. Formation, licensing and tax requirements depend on your location, activity and ownership. It is educational guidance, not a filing service or a personalized legal or tax recommendation. Use current official sources and qualified help for decisions about your situation. The eight practices below are original SelfGrowthVideos exercises.

Keep your notebook locally. Open the blank launch worksheet and save a copy, or use paper. No account is required. There is no online saving or submission on this page.

1. Find a problem worth solving

Who needs the work, and what are they doing about it now? The SBA planning guide explains how customer research and comparison with existing options help you understand a market.

Your practice: write one specific customer situation and one question you could ask a willing potential customer about their current experience. Record their actual answer separately from your assumptions. Sketch a sample you could demonstrate within your skills; do not treat a compliment as a purchase commitment.

Check-in: what changed about your idea after hearing from someone else?

Learn with Marie Forleo: Listen Before Designing an Offer or browse Side Hustles.

2. Make a small plan and a complete cost list

What will you offer, what will it take to deliver, and what can you afford to test? The SBA planning guide distinguishes initial costs from ongoing expenses. A plan should help you make a decision, not decorate a folder.

Your practice: draft a one-page plan naming the customer, deliverable, time available, equipment, outside help, startup costs and recurring costs. Label every amount as a quote, an estimate or unknown. Add one reason you would pause the project. Use fictional figures while learning.

Check-in: which missing cost or uncertain assumption could change your decision?

Learn with Alex Hormozi: Separate a Service Promise from Delivery.

3. Understand LLCs and other business structures

An LLC is a legal structure created under state law. Federal tax classification is a separate question: the IRS explains that treatment depends on ownership and elections. Read the IRS LLC guide. Forming an LLC does not by itself establish tax savings.

The SBA launch guide compares sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs and corporations. Structure affects liability, taxes and administration; an LLC is not automatically the best fit for every business. A trade name or DBA is also a different issue from choosing a legal entity.

Your practice: write down the intended owners, business activity, state and questions about liability, tax treatment and ongoing paperwork. Compare two possible structures using the official guides. Take unresolved questions to a qualified adviser before filing; do not turn this comparison into a universal recommendation.

Check-in: can you explain the difference between state formation and federal tax treatment?

Find your state’s registration office. For a clearly labeled state example, Florida’s official LLC page explains its Articles of Organization process. Florida’s process is not a national checklist.

4. Check registration, EINs and permissions

The SBA launch guide covers names, registration, tax IDs, licenses and permits. Entity formation is not the same as permission to perform every business activity.

When an EIN is needed, it is available directly from the IRS without an IRS application fee. The IRS instructs people creating an LLC or corporation to form the entity with the state before applying. Read current EIN eligibility and application guidance; not every business has the same requirements.

Your practice: make an agency checklist for your proposed state, city or county and activity. For each item, record the official URL, what you still need to verify, any current fee or renewal date and when you checked it. Include zoning or professional qualifications when relevant. Keep taxpayer IDs and filing documents out of AI chats and public worksheets.

Check-in: which agency confirms each requirement, and which questions remain unanswered?

For beneficial-ownership reporting, check FinCEN’s current guidance directly rather than relying on an old checklist.

5. Organize money, pricing and records

What comes in, what goes out and what evidence supports each entry? IRS Publication 583 explains business recordkeeping and keeping business banking separate from personal banking.

Your practice: create a fictional job record with the proposed price, materials, time, other costs, invoice status and payment received. Attach a fictional receipt reference. Keep an unpaid invoice distinct from money received. List questions for an accountant about taxes and records instead of guessing deductions or tax rates.

Check-in: could you trace each amount back to a document or explain why it is an estimate?

Return to your cost list before deciding on a price. Revenue, profit and cash available are different things; a sales goal is not proof of demand.

6. Help a first customer understand your offer

Can someone tell what you do, who it helps and how to ask for it? Prepare a clear message around a real task. A website, sample and conversation can support that message; they do not establish demand on their own.

Your practice: draft a short service description with an intended customer, a concrete deliverable, exclusions and a next step. Ask a willing reader to explain it back to you. Change unclear wording without adding claims you cannot support.

Check-in: did the reader understand the offer, or did you have to explain it aloud?

Learn with Seth Godin: Choose a Specific First Audience and explore Websites & Small Apps.

7. Define delivery, boundaries and protection

What happens after a customer says yes? Clarify the work, responsibilities, timing and handoff. Use the SBA launch guide’s insurance section to begin questions about coverage for your activity.

Your practice: write a fictional delivery checklist naming what is included, what the customer supplies, how changes will be discussed and what completion looks like. List questions for a qualified professional about agreements, liability and insurance. A sample checklist is not a reviewed contract or evidence of coverage.

Check-in: where could you and the customer reasonably have different expectations?

Learn with Dan Martell: Document One Recurring Task.

8. Review the work before growing

More activity creates more things to manage. The SBA management guide covers finances, compliance and employment. Hiring, expanding into another location or changing ownership calls for a fresh requirements check.

Your practice: schedule a review of actual customer feedback, delivery time, payments, costs and outstanding obligations. Choose one next decision: improve the offer, learn a missing skill, investigate a requirement, reduce commitments or continue a small test.

Check-in: what evidence supports your next step, and what would change your mind?

For optional AI support, explore AI for Business & Agency. Use AI to organize questions or draft a brief, then verify important facts with their original sources.

Get useful help

Use the SBA local-assistance directory to find business counseling resources, including Small Business Development Centers, SCORE and Women’s Business Centers. Ask about the support available for your stage and location.

Continue with Entrepreneurship, Side Hustles and The Growth Shelf. All public lessons and this learning path remain free.