How to Start a Business: KEC’s Top 5 Tips

How to Start a Business: Top 5 Tips

For more tips like these and inspiration for business ideas, sign up for our weekly email newsletter!

Thought about starting your own company, but don’t know where to begin? We’ve got you covered! Here are Knoxville Entrepreneur Center’s top 5 tips for starting a business:

HAVE A ROAD MAP

You’ve got your business idea (if you don’t, no worries! Sign up for our weekly newsletter for business idea inspiration), now it’s time to create a road map to get you there!

Set a final goal. This could be creating a successful business pitch and acquiring investors, all the way up to establishing a successful company about to debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
Set milestones. These are mini-goals that need to be achieved on the way to reaching your final goal.
Set tasks. Map out what you will need to accomplish to reach your milestones. Brainstorm the different components of each milestone, and write them down on a task list.
Set a timeline. Decided when each milestone needs to be reached, and then when each task needs to be completed in order to meet those milestone deadlines.

DO ONE THING EVERY DAY

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither are most companies. But they are built by consistent hard work. You need to make your business a priority.

Remember that task list we created when we built a road map to success? Use it. Make a promise to yourself to check off one task each day.

Remember that timeline? Stick to it. Reassess it if necessary, but set yourself deadlines and consistently meet them.

FIND A MENTOR

Find someone you admire who has already made the journey you are just starting. They can help you navigate the roadblocks that you’re sure to encounter along the way. KEC can help you find a mentor. Sign up for a free LiftOff session to access free mentor office hours.

FIND YOUR TRIBE

Nothing quite replaces face-to- face interaction with like-minded, driven people. They can be your inspiration, supporters, and friends. Check out KEC’s calendar for networking events where you can easily meet other entrepreneurs in Knoxville.