There’s a common thread I notice when I work with aspiring and early–stage entrepreneurs. Many of them are so excited to get started that they jump right in without developing a solid foundation first.

Or they try to figure out all the things and end up spending endless hours researching and still not confident they're doing it right. They get overwhelmed and just jump in leaving crucial things undone.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should take gobs of time setting up a website or creating your logo before you jump into the entrepreneurial waters. That kind of stuff is nice to have eventually but not crucial right away.

The things I’m talking about are basic planning steps that will actually save time in the long run. The building blocks that are necessary before you can efficiently start to bring revenue into your business. And that's why you're in business right?

Sure, you could go out there and just start putting your name and services up. But if you miss these steps, it will come back at you at some point. And then you might waste more time trying to undo what you’ve already done to restart it.

How do I know this? Because I did it. I did some of the basic business setup tasks before starting to market my services. But I missed a few crucial steps that had me looking back a year and a half in asking myself what in the world I was doing.

I ended up working in a business I didn’t like at all. I was providing services in line with my business and accounting background. But I didn’t enjoy providing the services at all. I realized finally that the reason my business wasn’t growing the way I wanted was because I wasn’t passionate about what I was doing.

It’s really hard to market your services when you’re not excited about them. Somewhere in my subconscious, I was sabotaging myself by thinking how hard marketing was and how hard it was to find clients when in reality, I wasn’t trying that hard because I didn’t really want to find them and take on more work that I didn’t like to do.

Mistake number two upon having this realization was that I still kept going at it. Thinking of all the time and expense I’d sunk into this business. But eventually, with the help of a coach, I called it. I finally realized I’d never have the business I wanted trying to do something I wasn’t passionate about.

So I made a pivot. But if I'd taken time to set the right foundation at the start, I'd have saved myself time and money.

So here are the things that are a must to make sure you’re on the right track when you launch your business so you’ll be on the fastest track to making money.

And if you’ve already launched it and something feels off, don’t ignore it and still walk through these exercises.

Get to know YOU:

Identify your values, vision, and why you are starting your business. I can’t stress enough how important this step is. I skipped past most of this exercise and jumped into what I thought I wanted to do and I was way off.

Write these things out and really think about them. Think about how they’ll show up in the business you’re creating. If something doesn’t feel aligned, figure out what it is at this stage.

Think about the things that are important to you, how you envision your days in your new business looking, where you’ll work and anything else that’s important.

Think about your skills and strengths. Brainstorm all the things you’re good at and know how to do. And then think about different business ideas where these skills and strengths would help you to excel. If any of them that might not have been on your top business idea list sound interesting, don’t just write them off, investigate them.

Once you’ve taken the time to do this exercise and are confident with your business idea, move to the next step.

Identifying Your Ideal Client:

One of the fundamental pillars that you must sort out to make money in your business is understanding who you want to work with. I see many new entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to appeal to a broad audience because they’re afraid that by being specific in who they want to work with that they’ll be turning business away.

As counterintuitive as it may seem though, having too broad an audience will actually slow you down and make it harder for you to be seen and to start making money. With a broad message, no one will know who you’re talking to so they won’t bother to even look at your marketing efforts. And without effective marketing, you don’t have a business.

Instead, define your ideal client by really thinking about who they are and what they’re struggling with. What do they need help with and where are they trying to go in their journey? Getting a strong understanding of your ideal client will help you more effectively speak to them in your marketing materials so they will know you’re talking to them.

It’s never a bad idea either to do market research by meeting with some of your ideal clients. This will give you the opportunity to hear directly from them what they're struggling with so you can make sure to address that in your marketing and offerings.

Developing a Signature Service:

Once you've identified your ideal client, the next step is to develop a signature service that directly addresses their pain points. Your signature service should take your ideal client from where they are to their desired outcome.

This service will be the framework you use that takes your client from where they are today to where they want to be. When creating your service, think of and call out what makes your service different than your competitor to entice your ideal client to work with you.

Remember that your client wants a specific outcome. They don’t want to hear about the framework you’ll use to get them there.

Understanding Financial Information:

So many entrepreneurs don’t have a good understanding of their business financial information. Or they don’t like dealing with it. But your finances are the backbone of your business. A business fails because it runs out of money. And you can’t know how much money you have if you don’t understand your business financials or don’t have accurate records.

Take time each day to make sure you record your financial transactions for the day. And learn how to read financial statements. Review your financials at a minimum monthly. Then if something looks amiss, you’ll catch it right away and be able to correct course.

Profit margins, pricing strategies, budgeting, and cash flow management are all things an entrepreneur needs to become familiar with.

Setting Goals:

Without clear goals, it's challenging to measure progress or track success. Define both short-term and long-term goals for your business. Start out with the larger goal and then break it down into smaller more manageable steps defining what you’ll do each week to move closer to your goals. Evaluate progress toward your goals regularly and revise as necessary as your business changes and grows.

Creating a Basic Marketing Plan:

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business and having an effective marketing plan helps generate revenue. Develop a basic marketing plan that outlines how you will reach your target audience, promote your services, and build a strong brand presence.

Use various marketing channels such as social media, email marketing, and networking. Find out where your ideal client is and be there to connect with them.

Make sure you’re talking to them in a way they understand and that you communicate to them why you’re the one uniquely qualified to help them with their problem.

And finally, TAKE ACTION!

This is the most important one. Without taking action, you’ll get nowhere. Staying stuck will keep you from your goals and your business won’t grow. Each day take a small step toward your goals.

And a word of caution here---take action on the things that matter and that generate revenue. As I mentioned earlier, a fancy website and shiny new logo are nice but they aren't going to bring money in the door. Get out there and do the things that will bring in revenue. You can work on your website later.

And if you find you’re stuck in inaction too long, get someone to help you. A good coach or mentor will help you get unstuck, hold you accountable, and help you get where you want to go faster.

Did you go through these exercises? How strong is your business foundation? Let me know!

Just started your business? Don’t get this wrong.