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Everything that you need to know to start your own business. From business ideas to researching the competition.
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Practical and real-world advice on how to run your business — from managing employees to keeping the books.
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Our best expert advice on how to grow your business — from attracting new customers to keeping existing customers happy and having the capital to do it.
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Start

Everything that you need to know to start your own business. From business ideas to researching the competition.

Run

Practical and real-world advice on how to run your business — from managing employees to keeping the books.

Grow

Our best expert advice on how to grow your business — from attracting new customers to keeping existing customers happy and having the capital to do it.

Good Company

Entrepreneurs and industry leaders share their best advice on how to take your company to the next level.

Startup 2021: A Weekly Guide to Starting a New Business

If you're looking to open a new business, this could be your year. Follow our weekly step-by-step guide and before you know it, you'll be putting your business ideas into action.

Ready, Set, Startup

Startup 2021 Checklist: 20 Things to Do Before You Start Your Business

Before you start your new business, here are 20 tasks to check off your startup to-do list.

Weeks 1-3: Build Your Business Idea

Week 1: Need a Business Idea for the New Year? Here's Where to Start

Week 2: 3 Easy Steps to Research Your Business Idea

small business owner in studio working on laptop

Week 3: 6 Steps to Performing a Competitive Analysis

Weeks 4-6: Writing Your Business Plan

Business owners have several options for good employee feedback tools.

Week 4: Getting Feedback on Your Business Idea

Week 5: Writing Your Business Plan Financials

A business owner plots out a business plan in a notebook and on a laptop.

Week 6: 5 Types of Business Plans

Weeks 7-9: Perfecting Your Plans

Woman sitting at kitchen table writing with pen and paper.

Week 7: Guide to Writing a Business Plan

Woman sitting at desk with her back to the camera and her arms in the air with excitement.

Week 8: Crafting Your Business Plan Step-by-Step

Woman doing calculations while sitting at desk with laptop.

Week 9: Determining Your Startup Costs

Weeks 10-12: Planning Your Finances

Week 10: Financing Options for Your Business

There are loans for your small business.

Week 11: How to Apply for a Small Business Loan

Woman presenting virtually at home in front of a board with charts and graphs.

Week 12: Pros and Cons of Bootstrapping

Weeks 13-15: Legal Details

A below-the-neck shot of two people in button-up shirts sitting side by side at a table signing paperwork. The paperwork is attached to two clipboards. Also on the table but out-of-focus are a book and a rubber stamp.

Week 13: How to Choose a Legal Entity for Your Business

Week 14: How to Trademark Your Business Name

A man wearing an apron stands in the entry way of his business. In the background, the store is outfitted with wood-top tables and shelves of dark bottles. The man holds a sign that says "we are OPEN" and "supporter small businesses." "OPEN" is written in bold blue letters, with the other words arranged above and below in blue cursive.

Week 15: How to Register Your New Business

Weeks 16-18: Building Partnerships

words with hands on laptop in background

Week 16: Protecting Your Intellectual Property

Week 17: Small Business Insurance — What Do You Need?

A close-up on the hands of two people sitting on either side of a white desk. One person's right hand signs the top paper of a stack of papers. The other person's right hand uses a pen to gesture to what should be signed. Their other hand holds an open book.

Week 18: Finding a Small Business Attorney

Weeks 19 and 20: Streamlining Business Processes

People working on laptops and headsets in an office.

Week 19: 7 Business Tasks You Can Outsource

If your small business internal team doesn’t have the bandwidth for every necessary task, consider outsourcing to a third party.

Two people going over business paperwork in an office.

Week 20: Finding a Business Accountant

Here's how to find the right business accountant for your startup.

Weeks 21-25: Technology Must-Haves

a coffee shop owner uses a computer to check bills. In the background two staff attend to the orders.

Week 21: Must-Have Technologies for a Brand-New Business

A close-up on a hand holding a smartphone. The thumb hovers over a button reading "Pay" on the phone's screen.

Week 22: Financial Tech Tools for Startups

Three people, two men and a woman, sit next to each other and look at the screen of a laptop, which is out of focus and facing away from the camera. The man in the middle is speaking and the woman, seated on the left, has her chin in her hand.

Week 23: 4 Types Of Technology That Can Help Grow Your Sales

Young people in modern office concentrating on tasks while using technology

Week 24: Investing in Tech: How to Decide on the Technology You Need

A table is covered with papers, post-it notes and a laptop displaying several charts. Parts of three people in businesswear can be seen standing around the table, although none of their heads are visible. One person holds out a smart tablet and points to it, showing something on the screen to another person.

Week 25: All the Digital Tools Your Startup Needs Before Launch

Weeks 26-28: Starting Up With Social Media

A woman wearing a blue-and-white polka-dotted shirt looks at an open laptop with a smile.

Week 26: Choosing the Social Channels That Are Right for Your Business

Two young professional women meet and discuss a strategy while at a laptop computer.

Week 27: Outsourcing Social Media? Here’s What You Need to Consider

A young woman in a blazer stands in a hallway with floor-to-ceiling windows and examines an electronic tablet.

Week 28: Best Social Platforms for Driving Startup Sales

Coming Soon...

Each week we add a new step for opening your new business. Check back every Monday for the latest article. You can also sign up for our weekly email newsletter Midnight Oil and get our best content delivered directly to your inbox.