Starting a Business

Starting a Business

Below is a comprehensive checklist with links to resources for starting a business. Two places to begin for a general overview are the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Tennessee Small Business Development Center. Both sites have information to many addition business resources not listed here, includine one-on-one consulting appointments to get your project moving. Use these quick links to navigate to a section on thie page.

Legal | Connections | Business Plan | Marketing | Location | Finances | Employees

LEGAL

1. Check to see if your business name is available.

2. Decide on a business entity type.

  • Sole Proprietorship: One individual in business alone, the most common form of business structure.
    • Marital Joint Account: Two married individuals in business together.
  • Partnership
    • General Partnership: Two or more individuals who agree to contribute money, labor and/or skill to a business. Each partner shares the profits, losses and management of the business, while being personally and equally liable for debts of the partnership.
    • Limited Partnership (LP) or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP): A general partner has full management and control of the business and full personal responsibility of all debts and liabilities of the business. Limited partners have no personal responsibilities for debts and liabilities beyond the amount of their investment interest and can’t manage day-to-day operations.
  • Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)
    • Single-member limited liability company (SMLLC)
    • Multi-member limited liability company (MMLLC)
  • Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC): A company that provides professional services.
  • Corporation: “As a chartered legal entity, a corporation has its own rights, privileges, and liabilities. Doing business as a corporation may yield tax or financial benefits, but these can be offset by other considerations, such as increased licensing fees or decreased personal control. Corporations may be formed for profit or nonprofit purposes. Corporations chartered in Tennessee are Tennessee domestic corporations. Corporations chartered in other states are foreign corporations,” according to the TN Department of Revenue.
    • “A S corporation is one which has elected S status and is generally exempt from federal income tax other than on certain capital gains and passive income. Its shareholders include on their tax returns their share of the corporation’s separately stated items of income, deduction, loss, and credit. These amounts are referred to as “flow through item,” according to the TN Department of Revenue. In forming a corporation, you’ll have to appoint a board of directors.
  • Nonprofit- A legal entity organized to benefit the public, rather than to make a profit, usually granted tax-exempt status by the IRS. If interested in starting a nonprofit, connect with the Alliance for Better Nonprofits for more specific guidance.

3. Register your business with the Secretary of State.
4. Determine effective business start date.

  • According to the TN Department of Revenue: “The effective business start date is the date tax obligation begins. If you have chartered with the Secretary of State prior to registering with Department of Revenue, you will use the effective date of the charter.”

5. Apply for an Employee Identification Number (EIN).
6. Identify your business NAICS code.
7. Determine your tax year.

  • Calendar year: January 1 through December 31
  • Fiscal year: 12 consecutive months ending on the last day of any month except December.
  • Pros and cons of each.

8. Obtain necessary licenses.

  • Business license: Any business in Tennessee with taxable receipts over $3,000 are required to get a business license.
    • Taxable receipts between $3,000 and $9,999: minimal activity license
    • Taxable receipts $10K or above: standard business license
  • You must apply in the county in which your business is located. A business license costs $15 a year and must be renewed annually.
  • Alcoholic Beverage Commission license
  • Tobacco license: Apply if you sell tobacco products on the wholesale level.

9. Open business banking and credit.
10. Taxes.

11. Learn about insurance requirements and recommendations. Then, get insured.

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MAKE CONNECTIONS

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MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN

A good business plan can help you design the future of your business and show lenders and investors that you’ve thought things through. If extensive planning isn’t your thing, you can create a lean startup plan, a high-level explanation of your vision.

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MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

1. Make a marketing plan.
2. Design your visual identity.

  • Use color psychology to choose a color palette that aligns with your mission.
  • Chose two complementary fonts that are easy to read, one that’s professional and one that’s playful.
  • Design your logo, using your selected color palette and typography.
  • Pro tips: Create a folder to save all of the elements of your visual identity in one place. That way, you can easily share it with other members of your team or freelance designers. Canva is a great free design tool. You can purchase a premium plan to gain unlimited access to thousands of stock photos and to create logins for everyone on your team. Adobe Creative Cloud is a great resource for more advanced design work, as well as photo editing and video production.

3. Make business cards, flyers, brochures, and other print collateral material.
4. Create an online presence.

  • Start a website:
    • Claim your website domain before someone gets to it first.
    • Find a website host. Wix is easy to use and helps you keep your website compliant with state, federal, and international laws.
    • Plug in the basics. Running a website can be a full-time job. If you don’t have that kind of help, here are the basic components you can start with:
      • Home/landing page: First impressions are important. Use bold text and images to show people what your business is all about. A simple video can really grab someone’s attention. Add teasers for the rest of the content on your site, such as the first few sentences of your “About” page and a link to read more.
      • “About” page: Explain why you’re in this business. What makes you stand out?
      • “Services” page: Explain what your business has to offer.
      • “Contact” page: Make it easy for people to get in touch with you.
      • “Blog” page: You might not have time for this in the beginning, but consider adding it. The more content your website has, the more there is for potential customers explore, and higher it’ll rank on search engines.
      • Design tip: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Stick with colors and fonts that fit with your business’s visual identity. Be sure to include your logo somewhere prominent, such as the header or footer.
  • Make business accounts on all relevant social media platforms, including Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Even if you don’t plan to use it immediately, it’s worth staking your claim on a username you like. At the very least, every profile should have the following:
    • A concise, descriptive bio, with a link to your website.
    • Your logo as the profile picture.
    • Posts that highlight your products and/or services.
  • Other content ideas: Relevant news articles, upcoming events, employee highlight, behind the scenes, and relevant quotes.
  • Sign up for a Google Business Profile.
      • When you search for some businesses on Google, you’ll notice a business profile on the right-hand side. You can make one for your own business, so people can easily find your contact information, website, and social media. People can leave photos and reviews, and ask questions for you to answer.
  • Make accounts on review sites, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Better Business Bureau.
  • Learn how to pitch your stories to local news.
      • Being featured in local news can be great exposure for your business, but don’t push your luck. Journalists know when you’re just trying to get free advertising, and they might ignore you in the future. Pitch stories that are newsworthy—timely, relevant to the local community, and impactful.
      If you think you’ve got something worth sharing, consider writing a press release to make it easy for the media to tell your story.
  • Need help getting started? We have several members who specialize in digital marketing.

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FIND A LOCATION

1. Rent or buy commercial real estate:

2. If real estate isn’t in your budget, check out Sky City Entrepreneur Center, the only co-working space in Blount County. Each member of the space has access to Gig Internet, kitchenette, conference room, and other shared resources.

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MANAGE YOUR FINANCES

1. Loans
2. Consulting
3. Tax Services

4. Payroll Services

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RECRUIT AND TRAIN EMPLOYEES

1. Job Board: On our job board, BlountAreaJobs.com, you can post job opportunities, and prospective employees can apply for them. We share these postings on social media, to help get the word out.
2. Recruitment Agencies. If you need an extra push, there are several local recruitment agencies that can help you:

3. Take advantage of professional development opportunities by attending these Blount Chamber events.

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