Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula.
If you are starting a business in Bremerton, WA, it can be an appealing enterprise. Although, such a journey will require a custom strategy and efficient planning. Anyone who’s done it themselves will tell you that starting a business isn’t easy. Aside from the extraordinarily lucky, it is one of the most daunting and challenging experiences you will encounter in your lifetime. As such, we’ve compiled a list of tips to guide you on how to start a business in Bremerton, WA.
1. Create a Business Plan
Your business plan is the foundation of your business. It’s a roadmap for how to structure, run, and grow your new business. You’ll use it to convince people that working with you — or investing in your company — is an intelligent choice.
2. Determine Legal Structure and Legal Formation
One of the most important decisions you make when starting a new business in Bremerton, WA, is choosing a legal structure. Each type of business has its pros and cons. It is generally a best practice to study each in detail and compare it against your business priorities. For example: How risk-averse are you and your partners? How would you prefer your business be taxed? Get familiar with the requirements for starting a small business.
3. Get your finances in order
The goal of any business is to make money. Otherwise, you have a hobby (which is also OK!). But if your goal is to run a business, knowing what you’ll need to start up and how to manage cash flow once you have it will be integral to your success. Although it’s hard to get a definitive list of why most businesses fail, cash flow and insufficient capital are frequent culprits.
There are two sides to this coin: financial literacy and securing funding (if needed). A clear view of your total investment—before you spend a cent—is a must for helping to make essential projections, like when you’ll break even.
4. Create an Online Presence
After registering your domain name, set up a website for your business in Bremerton. If you’ve never built a site before, try using one of the many free tools to create a business website that is as intuitive as creating a Word document with simple drag and drop functionality. If you plan to sell products online, sites like Shopify charge a reasonable monthly fee for a virtual storefront with online shopping cart functionality. This is also the time to set up social media accounts and promote them on your new site. Don’t forget to create an official email address for business use.
5. Prepare for growth
Whether you’re starting your first or your third business, expect to make mistakes. This is natural, and so long as you learn from them, also beneficial.
The best thing you can do to take advantage of any mistakes is set up review processes to help you make decisions. This is where the Lean Plan, or complete business plan, you’ve been working on, comes into play.
If you have your plan up to date, you can set up monthly review meetings to go over the numbers, your strategy and develop forecasts for the next month, quarter, and year. This is a simple way to keep track of performance and actively make decisions based on actual results. So, rather than reacting to bad situations, you prepare for them and face uncertainty with certainty.
6. Register for State Taxes and your State Tax ID
One of the primary requirements for starting a business is registering with your state. Writing a company with your Secretary of State is a step before obtaining your State Tax ID. Different from the Federal Tax ID, states have their State Tax ID. This is a unique number assigned to a business or organization by the state where the company operated. It is primarily used for paying state taxes and hiring employees. Although each state has its unique process for State Tax ID obtainment, most states enable you to get your State Tax ID the same day you apply.
7. Apply for Local Business Licenses and Permits
There are a variety of local permits and licenses which may be mandatory to your business. Whether it’s a tax registration from your local Office of Finance or required access for the sale of alcohol, you are likely required to show proof of your EIN Number to complete these applications.
8. Hire Employees
Hiring your first employee is a milestone for any business, essentially opening the door to more profits and frees up time for owners to focus on high-level priorities. But before the interview process begins, make sure you have everything you need to hire an employee legally. You’ll need to obtain an EIN Number and supply your new employee with the appropriate paperwork from the IRS.
We have always emphasized the importance of having a good website for your company because it can act as your best tool for marketing and sales. A poorly designed website can repulse people from your business and can cause you to lose customers before you even have them. Get in touch with HyperEffects to work on creating, enhancing and making the website of your company more user-friendly.