BIRD WILLIAMS: You're listening to Bird Means Business Episode 87. 

Hey, hey, hey! Thank you for tuning into Bird Means Business podcast. I'm your host, Bird Williams. And if you chose to tune into this episode, you're likely asking yourself the question, "Am I prepared to launch this business idea I have? Where do I even start?"

Well, my friend, I've got you covered. You are in the right place. And you know what? You should go ahead and whip out your notes. Because while this episode is quick, you'll still want to jot down these 10 crucial steps to launch your business. 

And no worries if you're driving or on a run or washing dishes. You can always come back and re-listen to the episode and take your notes then. But beyond just note-taking, we're going to take what you learn in this episode to the next level with the Prepare To Launch Challenge. Yes! Y'all, this is my free 10-day challenge. And you, my friend, are welcome. 

First, let me give you a little bit of background. So why am I even doing this challenge? This is the thing. When I launched my first business way back in 2013, I had no clue what to focus on. So I was running around doing all the things. And in the word of Aida Sama who I actually interviewed here on the pod back in Episode 73. She said, "I realized some of the stuff I majored on was minor." Right. 

So when I started Bird Williams, this small business strategy firm back in 2019, one of the first things I did was create a free checklist on "The First 10 Steps to Launching Your Business". And y'all, this was the checklist that I wish I'd had when I first started out, which would have made things much smoother and much more efficient. Can I get an amen? Because nobody wants to waste time, money, and energy. That is so precious. So this became one of my most downloaded freebies. 

So I thought, "How can I make it even more helpful? How can I bring more value to rookie entrepreneurs?" And here we are. The "Prepare to Launch Challenge" will bring you even more clarity and confidence as we take actionable bite-sized steps together to get your business off the ground. If you can't tell, I'm pretty excited about it. 

When you join the challenge, this is what you're going to get. Every day for 10 days, you're going to receive a simple and practical task in your inbox, that will bring you just one step closer to launching your business. And also, you're going to get access to our Facebook group, where you're going to connect with me live each day of the 10-day challenge to get all of your questions answered. And, and this is super important, you'll be able to engage with other incredible business owners and business owners-to-be. Y'all, there is power in community. So that's huge. 

All of this is going to kick off on September 20. But you can actually register right now. You can go to birdwilliams.com/challenge. Again, it's completely free. And I just want to equip you and empower you to move forward with confidence and clarity as you launch your business. So you got to make sure that you sign up for the challenge, again, to make all of this more practical. But I do want to give you a quick rundown of those 10 steps. Here we go. This is where you need your notepad. 

Step number one, when you're launching a business when you're getting into entrepreneurship, you must adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. This is so key and it is step one on purpose. You gotta get your mind right. Okay? 

Step number two is developing a business plan. Y'all, you don't build a house without having plans, without having an architect going before the contractors to make it all make sense and plan it all out. You're not going to just be like, hey, let's just get some wood and some doors and figure it out. No, you have a plan. And you need the same thing for your business. 

Step number three, defining your purpose and culture. I cannot tell you the importance of understanding these types of foundational elements. Culture is huge for a brand. Your clients feel it. Your team feels it. And it's very important for your growth and scalability. 

Step number four, creating a name and logo. Thinking about branding. And there are some nuances here which again, we'll get into in the challenge. 

Step number five, hiring an attorney and deciding on your business formation. I know that can seem a little scary to some people. It's not. It's not as scary as it seems. And again, I'm going to give you bite-sized tasks that you can do to get you one step closer to being able to check that off. 

Step number six is obtaining a business bank account. You don't want to pierce the corporate veil. You don't want to commingle your personal and business funds. It is very crucial to legitimize your business and have a separate business bank account. So that's an important step in launching your business. 

Step number seven is setting your packages and pricing. This is key, right? How are you going to monetize this thing? How are you going to make money? How are you going to create products or services that your ideal client needs? That's what we're talking about in step number seven, day number seven. 

And then step number eight, developing a financial plan. Raise your hand, if you geek out over Excel. I imagine most of you did not raise your hand. But guess what? Your girl. I did. I geek out over Excel. And I'm gonna give you a simple task that you can do to kind of help think through your financial plan. 

Step number nine is establishing a marketing plan. Once you have this solid foundation of your business, you're going to want to start thinking about how you're going to get people into your business to buy your product or service. And so we'll talk about marketing strategy. 

And then step number ten, building your dream team. Because yes, while you might launch your business as a solopreneur, it's just you. In order to grow your brand, you're gonna have to grow your team. And I'll be honest, it's probably one of the hardest parts of running a business. The people part is the hardest part, but it's the most important part. And so I'm going to equip you with a simple task that you can do, to again, get that much closer to building your dream team. 

Now, like I said, each of these steps will have a related task sent to your inbox each day of the 10-day challenge, which will be super simple and easy to complete, to help you build some consistent momentum toward your goal of launching. 

Okay, so if you're feeling like, "Whoa, Bird. This is a lot." Let me tell you a quick story. So one of my neighbors who I love and have grown very close to over the last couple of years reached out to me. She texted me and she's like, "Hey, I want to start this new business near where we live." So we were chatting it up, and I thought, Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and send her my 10 step checklist so that she can kind of get a better understanding of what was all involved in launching a business and getting started. And so I sent her my checklist with these 10 steps. And this was her literal text response to me. She says, "Looking over your business checklist. This is scarier than I thought." But you know what she texted me next? It was a picture. It was a mock-up of her logo idea that she'd just drawn on a random napkin she had. So you see what I mean? 

Yes, these 10 steps might feel a little daunting. But my friend, when you take one step, the next step is that much easier to take as you begin to build momentum. You're going to get ideas. You're going to get a rush of inspiration. And that's going to fuel you to move forward. That's what I want for you. So in the Prepare to Launch Challenge, we're going to break each of these down into bite-sized simple tasks to help you get the ball rolling, whether you're going to launch your business a few months from now, or a few years from now.

Like I said, I am so excited to finally share this challenge with you. My team and I have been working so hard to create this space because, in my heart of hearts, I want to help you win big. I want to be the kind of resource that I wish I had when I launched my first business years ago and had no clue what I was doing. 

You might be asking, "What if I already technically launched my business?" You can still join. Maybe you missed some of these steps. Or maybe you just need a good refresher. We would love to have you in the challenge even if you've already launched your business. You might also be asking, "What if I'm not listening to this episode in real-time, and dang it, the challenge is over?" I've got something special for you too. So head right on over to birdwilliams.com/challenge for the goods. 

So you know what you got to do next. I want you to go over to birdwilliams.com/challenge and join us. It's gonna be a whole party. If you can't tell, I'm pretty excited about it. And I hope to see you live on September 20. I'm so pumped and I hope you are too. 

As always, thank you so much for tuning into Bird Means Business podcast. Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts so you don't miss an episode. And you can follow Bird Means Business on Spotify. I would absolutely love if you told every entrepreneur you know about this episode so that they can prepare to launch their business too and join us in the challenge. 

Alrighty, I'll talk to y'all next week.