By Neil Patel

Everyone has ideas. Some of them may be worth running with, while others are probably not so good.

However, even if your project looks awesome on paper, there’s a big difference between that and creating a successful startup company.

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

If your answer is yes, then you need a detailed guide on how to start a startup.

For those of you who haven’t launched a business before, it can sound like an intimidating task.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that getting your startup off the ground is an easy mission.

It takes hard work, dedication, money, some sleepless nights, and, yes, some failures before you succeed.

Nearly 20 percent of businesses fail in the first year, and just because you make it beyond 12 months doesn’t mean your startup is going to continue to thrive.

According to government stats, 30.6 percent of businesses fail after their second year, 49.7 percent fail after five years, and 65.6 percent fail after their tenth year.

Once you get your company off the ground, it doesn’t get any easier: you need to work just as hard to keep it going each year.

With that said, it’s useful to have a guide and a set of instructions to follow to learn how to launch a startup.

When I write about launching a startup, I’m talking from personal experience. I’ve created several startup companies like Crazy Egg, Hello Bar, and NP Digital.

I’m happy to share my knowledge and experience to help make things a little easier and less stressful for you as you go through this process.

Realistically, it takes hundreds of stages to launch your company, but I’ve narrowed down the top 7 steps into a blueprint for you to follow if you want to learn how to start a startup and learn how to create and develop your own business.

In the following article, I outline and discuss each step in detail so you have a better understanding of what I’m talking about.

Let’s begin with the basics.

1. Create a Business Plan

Have you heard the saying ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail?’ That was the thinking of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.

Well, research appears to back that up. Study after study shows that businesses with a plan are more likely to succeed. In addition, you can find many articles spelling out the importance of a business plan.

However, the Small Business Development Center at Duquesne University explains it most succinctly:

“A business plan is a very important and strategic tool for entrepreneurs. A good business plan not only helps entrepreneurs focus on the specific steps necessary for them to make business ideas succeed, but it also helps them to achieve short-term and …read more

Source:: Kiss Metrics Blog

Author: Aaron