Failing to plan is planning to fail. 

There are many variations of this phrase, but the meaning behind it is one you should take to heart. Planning is critical if you want to start your own business. Ask any entrepreneur or small business owner and they will all tell you that planning was the key to their success. 

You can often get away without planning if you have a good product, but you will absolutely miss opportunities, lose money where you didn’t have to, and ultimately not be as successful as you want to be. Cash hides flaws. If you don’t have a solid business plan, no amount of cash flow will stop those cracks from eventually overtaking and sinking your business.

We want to say once more; Before you actually start with any of the following steps, read through the entire guide. You will want a full understanding of what to focus on with each step and how it will interact with every other part of your planning and preparation for your new business.

How to use this guide – There are 3 phases in the Turtlesmith Guide (Plan, Prepare, and Execute) and multiple steps for each phase. After you complete each step, you should also be able to accomplish a task or objective that pairs with the step. This outline or scaffolding is what will help ensure your business is a success and you hit the ground running.