How long will it take to start a small business?
As long as it takes you to complete your feasibility study, prepare your business plan, gather your money, buy what you need to buy, and arrange your business operation affairs. This could take a few weeks or many months. If you have difficulty with any of these items, the time to learn and solve problems must be added.
Speed is not always best when starting a small business. While many businesses are started within a matter of weeks, some of the best businesses take several months to a year or more to start. The time frame is driven by your commitment and energy, as well as by how much time and effort you put in to research and planning. Whatever your time frame, we recommend that you make the commitment to research and plan your business in advance. Even after a business is “started,” it may be some time before the businesses generates a profit. Many startup companies are not profitable in the first couple of years.
As long as it takes you to complete your feasibility study, prepare your business plan, gather together your money, buy what you need to buy, and arrange your business operation affairs. This could take a few weeks or many months. If you have difficulty with any of these items, the time to learn and solve problems must be added. Each individual entering this process brings his or her unique set of skills, knowledge, confidence, and time. If you already know a lot, have good skills, feel confident of what you are getting into, and have time to do this work, you can be up and running in short order. If, on the other hand, you lack basic business knowledge, need development of some of your skills, do not feel confident of what you are doing, and/or have limited time to do the research and planning, your time frame will be longer months or even years. It is critical that you not allow your enthusiasm or need to hurry to push you into business before you are ready. Premature starts are a co
