Profile your customer
List key characteristics like:
• where they are
• what they care about
• how much they spend
This will help you refine your product and your marketing.
Do your numbers
Plot your projected costs on a timeline. Do the same with projected income. You'll run at a loss when you first start a business. How will you make up the shortfall?
Research shows that most businesses do this through owner savings, bank loans, friends and family, or credit cards. Learn more in our guide to finance.

Register your business
Get a business number from MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) and check Xero’s GST guide to see whether you should register for GST.
After starting a business

So now you know how to start a business, but what comes next? Lots of questions, that’s what. Keep your advisors and mentors close. And look for helpful articles in our small business guides.