Top 10 Things To Do To Get Your Momtrepreneur Business Up & Running.

1. Do the URL hunt.

You can come up incredible business names, but without an available URL to match it, in today's world there's no point in moving forward (unless your business permits you to stay away from the internets). Check out http://godaddy.com to see if the URL you desire is available. If it is, hunt down a promo code for the site and purchase that domain name.

2. Establish your company name

You have the URL, now you can rest easy creating your new company's name!

3. Legal Formation

Are you gonna be an LLC? A corporation? A partnership? A sole proprietorship? You can check in with lawyerly friends or read up on http://legalzoom.com and the like. Whatever you want to be, you'll need to decide on the formation and get your state's paperwork in order so that you can open up a business checking account with your local bank.

4. Open A Bank Account

Take that legal stuffs and your company name with you to the bank. Ask around to see which businesspeople are using what local bank -- which offers the best rates, is the most welcoming to momtrepreneurs, etc. Show up, announce loudly that you need a checking account for your NEW BUSINESS, and get that bank account opened.

5. Trademarks & Service marks (optional)

If you're creating a product that has the cutest name ever, or you've just formed a band that is heading out on tour, you may be interested in trademarking (or in some instances, filing for a service mark and not a trademark) your product/name. There's plenty to read about this at http://uspto.gov, and you can find those forms to fill out and file there, too. If this isn't something you intend or want to do right away, just keep it in the back of your busy brain to consider as your business grows.

6. Hire A Graphic Designer For Logos & Branding

Finding a good graphic designer is like finding a boyfriend. You need to date a few before you commit. Low prices sound fantastic but usually result in mediocre work. The inverse is not always true -- super high prices may equate to super outstanding artwork, but can also involve arrogant designers who take their sweet time (2 years?) to get your logo to you. Don't leave this one to a simple web hunt -- ask around, inquire with design firms and folks, and really do your homework on this. The point is to have your logo designed once, not redesigned and redesigned again as you make more money. You'll lose out on branding and marketing your logo to become the most recognizable logo out there. A good designer can help you with all the pieces of your branding needs -- from logos to letterhead to business cards, and more. (You can also check out sites like http://crowdspring.com where multiple artists compete to win your love...and money).

7. Hire A Web Designer For Your Website

Not unlike the advice above about finding a graphic designer, do the same to find yourself a website designer. Your graphic designer may indeed be a website designer, too, but more often than not they are separate pieces of the pie. (If you *can* find someone who can do it all for you, hooray!). Remember, your website will be the face of your company for years to come. Take it from someone who had one of her companies' websites redesigned 3 times in 2 years -- NOT a good idea for a whole host of reasons.

8. Find A Hosting Company

You can sign up with GoDaddy when you buy your domain name, or you can suss out a smaller company (like http://phillipsdata.com) who are a bit more expensive but a lot more reliable (and reachable).

9. Set Up Your Social Networking Sites

Facebook? Check. Twitter? Check. LinkedIn? Check.

(Then connect to me: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Momtrepreneur-Maven/46879597981, http://twitter.com/momtrepreneur, and http://www.linkedin.com/in/momtrepreneur).

Then connect to everyone else you know and tell them ALL about it.

10. Get To Work

Work. Rinse. Repeat.

http://MomtrepreneurMaven.com
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