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Estimate how long it will take for your business to acquire paying customers.
Itemise your living expenses for the first year, at least, and assess where this will come from.
Itemise how much capital is required to launch the business and project how long before profitability.
From this, determine how many months of savings or investment you have to get to breakeven or profit.
Work out how much finance you need to start your business and when. Next, work out where that financing will come from.
If outside investment is required beyond the founders’ savings, explore your options.

Check that the business name you plan to use (or anything similar) is permitted, is not already being used and can be registered to protect your rights.
Register a domain name and secure social media profiles for the company.
You must register for self assessment if you haven't registered already. HMRC will send you a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) and set up your account for the self assessment online service.
Decide on a legal structure or business structure and incorporate: sole trader, limited company, partnership, community organisation or a charity.
Apply for any relevant business licences.

Get your website up and running.
Most sole traders run their business from home but depending on what you do, you might need to find commercial premises.
Once location is secured, get services set up in the business name, including primary phone number and other necessary utilities.
Set up your office with appropriate working spaces, including comfy chairs, desks, shelves, filing cabinets, and etc. Even home offices need good design.
Although sole traders aren’t legally required to have a separate business bank account, it can make it easier to pull together the details for your annual accounts and tax returns.
Establish your company’s accounting plan: hire an accountant, select an accounting system, and a fiscal year.
Identify any staffing needs and the profile of employee or contractor that is best.
Recruit, interview, hire, and train employees.
If hiring employees, get an employer ID from HMRC.oIdentify and set up any needed technology: POS , email, phones, CRM , invoicing and payment systems, computers, laptops, printers, business software, applications
Depending on the business type, identify and partner with the right suppliers.

Develop and refine a brand for your company and its products or services.
Design your business cards, brochures, leaflets etc.
Begin distributing or displaying your marketing materials: shop signs, brochures, or banners.
Hire a salesperson or a sales team.
Let the local or regional press know you are opening.
Organise an opening day.
Have fun!!
Community outreach and networking: as a business, you may or may not have the normal foot traffic. Therefore, other marketing strategies may be needed to offset the lack of a storefront. Attend various networking events to build relationships with community connectors.
Establish an email marketing account and initiate digital marketing through blogs, emails or SEO strategies to drive traffic to your website.

Keep track of strategies that worked and those that did not in order to fine-tune your marketing tactics.
Ask for referrals and testimonials to build credibility.
Maintain and nurture your repeat business. Remember, it costs 80% less to maintain a current relationship than to develop a new one.
Recognise your top client base. They will be your best “sales people”. Ask for referrals.
Start keeping financial records. You must keep records of all sales and income, all business expenses, VAT records (if you're registered for VAT), details of all other personal income. This can take the form of invoices and receipts but most people now use accounting software to keep digital records.
Check if you need to register for VAT. VAT registration is compulsory if your annual UK turnover of taxable goods and services goes over the VAT threshold.

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