I'm going to debunk something big that some gurus, business hotshots, and popular entrepreneurs are potentially feeding you right now.

'Just start a business!'

'Start your own business, and you can make money.'

'Create something now, and sell it forever. It's your roadmap to success.'

'Just start a business and your future self will thank you.'

Well, friend, you cannot just 'start something', 'sell something', and poof, Bob's your rich uncle.

(If anybody would like to direct me to where this magical, mystical 'something' is, I'd love to know.)

While it's technically possible to throw 'something' together and go for making money, what I really mean to say is that entrepreneurs are not disclosing the million and one steps that ideally need to happen before this point.

(That should happen before this point).

Let's dive in.

Your business should be officially registered (and insured)

First off, from a legal perspective, you should be registered as a business before you even start selling, or making a penny.

How do you do that? Well, it takes an official appointment of your business name and likely a payment to your council or city. That takes time, and is your first outgoing.

Why before your first penny?

From a sensible business perspective, it's the only way that guarantees your assets. You'll learn more when setting up and choosing your business insurance -- an extremely sensible foundation that shouldn't really be overlooked.

While it is possible to backtrack on sales, taxes, and accounting down the line after making sales, it does become more complicated the longer it's left undone (or unprotected), and can even put you at risk of messy legal battles.

If you're unlucky enough, these are ones that you're not likely to win or be covered for if you started up without being licensed or insured properly.

You should have a reputable website

Moving on, it's common that most reputable businesses or sellers have their own websites - especially if you're offering anything service-based.

Websites, we all use them frequently, sounds easy -- but there's numerous steps to that, too.

You'll need to search for an available domain. Once you've found one, you need to pay for the URL and secure the domain.

Note, this is not a one-time payment, and you will mostly opt for it to recur yearly.

It's definitely easy enough to acquire a URL address/domain but, you still have zero website with nothing on it!

You can look to Squarespace or Wix, maybe even Wordpress if you're tech savvy -- and either use templates to help you create a site, or start coding from scratch.

Most people want the help, so Squarespace and Wix will cost money to host your site design per month.

More outgoings... when you haven't really made any income yet.

(This is also assuming you're good at writing or designing - if you were to outsource those jobs so others do it for you, this is a pretty large sum.)

Don't underestimate the time it takes to create an aesthetic and functional website, even with the templates.

T&Cs + Privacy Policy

If you are making a website, it shouldn't be live without your Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, found in the footer of your pages.

In a broad nutshell, this describes how you use people's data in accordance to certain legalities and how you operate your business online.

You need to source and pay for these individually, preferably with a professional, as every business is different as is every continent (or even country), for its own legal rules.

I personally ran into a random problem right here with regards to mine.

In The Netherlands, it's law for entrepreneurs to be transparent with data. The registered business address needs to be visible in a Privacy Policy and T&Cs page, but I'm a human/ woman in the 21st Century. In what world would I want my private address on show for any weirdo to find or abuse?

So, you might need to source and pay for a P.O Box or virtual address that covers your personal privacy.

More outgoings!

Once you have a designed and protected website, it's then recommended to push your live site with Google Search Console, otherwise it becomes very difficult to search for you in engines like Google online. (This is more or less the first free step, but still noteworthy for time).

Email hosting, newsletters + your email list

It's no secret from the gurus that your email list is where MANY of your sales and leads can come in -- a valuable asset that you always own if ever social media goes down, too.

You've maybe seen an offer or snagged a purchase yourself via your inbox, or used a special discount from a brand email you subscribed to.

If you also want a personal business email to communicate with potential clients? That's another subscription, it doesn't come free with the domain you've secured.

Copyright + other business perks

Want to go one step further and copyright your brand name or anything related to your branding? More legal fees.

The automated system that you may have noticed on social media nowadays, where replies, offers, or material lands in your DMs after you posted a key word? You guessed it, another subscription.

And back to earning money for selling your own digital or physical products?

You need to pay for a host such as Stan Store, or Etsy, set up Stripe or Paypal etc, in order to even take any payments!

Personal vs. Business bank

It's also highly recommended that you have a separate bank account for incoming and outgoings that can be separated for tax purposes and your accountant (yes... a likely outgoing cost for one of those once you're more advanced too).

It's worth looking into which banks give you the most perks, are safest, and whether you even need to consider virtual banks if you're going to be handling multiple currencies or exchange rates.

All of this is not to scare you out of becoming an entrepreneur, but instead to consider the real difficulty -- that starting up is not as easy as it sounds!

Showing up is not starting up

You can have all the effort, energy, and charisma in the world, but that's not what it takes to be ready to sell or own a business.

I thought it would be much easier than it was, and I knew I was going to market my own services way in advance! I had no idea about half of these points, or half of the cost it would take.

I think it's important to have that knowledge or heads up, in order to make a correct decision (or at least be well prepared).

The real low-down

Entrepreneurship may not be for you if you don't have some savings to even be ABLE to start up.

It may not be for you if you expect to start earning immediately, as it can take weeks or even months to get up and running functionally -- let alone find clients or sales.

It may not be for you if the concept of "you need to spend money to make money" is difficult -- which it is, if you don't have much money in the first place.

On the other hand... if you're prepared and willing, have emotional backbone and never-ending motivation, plus the funds to safely cushion your endeavours -- entrepreneurship is the key the controlling your own life, stepping off the corporate hamster wheel, and embracing honing some skills to make work work for you.

Once these obstacles were ironed out and I understood (and got comfortable with) the cost of my outgoings a little more, things became smoother and it does feel better once a routine gets established.

If you're in the trenches of starting up too, I see you, and support you! It's a wonderful thing to believe in yourself so much and have the drive to make it work.

It's also amazing if you have a devotion or a calling to help people, and serve them with whatever it is you know you can offer.

Keep fiercely carving your path -- it will pay off eventually.

-fe