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Planning Your Business

Before you start your business, you need to have a clear objective of what you want to do. It is important to do research and plan what you want your business to become before you dive in.

Market Research

You will first need to conduct market research to make sure that your community actually has a market for your product or service. The Durham County Library has free resources that you can use to conduct market research: https://durhamcountylibrary.org/research/onlineresources/business/.

Researching the demographics of Durham, such as average income and age, will give you a better sense of the kinds of customers you can expect to attract. The U.S. Census website (https://www.census.gov) gives comprehensive statistics.

Business Planning

After conducting research, you should focus on writing a business plan, both for yourself as well as to show potential investors that you have clear next steps.

The SBA has a page that outlines some essential elements of a business plan: https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/write-your-business-plan%20.
SCORE also has a free business plan template that you can download here: https://www.score.org/resource/business-plan-template-startup-business.

You should also choose a business legal structure to operate under https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-business/choose-business-structure.

North Carolina Assistance

The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina also has some great resources to help you plan your business https://edpnc.com/start-or-grow-a-business/start-a-business/small-business-resources/.

Additional Resources

Durham County Library—business plan handbook

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