Starting a small business brings a swirl of emotion. Excitement and stress to be sure, but by trying out these time-tested tips, you can rest assured that your business will bustle.

1. Identify and Define Your Goals
First and foremost, you need to know exactly what your personal and professional goals are, and how you plan to achieve them. Develop and write down your intentions and your game plan, and make sure to keep track of every detail in your strategy. You can use it as a business blueprint, and it will help you stay focused and on track.

2. Draw Up Your Marketing Strategies
After you know what your intentions are, you need to consider how to communicate them to your consumer base. Look at the different advertising tools at your disposal and consider the costs of each. You can then use your business blueprint to find out which forms of advertising will serve you and your clients the most effectively. Remember that advertising can be as simple as staying locally active and handing out self-printed coupons. It doesn’t need to be fancy; it just needs to be aggressive and effective.

3. Location, Location, Location
One of the cardinal rules of business is to be mindful of your location. Make sure your business is highly visible, easily accessible, and in reasonable proximity to your consumer base. While looking into a property, you can research traffic counts to find local hot spots, common routes to and from those locations, and the number of people who travel by daily. You also want to make sure you chose a logical location for your type of business, and always be aware of where your competition is too.

4. Breakdown Your Budget
You should always know what your fixed costs will be before you jump in. Project a few months ahead, taking into account all your continual costs like lease payments, utility costs, monthly marketing expenses, and employee wages. Weighing those figures against your start-up capital will help keep you from biting off more than you can chew.

If this task seems daunting, you can always enlist the help of a certified accountant. In fact, as you establish your business you will want to consider keeping an accountant on board to help you keep track of all your expenses, taxes, and help predict future expenditures as your company grows.

5. Hire Helpers
Unless you’re planning on running your business by yourself, you’re going to need some employees to help. You must be extremely careful when hiring, especially in the beginning stages when you’re introducing yourself to your community. Remember that your employees represent you both on the job and off, so be sure to find passionate, personable, reliable help.

6. Divvy the Duties
Once you know approximately how many employees you will need, you’ll want to create a breakdown of duties by position. Create a time budget detailing how long shifts will be, what work each employee will perform, and how long it should take for assigned tasks to be completed.

7. Supply the Smart(est) Way
If you’re carrying products, compare and contrast the cost of supplying yourself straight from vendors or from bulk suppliers like Costco or Sam’s Club. In most cases, ordering straight from the vendor is preferable because you won’t have to pay excess sales or property taxes, damaged merchandise will be easier to return, and you’ll likely get a better deal.

8. Keep a Sharp Eye on Inventory
One of the fastest ways to lose money is by having merchandise you can’t push sitting on the shelves. By keeping detailed lists of what sells and how fast, you can make sure that you only bring in what you need in an efficient and timely manner.

9. Be Flexible
When starting a new business, you need to be ready and equipped to adapt to change. Keep some wiggle room in your budget for these unexpected changes, and maintain back-up plans. Look at each change and shift as a new opportunity that will help keep your business fresh. Update with the trends, integrate new technology, and be prepared.

10. Pay Yourself!
This is perhaps the most important step of all. Few things are more stressful than several bills and small personal income. If you don’t feel satisfied and supported by your business, stress could get the best of you and bring you and your business down. Your emotions will have an effect on your business, so make sure you feel rewarded and eager for more.

And finally, look for business associations where you can team up with other businesses and get discounts on certain commercial service charges like accepting credit cards. Not only are the monetary benefits a big perk, but you’ll also be able to pow-wow with other professionals and stay in the know on market information and new developments in your field.