Admittedly, starting a business and taking the required actions will depend on the type of business and the locale of the company. For example, opening a bricks and mortar business will be considerably harder, and more time consuming than a home based business or online store. Further, starting a business in the US or Canada is somewhat lackadaisical, as basically anyone can probably get started for less than one hundred dollars assuming the business is not a physical office or storefront. In many European countries, however, the process takes quite a bit longer and is sometimes very involved with many restrictions and requirements.

But as a brief and general guideline, how are a ten points which one should consider when embarking on a new business venture.

1. Find a product or service for which you believe you have a competitive advantage.
2. Write a business plan which will include details such as:
   • the name of the business along with appropriate domain names
   • whether or not you need to be incorporated
   • how much money will be needed to start
   • how to finance the venture
   • an objective or mission statement
   • step by step schematic of what needs to be done
   • measurable goals for specific time periods
3. Check domain names for availability and register one that is suitable. Be certain to register the domain immediately, as waiting even a day will most likely cause disappointment because the name will be gone. Further, regardless of what type of business and how you conduct business (physical storefront, home based, online), you require a domain name with at least one page of information. No serious business in this day and age would omit this step.
4. Register your trademark or patent if necessary. Also, remember that nowadays, your trademark does not only include a brand name, logo and slogan, but also your domain name.
5. Before opening a bank account, financial institutes in the US and Canada will require verifiable papers to open the account in a business name. You will need to, at the very least, register the company name so that you can prove you are a company and you are the rightful owner. This does not afford you any trademark status, incorporation privileges, or any other rights other than saying you own a business. The fee to do this is nominal, and can be different for each place, different for starting a business in Europe than for starting a business in Las Vegas, for example.
6. If you are incorporating, you will skip the previous step, as incorporation is much more involved and costly. Also before choosing incorporation, be sure to research all avenues, as there are different levels of business ownership that are available depending on the state or province.
7. Depending on the state or province, you will be required to apply for appropriate sales tax numbers. This is free as it is a state, provincial and federal government requirement.
8. Depending on the city in which you reside, you may require a sales permit. It is always best to check with City Hall in your city, as there are many ordinances of which most people are not aware.
9. If needed, order a new phone number but for small home based businesses and online businesses, this may not be necessary.
10. Gather the required resources for your endeavor and start conducting business.

As earlier stated, this is a very brief overview of starting a new business. Indeed, one should be much more thorough especially if the venture will become the sole source of income.