You decided to start a business. Congratulations. That's the hardest part.
Now what?
If you're like most people, this is where the spiral begins. You open a browser tab. Then another. Then twelve more. Licensing requirements, tax obligations, business structures, permits, zoning laws, EINs, state registrations. Every search leads to three more questions. Every answer contradicts the last one.
By the end of the night, you've accomplished nothing except convincing yourself that you're not ready.
Sound familiar?
Here's the truth nobody tells you: your first 30 days don't need to look like that. They don't need to involve lawyers, accountants, or a single government form. Your first 30 days are about something much simpler.
Clarity.
Week 1: Define What You're Actually Building
Before you touch a single form, answer three questions:
What problem are you solving? Who are you solving it for? How will they pay you?
That's it. If you can answer those in plain English, you have a business. Not a business idea. A business. Everything else is paperwork that follows the decision.
Don't overcomplicate this. "I'm going to help small restaurants manage their social media for $500 a month" is a complete business model. "I'm going to build a platform that leverages AI-driven synergies to disrupt the..." is not. One makes money. The other makes pitch decks.
Write your answers down. Seriously. A notebook, a notes app, whatever. This becomes the anchor you return to when things get noisy.
Week 2: Get Your Money Right
You don't need a business bank account on Day One, but Week 2 is a good time to open one. Most banks offer free business checking for sole proprietors. Walk in with your ID. It takes about 20 minutes.
Why now? Because the single biggest headache new business owners create for themselves is mixing personal and business money. It seems harmless in January. By December, when you're trying to figure out which Amazon purchases were business expenses, you'll wish you'd kept them separate from the start.
While you're at it, start a simple spreadsheet. Income in one column, expenses in the other. You don't need accounting software yet. You need a habit. At OpenChamber, we track everything in a free Notion account. No paid tools, no fancy dashboards. Just a system that works.
Week 3: Talk to One Real Customer
Not your mom. Not your best friend who thinks everything you do is amazing. A real, potential, paying customer.
This is the step that separates people who start businesses from people who talk about starting businesses. It's uncomfortable. It's supposed to be.
Ask them: Would you pay for this? How much? What would make it worth it?
Listen more than you talk. If they say no, ask why. If they say yes, ask when. Both answers are worth more than a hundred hours of research.
Week 4: Build Your Roadmap
Now you know what you're building, your money is organized, and you've talked to a real customer. This is when most people start Googling "how to start a business" again and fall back into the spiral.
Don't.
What you need is a sequence. Not a list of everything you'll ever need to do, just the next three to five steps in the right order. What comes first? What depends on what? What can wait until next quarter?
We know this because we're living it. OpenChamber isn't some venture-backed company with a floor of accountants. We're a solo-founded startup running on free tools and late nights, working through our own process the same way you will. Every feature we build, every piece of advice we give, we've pressure-tested on ourselves first.
That scattered mess of government websites and conflicting advice? That's exactly why we built OpenChamber.
The Ladder, Not the Mountain
Here's what we've learned from talking to hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs: the problem isn't motivation. The problem isn't money. The problem is that starting a business feels like staring up at a mountain with no trail markers.
You can see the peak. You just can't see the path.
OpenChamber exists to show you the path. Not to climb it for you, not to file your paperwork for you, but to lay out the steps in the right order so you always know what's next.
Come in. Answer a few questions about your business. Get a personalized roadmap that shows you exactly where you are and what to do next. Move the bar. Step onto the ladder.
You don't need to see the whole staircase. You just need to see the next step.
The Bottom Line
Your first 30 days aren't about perfection. They're about momentum.
Define what you're building. Separate your money. Talk to a real customer. Build your roadmap.
That's it. No LLC required. No lawyer required. No $5,000 war chest required. Just you, a decision, and the willingness to take the first step.
The paperwork will follow when it's time. Right now, it's time to move.
Ready to see your first steps laid out in order? Get your free personalized roadmap in under 5 minutes.
ā Warren, Founder of OpenChamber