The first year of a local service business, in order

Opening a service business is mostly a sequence problem. Done in the wrong order, you spend money on a logo before you have a way to take a booking.

Weeks one to four: the plumbing

• Choose a structure and register the business with your state.
• Get an EIN from the IRS, which is free and takes minutes.
• Open a separate business bank account. Never mix it with personal.
• Check licence requirements for your trade and your state board.
• Get liability insurance appropriate to the work you do.

Weeks two to six: being bookable

• Register a domain in your business name.
• Put up a site with services, prices, hours, location and a booking flow.
• Create your Google Business Profile in your own name, and verify it.
• Submit your listing to Apple Maps and Bing Places.
• Set up confirmations and reminders from day one, before you have a no-show problem.

Month two onward: the habits

1. 01Capture every client properlyName, mobile, email, service, date. One system, not a phone and a notebook.
2. 02Rebook at the chairEvery time. It is the difference between a busy month and a quiet one.
3. 03Ask for a review after a good visitNo incentives, no scripts, just a link.
4. 04Photograph the workYou will need a year of photos eventually. Start collecting now.
5. 05Keep the books weeklyAn hour a week is manageable. A year at once is not.

Year one is not clever. It is doing five ordinary things consistently while other people do them occasionally.