How to Start A Local Service Business

Congrats! You’re starting a business to serve the people in your local community. How exciting! This can be an exhilarating experience, but running one on the day to day can feel like huge burden without the right systems and people in place.

Here are 4 steps to help you succeed as a local business and help more people with what you do!

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer and the Value You Provide to Them

The first step of any business is to identify your ideal customer and what problem you’re going to solve for them. Are you a video production company looking to help a business look more professional on camera? Are you a local arts and crafts shop that helps families and friends bond as they express their creative side? Use this framework to help you clarify why your product or service is important and who it’s important to.

“My business provides Services X, Y, and Z to help our target client solve this problem.”

If you are starting a local pressure washing business, your sentence may read like this:

“Our company provides pressure washing and outdoor cleaning services to help local homeowners care for their home’s exterior and be proud of their space without needing to purchase expensive equipment or take time away from the more important things in their life like their family or work!”

Your sentence might look different than this one, but this should help you clarify who you’re trying to serve, how your trying to serve them, and why it’s so valuable to the people you’re trying to reach. If you have trouble writing this sentence, you might need to define more clearly what you do, the people you’ll serve, and the specific problem you solve for them.

Step 2: File for your LLC with MyCorporation

Once you’ve got the vision for your business in place, it’s time to make your business a reality!

If it’s your first time starting a business, you can check out all of the info in our Learning Center. We have in-depth info on:

…and many other resources that can help you understand what your business needs after you file.

Our team of experts will help you determine what business entity type is best for you based on your business structure, number of owners, tax benefits, and other key factors. Visit our business formations page to get started with our team!

Unlike LegalZoom and other big businesses we personally handle your business filings and you have access to a dedicated representative. You’re not a number on a list, you’re someone worth giving personalized customer service!

Instead of handling questions in endless back and forth over email, you get phone support with our team. And instead of being put into an online ticketing system, our dedicated sales team makes sure you have the resources you need right when you need them.

Step 3: Build a Website / Google My Business Listing

Once you’ve incorporated or formed your LLC with MyCorporation, the next step is to build your website and make sure your business is verified with Google!

Without a website, it’s difficult to get business unless it’s from word of mouth. Resources like Squarespace or Wix can help you get a basic site started from a template, but if you want more options you may want to work with a developer.

Make sure to have pages that clearly show what you do, who your products and services are for, and what problems they solve. And it doesn’t hurt to have testimonials from people that love what you’re doing!

Once you have a website up, go to Google My Business and set up a profile. You will likely need to verify your address via a postcard for your physical business location. Or you may be able to create one that lists a Service Area rather than a specific address if you don’t have office space.

After that Google My Business listing is up, start asking your happy customers to review you with the link Google provides! The more 5-star reviews your business gets on the platform, the more people are likely to do business with you. And if someone leaves an unhappy review, it’s a chance for you to make it right, reply to their review, and show people that you care enough to do the right thing!

Make sure to add your website URL to your Google My Business listing so people can learn more about you if they find you in local search results.

Step 4: Start Selling!

You did it! You’ve defined your ideal customer, incorporated or formed your LLC with MyCorporation, created your website and Google My Business listing, and now it’s time to start selling your product or service! This is not an exhaustive list, but here are different tactics you’ll want to consider to sell as much as you can!

Referral Partners

Who do you already know that sees the value in what you’re doing? Are there other business owners that help your ideal customer with related services? Take them out for lunch or coffee, get to know their business, and see if it makes sense for you to send business to each other!

Most people have personal social media accounts, but many businesses don’t have them set up at all or don’t have them set up properly. Make sure you at least have a Facebook page, Instagram business profile, LinkedIn company page set up with a profile photo and information for your business.

This helps add another layer of legitimacy to your new company and also gives you the opportunity to post testimonials and what your company is up to that might be of interest to your prospects and audience!

Friends & Family

Let your friends and family know about your new company! Even if they aren’t your ideal customers, they probably know people that could use your new products or services!

Email

Email may be old by social media standards, but it can still be effective! Keep a list of your potential and past customers in a platform like Mailchimp or Hubspot, and make sure to have a spot on your website for people to sign up for ongoing promotions and news about your business! The more educational and helpful you make these emails, the better your response will be.

And as always, for more resources about starting and running your business, go to MyCorporation.com.

Deborah Sweeney

Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With extensive experience in the field of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah provides insightful commentary on the benefits of incorporation and trademark registration.

Education: Deborah received her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Pepperdine University, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in corporate and intellectual property law.

Experience: After becoming a partner at LA-based law firm, Michel & Robinson, she became an in-house attorney for MyCorporation, formerly a division in Intuit. She took the company private in 2009 and after 10 years of entrepreneurship sold the company to Deluxe Corporation. Deborah is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with some of the top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites including Forbes, Business Insider, SCORE, and Fox Business, among others.

Fun facts/Other pursuits: Originally from Southern California, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin and Christopher, and practicing Pilates. Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Deborah, and MyCorporation, have previously been honored by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s List of the Valley’s Largest Women-Owned Businesses in 2012. MyCorporation received the Stevie Award for Best Women-Owned Business in 2011.