Website

13. Getting your website up and running is relatively easy, and should be one of the early steps in launching your business.

You don't have to know how to create or operate a website to have one, says Bob Parsons, founder and CEO of top website domain registrar and hosting company GoDaddy.com. You also don't need to spend big bucks upfront to have someone else create and maintain your site for you.

GoDaddy and other major providers offer website design and hosting on a monthly-fee basis. A complete e-commerce site can be had for as little as $800 a year, payable in monthly installments.

When you're just starting a business, keep your website simple, Parsons says. You'll save money and customer confusion, as your business will likely evolve after launch and removing elements can confuse customers. You can always add elements later on.

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14. Before you hit the internet, think carefully about your business name and how it will look as a URL, says Parsons. Pick a new name if you can't get "yourname.com" as your domain. And remember--customers won't visit if they can't easily recall your URL. If your desired name is available, buy up all possible permutations of it to keep competition out.

Real Estate

First-time retailers have a tendency to run all over town looking at every empty storefront, says Marty Kotis, president and CEO of Kotis Properties. This wastes a lot of time and could result in you occupying a location where your budding business will die out.

15. Study your market to determine the size and type of space you need. Is it a free-standing store, a mall slot, a corner in an office building? Once you've decided, compare rent per square foot against projected sales in each location to determine the best place.

16. To find the right location fast, contract with a realtor and pay him or her to work for you. Without such a contract, a realtor may push the sites that offer the biggest commission check, whether these sites are right for your business or not.

Realize that if you want a high-visibility, high-traffic location, you will likely pay higher rent, Kotis says. But it may be worth it for the additional customers such a site can bring.

"New restaurant owners often take an out-of-the-way site and think, 'People will find me, because I have such a great product,'" he says. "That's not going to happen."

17. When you find the right location, make sure you understand the lease terms, hiring counsel if necessary. Fight for the provisions you need most, such as the landlord's build-out commitment or the right to put up a large sign. But pick your battles, and don't let lease negotiations drag on.

Pakroo warns against assuming you can operate the same type of business as the one that's currently occupying the space--they may have received a one-time waiver. Be sure to check with local authorities before you sign.

Purchasing

18. If you're opening a store, you'll need fixtures--like lighting, display racks and computerized cash registers. These items can be expensive, but the U.S. retail sector is in a consolidation phase, and secondhand fixtures are affordable and easy to find, says Lee Diercks, partner and managing director of the retail business consultancy Clear Thinking Group.

Many national chains are closing or moving stores, leaving their fixtures behind. Details on what's being sold off can be found on the websites of major liquidators such as Gordon Brothers and Hilco. Not just for retailers, liquidators are good sources of general office equipment as well. Whether you need apparel hangers, gondola racks, postage meters, desks, chairs or even packing tape, a liquidator likely has it for pennies on the dollar.

19. You can use the same tactics to buy a wide array of inventory in apparel, sporting goods, pet supplies, hardware and many other categories. Big retailers sometimes cancel large orders, leaving regional wholesalers who are storing the goods stuck with merchandise they're anxious to unload. "You name it, it's pretty readily available," Diercks says.

Another good source of cheap wholesale goods is eBay. Diercks says unwanted wholesale merchandise lots are turning up with increasing frequency on the online auction giant's site, and that even midsize regional chains are filling their shelves using eBay.

Hiring

20. Initially, try to keep costs down by hiring independent contractors or contracting out as much of your labor as possible, says Mel Kleiman, president of HR consulting firm Humetrics. This will allow you to pay only for the work you need and to forgo paying costly fringe benefits such as health care or sick leave. National agencies including Kelly Services, Labor Ready and Manpower  provide temporary and part-time skilled and unskilled workers to a wide variety of industries. You can also look for locally focused and special-skill temp agencies in your market.

21. If you need to hire workers, start looking as early as possible. Search your phone list, and let friends know you're hiring. Everywhere you visit or shop, talk about your job openings.

"All the good people are already working," Kleiman notes. "Go where the people you want to hire are. Computer stores and computer clubs are good places to find computer workers."

22. Determine what you have to offer workers and emphasize these strengths--perhaps it's a ground-floor opportunity, or employees can be their own boss, or they will be helping to build a great new concept. But don't gloss over the downside, either. Startups can often involve long hours, and employees should be prepared for that.

23. Do online research on interviewing techniques to make sure you learn a lot when you talk to candidates. Even if you don't have money for expensive testing, you can give candidates free tests--like asking that an application be completely filled out, and seeing how many comply.

24. One of the best ways to find more applicants is through your interview subjects, Kleiman says. "Ask every applicant if you can talk to three people they've worked with. The most important decision you make as an entrepreneur is deciding who you allow in your door to service your customers."

25. If you need to find specially trained workers, get creative. When Tim Vogel, 36, started his in-home pet grooming and pet-sitting business, Bright-Eyed Pets, with wife Jessica, 35, the couple found there was a shortage of qualified groomers in their Jupiter, Florida, area. So they created their own 600-hour training program. Half their grooming employees are now pet lovers the Vogels trained themselves.

Marketing

Even before you're officially open for business, you should begin marketing to raise awareness and line up customers.

26. Start by promoting your business to complementary, or even competing, businesses. When Tim Vogel started Bright-Eyed Pets in 2005, he began by promoting the business to local grooming salons, veterinarians, doggy day cares and supply stores. Vogel offered to trade referrals and told those he was promoting to that he focused on in-home services. While a quarter of the competitors passed on the offer, the others began referring difficult pets they couldn't handle to him. These early referrals got the business off the ground fast--within a couple of months, the first Bright-Eyed van was rolling to customers' homes. Last year, sales were nearly $400,000.

27. Spread word-of-mouth. Vogel got the community talking about Bright-Eyed Pets by putting pictures of customers' dogs on his vans. "I did all the basic guerrilla marketing," he says. "I put postcards in every local business that would take them. I had lawn signs, posters in office mailrooms. The best idea I had was putting [promotional] magnets on the door of my van with a big 'Take One' sign."

28. A little planning ahead of your launch can give your new company great visibility, says Pakroo. "Look six months down the road," she suggests. "If you [have] a guitar shop and there's a big jazz festival coming up, that's an opportunity."

29.Of course, some of the cheapest marketing takes place online. Nicholas of Straticom advises learning how to embed key terms in your site that will bring customers to you through search results. If you can't do it, pay an expert in web analytics.

30. Beyond keywords, find organizations or associations in which your web link can take customers to your site. These groups may also give you access to lists of e-mails you can use to promote your new business.

Seattle writer Carol Tice reports on business and finance for The Seattle Times, Seattle Magazine and other leading publications.

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