Create a business plan

Your business plan is like a roadmap for the operation of your business, which is why a more extensive plan will be more useful. In addition to serving as a guide for the management of your contracting business, your business plan will also be used by investors and lenders to help determine if your business is a good risk.

In general, your plan should outline the market research you performed in determining if your idea is feasible as a long-term business. It should also describe how you plan to market your contracting services to individuals within your community. Finally, your plan should address your needs for employees, equipment, and other assets that will be used to service your employees. Any unique features of your business model should also be defined in this plan.

Obtain financing

Your second step will involve obtaining financing for your business, so you should already have been working on establishing good personal credit. Maintaining a good credit profile in your personal life will make it a little easier to get financing for your business entity. While traditional loans are one option for your business, there are many more funding options available to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Many people try to continue working an hourly job as they launch their business to keep a steady stream of income that can be used to finance a portion of their business' operating budget. Additionally, you can ask friends and relatives to invest in your business in exchange for a percentage of the business' profits. Alternative sources of funding include angel investing, crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer lending. Explore a variety of options to determine which ones will offer you the best financial advantages.

Register and ensure your business

Once you have funding, you'll have to address the legalities of launching your business as a residential commercial roofing contractor. This will start with naming your business since you will need a name before you can register your business with the IRS. This is where a good business attorney can be useful. Your lawyer can help you determine what type of business you should register as for tax and liability purposes.

While a sole proprietorship is an easy structure to set up, it won't provide you with the tax and liability protections your business may need. Most contractors set up their businesses as LLC to help them keep their personal assets separate from their business. Your attorney can also advise you on the best types of insurance to obtain to protect your business.

Outsource what you can

As you launch your business, it may be two or three years before it really starts to earn a profit. In the meantime, you can save on expenses by outsourcing many of your needs. Use third-party accounting services to help you manage your books. You can also use a variety of third-party services to take over the administrative aspects of running your business. Unless you can perform a task yourself, it may be more economically feasible to outsource those needs rather than hiring a full-time employee.

Market your business

Now that you're ready to start taking on clients, you should develop a marketing campaign that makes use of print, radio, television, and digital advertising tools. This includes creating a website and blog for your business. You should already have created social media accounts for your business to help you network with other business leaders in your community. You can now expand your network to individuals in your community so you can focus on the demographic groups you'll be targeting with your marketing campaigns. Regularly posting to your blog and sharing those blog posts on your social media pages will help you grow and nurture a following. Each one of your followers represents a potential customer, so be sure to encourage more people to follow your pages.

In addition to creating a strong strategy, you may want to consider seeking out a mentor. Many new small business owners find that working with a mentor helps them manage their business better and avoid common pitfalls. Be sure to look for someone who has successfully built a contracting business of their own and is willing to be your mentor. This can help you build an effective working relationship that will benefit your new business.