Questions Before Starting a Business: Get One Number.

Write every question with a question mark.

First, on a blank page, list every question about your idea you cannot answer yet. Instead of "costs," write "How much does a second-hand espresso machine cost in my city?" Also, instead of "legal stuff," ask whether you need a permit to sell food from home. Then keep going until you run out.

The bread stall example.

For instance, picture an invented bread stall at a weekend market. Its questions before starting a business might cover the stall fee, a food-handling certificate, flour bought fifty kilos at a time and rival loaf prices. However, it also asks whether anyone will pay four dollars for this bread. The first four answers sit in an inbox or on a website. In contrast, only the last one is truly uncertain.

Turning questions before starting a business into numbers.

Circle the question that frightens you most, not the most important one. Then find an outside number. For how to estimate startup costs, use a published price first.

Alternatively, learn how to request a supplier quote: send a short message with the quantity, delivery address and date needed. Similarly, for rules, copy the fee from the official permit page. Finally, for tax, use your tax authority's own website, not a forum.