How to Start a Business: Step-by-Step from Idea to Launch (Pt. 1)

Are you an aspiring entrepreneur-but not sure of how to start a business? To help jumpstart your venture, we spoke to an award-winning business owner who grew his business into a multimillion-dollar empire.
Paul Akers is the man behind FastCap, a woodworking and construction supply company that launches over 30 products a year and distributes to over 40 countries worldwide.
He started in 1997 out of his garage and built his business by working trade shows and networking with leaders in his industry. If you ever wanted to know about how to start a business and build it from the ground up, you want to listen to Paul's advice.
Entrepreneurs and media outlets around the world have praised his revolutionary productivity techniques and innovative business ideas. To give back, he leads training sessions and speaks to teams at top companies like Amazon and Mercedes-Benz.
In this two-part interview with Alex, Paul will guide you on how to start your own business. He’ll provide you with the key steps like validating an idea and conducting market research.
Starting your own business isn’t easy. In this interview, Paul explains the reasons only a small percentage of entrepreneurs succeed and 70% of businesses fail.
He’ll also share his insights on how to write an effective business plan and what needs to go in it-so you can be in that small percentage of successful entrepreneurs!
Soak in Paul’s business wisdom and learn how to start a company that rakes in revenue. Be sure to visit Paul’s site, paulakers.net, to learn more about how to start a small business that’s productive and profitable.
Link to Part 2 ► • How to Start a Busines...
Additional interviews we've done with Paul Akers:
Business Ideas ► • Business Ideas: Top 17...
Lean Manufacturing ► • Lean Manufacturing: Th...
Resources:
www.upflip.com/academy - Start, Build, or Grow Your Business
www.fastcap.com/content/about... - Find Out More About Paul's Business
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro:
1:44 Meeting Paul
4:46 Building the actual product
6:26 Showing Pauls Products
7:52 Market research
9:24 Capital and truth
11:12 Funding
13:29 Trade show
14:44 Working with securing loans
16:22 To-do list before launching the product
17:08 Outro
#howtostartabusiness #howtostartasmallbusiness #startingabusiness

[@UpFlip]

Link to Part 2: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oanJl36smJ6LrZI Paul’s insights were valuable don’t you think? Have you successfully taken a product from idea to launch and want to talk about it? Leave a comment and let us know!

[@sergbelo]

This episode is loaded with golden nuggets. A bit unconventional but, solid, battle-tested approaches. He should be teaching business in universities.

[@Sharkdog11b]

I agree but he kinda gives me “steel your idea vines” not saying I know but just a funny vibe

[@handymanschool]

Great video, packed with loads of great advice and ideas. I loved the take away. 1. Observe 2. Think laterally 3. Solve problems 4. Think lean 5. Fix what bugs you.

[@GembaDocs]

Your point 1 is so important. I’ve wasted so much time in domains where I’m not an expert. Learning though!

[@BadassBusinessOwners]

I like how he ties in “solving a problem” to the business. Successful businesses realize they are in the problem solving business not in the x,y or z businesss

[@jamesblake5176]

i've seen many of these interviews, and i own/operate my own successful business, and have always been an entrepreneur. this is one of the best ones you've done. this guy is a wellspring of good advice and information.

[@BrianODonohue]

I didn't go to school for an MBA but something tells me that these nuggets of advice that Paul is giving are worth their weight in Gold! Listening & Learning!! Thanks again UpFlip!

[@UpFlip]

You're welcome Brian!

[@BusinessBasics]

Some good essentials to starting a business. This mimics the new product development process that is relevant in many businesses today: have an idea, and then test it or validate it through market research. One statement that stood out and this is so true in what I teach "the people that win are those who don't protect their idea, but those who deliver the best product to the market in a timely fashion". If you can master a quality product that is accessible and convenient to customers, ladies and gentleman you have a business! Thanks for sharing and I like listening to entrepreneurial content for inspiration so I will be staying tuned to this series.

[@martyboi]

Im gonna check out your channel man

[@gamin4jesus]

Thank you Paul and Paul, lol. Love this episode. Quality over growth forsure! Long-term thinking. Love all of Upflip's content! Keep up the great work!

[@UpFlip]

Glad to hear!

[@jarvolf]

You guys rock!!! Big thank you from Czech republic. I subscribed after watching your second video.

[@UpFlip]

We're so glad to hear that :)

[@marbletreeworkshop]

Thanks Paul. You gave me a couple of new ideas and validated a couple that I already had.

[@jovyglvn]

I love listening to a passionate businessman like this. I can feel his passion, his wisdom on his advice. I am learning so much

[@patrikkovacik5481]

Absolutely love it. Thank you so much for the content!

[@UpFlip]

Our pleasure :)

[@marchristian1150]

Learned so much of the process of building a business in 20mins in the most entertaining way! This channel is underrated! 🙏

[@UpFlip]

Thanks for watching Mar! We think we are underrated also :)

[@SS-bq1yv]

I bet that German Shorthair is really good at quality control of treats/dog bones. Great Vid!

[@marloncatamora2761]

Salamat po boss

[@myhomehandyman4619]

This guy is amazing, would love the see more video content like this.

[@UpFlip]

Thank you for your continued support, My Home Handyman! We have other videos just like this, and we also gathered the most profitable businesses you can start this 2023 on our blog 👉 www.upflip.com/blog/most-profitable-businesses Please feel free to check it out! :)

[@EngineerDJ_Julius]

Amazing video, love it

[@mitkomi]

Wow, best advises for starting a business I have watched, practical and reasonable. Thanks for sharing!

[@UpFlip]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mitkomi]

@@UpFlip Yes, answered some of my questions I have stuck into recently ;)

[@mjhornidge]

A $100k worth of information. I'm am developing a product right now. I built a functional prototype. I now have proof of concept (it works as intended). Time to dial in the specs to speak with manufacturers. Once I get to the point of marketing I now know trade shows are on the bottom of the list. Focus on quality. 🙌 thank you.

[@khaingzaw1715]

Thanks for sharing... I'm Khaing Zaw from Myanmar. We do decoration works. We also start one Furniture factory@ 2020. I got a lot of idea and how to make our platform idea also.

[@EliuEspinoza]

Your channel is amazing, more informative than Shark Tank, I don't understand why you don't have millions of subscribers yet.

[@jaypie0864]

For those that don't know, Paul Akers is a living legend in manufacturing. Yes, he sells mainly to the woodworking industry, but Fastcap is a world renowned company.

[@UpFlip]

He sure is!

[@mahmudlarsson4782]

Awsome content! All love from Sweden ❤️

[@UpFlip]

Thank you 🙌

[@EngineerDJ_Julius]

Super fantastic video

[@mwansachiyanda7028]

Amazing

[@jaredhammonds8255]

Great video and awesome dog!

[@NectariosObunga]

Precious information that is not taught even in ivy league. Such videos should be the ones that go viral.

[@UpFlip]

We really appreciate that Nectarios. We try to provide the most beneficial information in these videos as we can. Thanks so much for watching. 😀What type of company would you like to see featured next?

[@yandoru]

Perfect!

[@UpFlip]

Thanks for watching!

[@darabu.julhaz6955]

Awesome video presentation full of practical information and ideas for the potential start up owners

[@UpFlip]

Glad it was helpful!

[@anonymoususer4356]

Great!

[@UpFlip]

We appreciate you tuning in! Thank you! ☺️

[@hamedmn949]

love u bro

[@doronuzan]

watched all Learning a lot

[@UpFlip]

So awesome to hear that you learned a lot from watching. What business are you looking to start?

[@globaltv2984]

You guys make great videos.

[@UpFlip]

So glad to hear!

[@tonywong7300]

Marvelous

[@UpFlip]

Indeed!

[@justinelliott3529]

Paul plays the humble act, but he’s really a genius

[@UpFlip]

The man's a genius!

[@StonesAndSand]

A very sobering word of caution: Part of the patent process involves making sure you're not infringing on somebody else's IP. If you choose not to patent, that's fine. But you'd better do an extremely thorough job of protecting yourself in this regard. And even after the fact, if you don't have a filing, somebody could literally patent your idea and sue for infringement. It can be a slippery slope.

[@doronuzan]

mind boggling

[@weldinggirl]

Why WHY isn’t there more views!! Love the videos thank you!!

[@UpFlip]

Thanks again Welding Girl! Which video have you enjoyed the most?

[@POORANDBROKECITIZEN]

I like the dog cameo!

[@UpFlip]

It was pretty nice. Thanks for watching Maverickman. 😀👍Have you checked out part 2 of the video?

[@sparshchowdhary7259]

Nice

[@busyboy3497]

Paul is the MAN

[@UpFlip]

Indeed!

[@ufaneftykim1172]

👍перевод субтитров еще бы

[@zitesfaye3361]

👍

[@mikhailkh8560]

About validation. I got a idea, IT one, I made a proof of concept, and share it. I do not put any money in promotion, but have a small but stable interests over years. And tricky question, once a year i got reply - cool idea, i wanna buy it. And it's one from hundred. Is this kind idea worth it, from 100 curious one with the bill?

[@UpFlip]

Try posting it on Kickstarter or a crowdfunding site to see if people like the idea.

[@Sharkdog11b]

So is his business creating other people’s inventions than? So if I have a good idea I can take it to him he can create it then I get royalties? I just don’t see where they flat say exactky what his part is

[@polakis1975]

Great series but dude.... cut the ads. It’s very distractive. Trying to focus but can’t. They are so many☹️

[@UpFlip]

Sorry about that, we’ll tone it down.

[@SRC503]

Have you tried KZbin premium, no ads and I can download videos and watch even without cell service, No Cap

[@joemama142]

Does the camera guy have to use the bathroom?

[@charliedaniels1]

First check for patents.

[@UpFlip]

This is an excellent step Charlie. 😀Thank you.

[@clayermel]

Tesla has over 580 patents.

[@digitalbands5371]

Crowd funding

[@UpFlip]

Thats another great option if you have great idea!

[@waynesmith1797]

Does he patent every new thing he invent? That's not cheap.

[@UpFlip]

Not everything.

[@waynesmith1797]

@@UpFlip Great videos you are posting keep them coming.

[@digitalbands5371]

I disagree with not securing patents lol look at nikola tesla he got screwed over not protecting his inventions

[@UpFlip]

Good point! Paul is unconventional ;)

[@jaypie0864]

But you're no Nicola Tesla. 90% of all filed patents never make it to market. All a patent does is allows you to go to court and parent litigation is an easy million in legal fees.

[@Sharkdog11b]

Elon is also creating things nobody else can figure out or even afford to create haha not a new spatula

[@RyanKelley]

....why is Paul wearing a turtle neck and puff jacket but the host is just wearing a long T?