Business

Here’s a Checklist to Open Your Small Business

Published

4 years ago

March 14, 2022

Congratulations on taking the bold step to start a new business! All things considered, creating your own business allows you to achieve a work-life balance. However, it is sometimes easier said than done. Because of the challenges involved, many business owners agree that the first year is challenging. Nevertheless, that shouldn’t discourage you from starting.

With this in mind, this guide acts as your checklist to open a small business. It’ll help you prepare thoroughly at the start and build your brand along the way to enhance your success rates.

1. Choose Your Business Idea

The first thing in your checklist to open a small business is to decide what you want to do with your business. What services or products do you want to offer your target audience? Additionally, ask yourself if the idea is profitable and whether it’ll keep you in business for long.

2. Conduct a Feasibility Test

Undoubtedly, the best way to find out the viability of your business idea is to do a feasibility study. In other words, you need to do market research to gather facts and figures. These will come in handy in helping you make an informed decision depending on the following:

Industry: What is happening in the entire world of the particular type of business you want to start?
Market: Determine the total population of consumers or businesses currently using the product or service you hope to offer.
Customers: Who will be your clients to buy your product or service?
Competition: How many other companies sell the same product or service? Why would customers choose your business over others?

3. Write Your Business Plan

Create a business plan once you have your facts and figures on paper. It’s a map that helps you determine the direction your business will take, how to overcome difficulties, and what to do to sustain the business. While 70% of business owners recommend drafting a business plan, 13% of entrepreneurs think it’s unnecessary, but this isn’t true. Indeed, creating a business plan can be a daunting task. Nonetheless, the good thing is that you’ve already captured most items in the steps above.

Remember that your first business plan isn’t the final copy. You’ll need to keep revising it as your business grows and learn more about your market.

4. Determine How Much Money You Need to Start

The next thing in your checklist to open a small business is startup costs. Whether you’re self-funding your business or working with investors, you need to determine your startup costs. Therefore, you need to map out all your anticipated costs like hiring and setting up the business premise. Further, consider the expenses of stocking up your business, hiring employees, and getting the right office equipment.

You also must establish how your cash flow should look each month to keep the business running. Think of the salaries, workers’ compensation insurance, health insurance, liability insurance, and other finance-related business needs like utilities and business taxes.

5. Create and Register a Business Name

Once you’re sure you have the funds to start you off, choose an appropriate business name and register it, depending on whether it’s valid. For example, it should not be similar to an existing and registered business name and should fall within the parameters of a business name in your region.

An expert can help you choose a business name, decide the business structure, create a logo, and register the business. Registration requirements vary depending on whether it’s a sole proprietorship, partnership, or a limited liability company.

With the business name registered, you’re ready to set up your business in the desired location and hire employees. Equally, you must get a business bank account, and set up your accounting systems. Also, apply for a social security number, buy business insurance, and get an employer identification number.

Similarly, don’t forget to apply for business permits and licenses as determined by your zoning laws. The Small Business Administration (SBA) can help you acquire business licenses and permits.

6. Brand Yourself and Get the Word Out

At this juncture, you want to attract customers and start doing business. Thus, your startup checklist isn’t complete without a marketing plan. Every business should have a website where it promotes its products and services. However, beyond having a website, consider other forms of marketing, including:

Online ads on popular websites and social media platforms like LinkedIn
Print advertising on magazines, newspapers, or business cards
Networking with like-minded small business owners or attending business events in your community
Digital signage advertising that allows you to communicate directly with your target audience. Your options include setting up digital kiosks, video walls, LED walls, and LED billboards.
Asking for referrals from your customers through social media or word of mouth.

Final Thoughts

Putting up a business is no easy feat, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. A lot goes into it to ensure you do it right. The above checklist to open a small business gives you valuable tips to get you started. We hope it helps you find your way to building a successful business.

Business

Derik Fay and the Quiet Rise of a Fintech Dynasty: How a Relentless Visionary is Redefining the Future of Payments

Published

4 days ago

October 17, 2025

Matthew Wiles

Long before the headlines, before the Forbes features, and well before he became a respected fixture in boardrooms across the country, Derik Fay was a kid from Westerly, Rhode Island with little more than grit and audacity. Now, with a strategic footprint spanning more than 40 companies—including holdings in media, construction, real estate, pharma, fitness, and fintech—Fay’s influence is as diversified as it is deliberate. And his most recent move may be his boldest yet: the acquisition and co-ownership of Tycoon Payments, a fintech venture poised to disrupt an industry built on middlemen and outdated rules.

Where many entrepreneurs chase headlines, Fay chases legacy.

Rebuilding the Foundation of Fintech

In the saturated space of payment processors, Fay didn’t just want another transactional brand. He saw a broken system—one that labeled too many businesses as “high-risk,” denied them access, and overcharged them into silence. Tycoon Payments, under his stewardship, is rewriting that narrative from the ground up.

Instead of the all-too-common “fake processor” model, where companies act as brokers rather than actual underwriters, Tycoon Payments is being engineered to own the rails—integrating direct banking partnerships, custom risk modeling, and flexible support for underserved industries.

“Disruption isn’t about being loud,” Fay said in a private strategy session with advisors. “It’s about fixing what’s been ignored for too long. I don’t chase waves—I build the coastline.”

Quiet Power, Strategic Depth

Now 46 years old, Fay has evolved from scrappy gym owner to an empire builder, founding 3F Management as a private equity and venture vehicle to scale fast-growth businesses with staying power. His portfolio includes names like Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships, BIGG Pharma, Results Roofing, FayMs Films, and SalonPlex—but also dozens of companies that never make headlines. That’s by design.

Where others seek followers, Fay builds founders. Where most celebrate their exits, Fay reinvests in people.

While he often deflects conversations around his personal wealth, analysts estimate his net worth to exceed $100 million, with some placing it comfortably over $250 million, based on exits, real estate holdings, and the trajectory of his current ventures.

Yet unlike others in his tax bracket, Fay still answers cold DMs. He mentors rising entrepreneurs without cameras rolling. And he shows up—not just with capital, but with conviction.

A Mogul Grounded in Real Life

Outside of business, Fay remains committed to his role as a father and partner. He shares two daughters, Sophia Elena Fay and Isabella Roslyn Fay, and has been in a relationship with Shandra Phillips since 2021. He’s known for keeping his personal life private, but those close to him speak of a man who brings the same intention to parenting as he does to scaling multimillion-dollar ventures—focused, present, and consistent.

His physical stature—standing at 6′1″—matches his professional gravitas, but what’s more striking is his ability to operate with both discipline and empathy. Fay’s reputation among founders and CEOs is not just one of capital deployment, but emotional intelligence. As one partner noted, “He’s the kind of guy who will break down your pitch—and rebuild your belief in yourself in the same breath.”

The Tycoon Blueprint

The playbook Fay is writing at Tycoon Payments doesn’t just threaten incumbents—it reinvents the infrastructure. This isn’t another “fintech startup” with a flashy brand and no backend. It’s a strategically positioned venture with real underwriting power, cross-border ambitions, and a founder who understands how to scale quietly until the entire industry has to take notice.

In an age where so many entrepreneurs rely on noise and virality to build influence, Fay remains a master of what can only be called elite stealth. He doesn’t need the spotlight. But his impact casts a long shadow.

Conclusion: The Empire Expands

From Rhode Island beginnings to venture boardrooms, from gym owner to fintech force, Derik Fay continues to build not just businesses—but a blueprint. One rooted in resilience, innovation, and long-term infrastructure.

Tycoon Payments may be the latest chess piece. But the game he’s playing is bigger than one move. It’s a long game of strategic leverage, intentional legacy, and generational wealth.

And Fay is not just playing it. He’s redefining the rules.