Business

Here’s a Checklist to Open Your Small Business

Published

3 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

High Volume, High Value: The Business Logic Behind Black Banx’s Growth

Published

6 days ago

June 16, 2025

Matthew Wiles

In fintech, success no longer hinges on legacy prestige or brick-and-mortar branches—it’s about speed, scale, and precision. Black Banx, under the leadership of founder and CEO Michael Gastauer, has exemplified this model, turning its high-volume approach into high-value results.

The company’s Q1 2025 performance tells the story: $1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, $4.3 billion in revenue, and 9 million new customers added, bringing its total customer base to 78 million across 180+ countries.

But behind the numbers lies a carefully calibrated business model built for exponential growth. Here’s how Black Banx’s strategy of scale is redefining what profitable banking looks like in the digital age.

Scaling at Speed: Why Volume Matters

Unlike traditional banks, which often focus on deepening relationships with a limited set of customers, Black Banx thrives on breadth and transactional frequency. Its digital infrastructure supports onboarding millions of users instantly, with zero physical presence required. Customers can open accounts within minutes and transact across 28 fiat currencies and 2 cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum) from anywhere in the world.

Each customer interaction—whether it’s a cross-border transfer, crypto exchange, or FX transaction—feeds directly into Black Banx’s revenue engine. At scale, these micro-interactions yield macro results.

Real-Time, Global Payments at the Core

One of Black Banx’s most powerful value propositions is real-time cross-border payments. By enabling instant fund transfers across currencies and countries, the platform removes the frictions associated with SWIFT-based systems and legacy banking networks.

This service, used by individuals and businesses alike, generates:

Volume-based revenue from transaction fees
Exchange spreads on currency conversion
Premium service income from business clients managing international payroll or vendor payments

With operations in underserved regions like Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, Black Banx is not only increasing volume—it’s tapping into fast-growing financial ecosystems overlooked by legacy banks.

The Flywheel Effect of Crypto Integration

Crypto capabilities have added another dimension to the company’s high-volume model. As of Q1 2025, 20% of all Black Banx transactions involved cryptocurrency, including:

Crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto exchanges
Crypto deposits and withdrawals
Payments using Bitcoin or Ethereum

The crypto integration attracts both retail users and blockchain-native businesses, enabling them to:

Access traditional banking rails
Convert assets seamlessly
Operate with lower transaction fees than those found in standard financial systems

By being one of the few regulated platforms offering full banking and crypto support, Black Banx is monetizing the convergence of two financial worlds.

Optimized for Operational Efficiency

High volume is only profitable when costs are contained—and Black Banx has engineered its operations to be lean from day one. With a cost-to-income ratio of just 63% in Q1 2025, it operates significantly more efficiently than most global banks.

Key enablers of this cost efficiency include:

AI-driven compliance and customer support
Cloud-native architecture
Automated onboarding and KYC processes
Digital-only servicing without expensive physical infrastructure

The outcome is a platform that not only scales, but does so without sacrificing margin—each new customer contributes to profit rather than diluting it.

Business Clients: The Value Multiplier

While Black Banx’s massive customer base is largely consumer-driven, its business clients are high-value accelerators. From SMEs and startups to crypto firms and global freelancers, businesses use Black Banx for:

International transactions
Multi-currency payroll
Crypto-fiat settlements
Supplier payments and invoicing

These clients tend to:

Transact more frequently
Use a broader range of services
Generate significantly higher revenue per user

Moreover, Black Banx’s API integrations and tailored enterprise solutions lock in these clients for the long term, reinforcing predictable and scalable growth.

Monetizing the Ecosystem, Not Just the Account

The genius of Black Banx’s model is that it monetizes not just accounts, but entire customer journeys. A user might:

Onboard in minutes
Deposit funds from a crypto wallet
Exchange currencies
Pay an overseas vendor
Withdraw to a local bank account

Each of these actions touches a different monetization lever—FX spread, transaction fee, crypto conversion, or premium service charge. With 78 million customers doing variations of this at global scale, the cumulative financial impact becomes immense.

Strategic Expansion, Not Blind Growth

Unlike many fintechs that chase customer acquisition without a clear monetization path, Black Banx aligns its growth with strategic market opportunities. Its expansion into underbanked and high-demand markets ensures that:

Customer acquisition costs stay low
Services meet genuine needs (e.g., cross-border income, crypto access)
Revenue per user grows over time

It’s not just about acquiring more customers—it’s about acquiring the right customers, in the right markets, with the right needs.

The Future Belongs to Scalable Banking

Black Banx’s ability to transform high-volume engagement into high-value profitability is more than just a fintech success—it’s a signal of what the future of banking looks like. In a world where agility, efficiency, and inclusion define competitive advantage, Black Banx has created a blueprint for digital banking dominance.

With $1.6 billion in quarterly profit, nearly 80 million users, and services that span the globe and the blockchain, the company is no longer just scaling—it’s compounding. Each new user, each transaction, and each feature builds upon the last.

This is not the story of a bank growing.

This is the story of a bank accelerating.