Every day thousands of Americans choose to start a business. The reality is that most of these new businesses will fail after a couple of years. Why? Often, it comes down to unpreparedness.

According to Investopedia, “The most common reasons small businesses fail include a lack of capital or funding, retaining an inadequate management team, a faulty infrastructure or business model, and unsuccessful marketing initiatives.”

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to get your business off to a healthy start. While it’s not a totally comprehensive list and business regulations/laws will vary from state to state, these 5 things you should have before starting your business will definitely help. Oh, and if you think these are too much–you won’t want to know the things you’ll need after starting it.

1. Marketing plan
   First and foremost, before you even think of conquering the next steps you should identify the market for your proposed business and solidify a plan for how you will market your company. Chances are that unless your product is totally new and revolutionary, there are millions of other businesses offering the same or similar products/services. You need to ask yourself if you can realistically compete in a saturated market with your product, and how would you go about doing so.Start by identifying why your product or service is different than other direct competitors–and if it’s not different enough, don’t give up just yet. Instead, consult with a marketing expert for an opinion/to discuss your options before moving to step two. At the very least, a consulting firm should be able to help you identify the most effective ways to market your business.
2. Business license
   Once you are confident that your business has a market to sell to, the next step is securing a business name and applying for a license–since you can’t do business without it (unless you’re a sole proprietor, but we won’t get into that here). While this can seem like an overwhelming task, it’s relieving to know that there are several online websites (like Legal Zoom) that can help you file to start a business. For a price (usually a few hundred dollars depending on your business specifications) you just fill in some online forms and the website will handle the rest on your behalf. Alternatively, you can save money by filing on your own through your local or state government.
3. Business address
   Most people like to separate work from home, and sometimes, that’s just not possible. In order to start a business, most local governments require a physical address in which you can normally be found during business hours. Since PO boxes (and virtual mailboxes) are not always accepted as such, people who work from home or who don’t have an alternative business location often register their home address as their business location.Consequently, that means the home address will be published publically as the business location. Not only is this confusing for people searching the business and finding out it’s located in a residential area, but it can also be a question of security to publicly publish your name and home address registered to your business.
4. Accountant
   Next on the list of must-haves is an accountant. While honestly, you probably won’t legally need an accountant, it’s really a great idea to have one at least on standby. Business finances including taxes, income and loss, and payroll can understandably be a lot–perhaps too much–for most business owners to handle on their own.While each accountant is different, you may choose to ask yours to be tasked with keeping track of business finances and preparing taxes quarterly, producing profit and loss statements, and helping with payroll. Having an active accountant is the best way to make sure your business stays compliant with the IRS and on budget.
5. Lawyer
   Also usually not a must-have by law, keeping a business lawyer on retainer is a very smart idea. They can help guide you on lawsuits that may arise as well as answer questions regarding copyrights, insurance, patents and a host of other topics that will undoubtedly pop up at some point in any company’s lifespan.