What you actually need to start a business: a simple checklist

When you start a business, the online setup can feel like a hundred small decisions. It is really only a handful. Here is the plain checklist we walk new clients through, in the order that makes sense, with the one email trap that catches almost everyone.

1. A logo

Your logo is the smallest piece of your brand, and the one people remember. You do not need a huge brand exercise on day one, but you do need a clean, original logo in the right formats: a vector file (SVG or PDF) for print and scaling, and PNG versions with transparent backgrounds for the web. Avoid free auto-generators that hand the same mark to a thousand other businesses.

2. A full brand, when you are ready

A logo is step one. A full brand is the colours, fonts, tone of voice and a few rules for how they fit together, so everything you publish looks like it came from the same company. You can start small with a one-page brand sheet and grow it later. The point is consistency. A consistent small brand beats a fancy one used inconsistently.

3. A domain name

Your domain is your address on the internet, for example yourbusiness.co.za. Buy it early, even before the site is ready, because good names go fast. In South Africa a .co.za is the trusted default, and a .com is worth grabbing too if it is available. Register it somewhere reputable and keep the login details safe. Your domain is the one asset everything else hangs off.

4. A website

This is where people decide whether to trust you. It does not need to be large. A clear homepage, what you do, proof that you are real, and an easy way to get in touch will carry most new businesses a long way. Choose a build that fits how hands-on you want to be: a platform like Webflow if you want to edit content yourself, Shopify if you sell products, or a custom build if you want something distinctive. The honest rule is to start with what you need now and add as you grow.

5. A business email on your own domain

Use you@yourbusiness.co.za, never a free gmail.com or outlook.com address, for anything customer-facing. A domain email is the single cheapest thing that makes a small business look established. The two sensible options are:

• Google Workspace, around $7 per user per month, with Gmail, Docs, Drive and Meet, all on your domain.
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic, around $6 per user per month, with Outlook, the Office apps and Teams, all on your domain.

Both give you professional email on your own domain, generous storage, and the rest of an office suite. Pick the one whose apps you already know. Prices change, and Microsoft raised its 365 prices in mid-2026, so check the current rate before you commit.

The email gotcha worth knowing

People often try to save money by setting up a free personal Microsoft account or free Teams using their new work email. It does not work, and here is why. Once your domain is set up for business email, Microsoft treats it as a managed work domain. It will then block you from creating a free personal Microsoft account with that address, and free Teams is only for personal accounts like Gmail or Outlook.com. So if you want Teams on your you@yourbusiness.co.za address, you need a paid Microsoft 365 Business plan that licenses it. Do not waste an afternoon trying to force a personal account to accept a work email. Decide up front: if you want Microsoft and Teams for the team, buy the Business plan; if you are happy on Google, Workspace covers email and Meet in one.

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are separate, competing products, so one is not an add-on of the other. You can run a mix, for example point your domain email at Google while using Microsoft apps, but keep it simple at the start and pick one home.

6. A workspace to run the business

Beyond email, you want one place where work actually happens: files, a calendar, and a way to share with clients and any team. The Google or Microsoft plan above covers files and calendar. For client work specifically, you also want somewhere to send briefs and quotes, take payment, and collect feedback without it scattering across WhatsApp and email.

The short version

Logo, then brand, then domain, then website, then a business email on your domain, then a workspace to run it all. Get those six right and you look established from day one.

If you would rather not assemble this piece by piece, Kindredd Studio can set up the logo, brand, domain, website and business email together, so it all matches and works from launch. Send a brief and you get a written quote back in one working day.