• Opening a business requires an initial amount of working capital, according to the Dun and Bradstreet website. You can obtain some of this capital from personal cash savings, banks and business lenders or venture capital firms. The amount of start-up costs that you'll have depends on the size and type of your business.
  
  

Legal and Professional

• Before you open, you need to make your business legal. Depending on the type of business entity that you want to create, such as a sole proprietorship or partnership, you may need to pay the state to register your business name. Registering anything other than a sole proprietorship typically will require you to file Articles of Organization or Incorporation, which means that you may want to hire and pay a lawyer or other legal professional to help, which adds to any state filing fees. Depending on the type of business that you're opening, you may have to pay to acquire business licenses and permits from the city, county or state.
  
  

Infrastructure

• Opening a business requires having space to set it up. Unless you're operating out of your home, which means you'll need a home office, you'll require retail or office space to rent. This often involves signing a lease and paying a deposit and/or first month's rent. You also may have to pay deposits to utility companies to turn on electricity and water supplies.
  
  

Equipment

• The type of equipment you need to open your business depends on the type of business that you operate. For example, retailers usually require display racks and point-of-sale terminals. You may need to purchase cooking equipment, ovens or dishwashers if you're opening a small restaurant. You'll need to purchase and set up all equipment necessary for business operations before you open to the public.
  
  

Inventory

• To acquire inventory, you need to contact suppliers and distributors and either pay for products outright or purchase them on credit or other financing. Starting inventory for opening a business includes the products that you're selling to the customer, any supplies you need to sell the products and miscellaneous items for the business, such as paper, pens, decorations and cleaning supplies.
  
  

Advertising

• The initial grand opening of a business often requires out-of-pocket advertising costs in order to spread the word about your new business. You can hire professional graphic designers and printers to develop your business logo and make materials like business cards, brochures, signs and banners. Other advertising costs may include newspaper and community advertisements, radio and/or television ads, the development of a website and Internet advertising.
  
  

Payroll

• Many of your employees may not have to be paid until a week or two after the business opens. However, you may need to hire and pay wages to managers or consultants before the business opens so that you can delegate tasks that need to be completed. You also may need to purchase workers' compensation insurance. Paying your employees may require that you hire a professional to organize your financial documents and manage the payroll.