Early business decisions are like a chess opening: small, seemingly insignificant moves that quietly dictate how the entire game unfolds. Will your business let you live the life you dream of—or checkmate you into 60-hour work weeks and burnout?

I’ll be honest—this topic has been on my mind a lot lately. As I’m setting up my own business, I’m realizing how easy it is to make decisions without fully considering their long-term impact on my lifestyle. And it feels like everyone—business advisors, accountants, friends—are unintentionally nudging me toward a business model that doesn’t align with my goals and priorities.

That’s why I’ve spent hours researching and reflecting on the early choices that shape how we work and live as business owners. Today, I’m inviting us to explore these decisions together—so we can build businesses that serve us, not the other way around.

Every Move Counts

In chess, every move is deliberate—each one builds on the last, setting the stage for what comes next. Business decisions are no different. The choices we make early on shape how our entire business unfolds.

But here’s the thing: they’re all choices. Acknowledging that we do have a say is the most important step. Business is full of invisible scripts and “one true way” mindsets that can trap us into thinking we don’t have options.

When I was getting my master’s in Entrepreneurship, it felt like the entire playbook boiled down to: “It’s like Uber, but for ___.” Later, I applied to an incubator on a whim and learned their magical formula: one technical co-founder, one business co-founder, $500K VC investment—voilà, you’ve got a 10% chance of success! And my ex-consultant colleagues? They just assume I’m building a traditional consulting firm with day rates, PowerPoints, and endless Zoom calls.

The truth is, most of us are unknowingly following someone else’s script—whether it’s from advisors, customers, employees, or even our own inner hustler (who, let’s be honest, is the last person you want deciding over your lifestyle).

Let’s take control of the board. These ten decisions are far too important to leave to chance. Together, we’ll map out an opening strategy that aligns with your vision, so every move counts.

1. What’s Your Primary Business Goal?

Before the first pawn moves, we need a game plan. Be brutally honest with yourself here: Is your goal to maximize profit, build a creative outlet, achieve freedom, or make an impact? Knowing your “why” gives every decision that follows a sense of direction.

Here are some options to consider:

• Lifestyle: Are you building a business to enable the life you want?
• Fulfillment: Do you want your business to provide more than just income? Should the work itself bring you joy, purpose, or creative satisfaction—or is it just a vehicle to fund the lifestyle you want outside of work?
• Profit: Do you need to meet a minimum viable income to live comfortably, or are you chasing maximum possible earnings (and possibly external investment)?
• Growth: Is your dream to scale fast, hire a team, and maybe sell the business someday—or are you okay with keeping things small?

Each of these goals comes with trade-offs. The clearer you are on what you want, the easier it’ll be to align your future decisions with the life you’re trying to create.

2. Do You Want to Fly Solo or Build a Team?

Personally, I’m a big fan of the solopreneur route—building a business solo, without making concessions on scalability. Thanks to the incredible tech tools and infrastructures available today, we can achieve a lot more on our own than we might initially think. It’s a great option if you want to prioritize freedom, flexibility, and the ability to pivot quickly (and I’m planning a dedicated post on scalable solopreneur business concepts, so stay tuned!).

But of course, some of us thrive in collaboration and the idea of building something together with others is exciting. Here are your main options:

• Solo: Full control and autonomy but heavier workload on you. You’ll make all the decisions, but the responsibility—and time investment—falls entirely on you.
• Co-founder: Share the load with a business partner who complements your strengths, but be prepared for a partnership that can feel like a marriage.
• Team: Expand your capacity and share responsibilities, but more people also means more coordination, more opinions, and, of course, those dreaded alignment meetings (dun dun dun).

3. Where and How Do You Want to Work?

Do you dream of working from a cozy home office, traveling the world, or owning a brick-and-mortar space? Your ideal work environment impacts how you work, the type of clients you can serve, and what your day-to-day life looks like. Choose wisely, because it will set the tone for how your business operates and what kind of lifestyle it supports.

Here are some scenarios to consider (feel free to mix and match!):

• Physical Office: Great for structure and collaboration, but it can limit freedom and flexibility and comes with the overhead costs of maintaining the space. Many traditional startups go this route, but I often wonder if it’s because they’re pushed by investors or if it’s truly the best fit for their needs.
• Home Office: Enjoy the comfort and convenience of working from home. It’s great for work-life balance, but it can blur the lines between personal and professional life—be mindful of boundaries.
• Co-working Space: A shared environment with other professionals. It can be a good option if you need some structure and social interaction, but it may come with noise and distractions that make it harder to focus.
• Traveling to Your Clients: Perfect if you love variety and face-to-face connections. It can add excitement and build strong relationships, but travel can also be exhausting and take away from productive work hours.
• Brick-and-Mortar Shop: Running a physical location means being there to open the doors in the morning and managing the day-to-day operations. It provides a tangible presence for your business but comes with long hours, constant customer interaction, and overhead costs.
• Maker Studio: Ideal for product-based businesses where you want hands-on control over production. It’s great if you love working with your hands and get satisfaction from creating and refining your products. Just be sure you’re ready to spend your entire day doing this, not just as a hobby.
• Digital Nomad: Work from anywhere in the world with ultimate flexibility. While it offers unparalleled freedom, you’ll need reliable Wi-Fi and may face the isolation of constantly changing locations. Keep in mind, this setup can limit what you can offer in terms of physical presence, regular hours, or consistency.

4. What Will You Sell?

Your offering is your queen—versatile, powerful, and the heart of your strategy. Whether you’re selling physical products, digital goods, client services, or a mix of all three, your decision shapes your operations, customer base, and long-term scalability.

Each option has its unique trade-offs:

• Physical Products
  • Handmade: Get ready for long hours and the scaling challenges that come with crafting each item yourself. It’s rewarding, but be prepared to put in the work.
  • Outsourced Manufacturing: Higher upfront costs and logistics headaches are part of the deal, but you’ll have more time to focus on growing the business.
  • Evergreen Products: These are easier to manage over time, but you may face slower growth. Still, a steady stream of revenue without constant hustle is a big win.
  • Trendy or Seasonal Products: If you’re into this, it can be exciting, but be ready for intense cycles of hustle—and the potential stress of chasing trends or dealing with seasonal lulls.
• Digital Products
  • Low-Cost Digital Goods: Easy to scale and manage, offering near-passive income once set up. However, they’re a volume game with limited impact on your customers.
  • High-Cost Digital Goods: Requires more time for customer relationships and sales, making it less passive. Higher price points can lead to bigger margins but demand more effort upfront.
  • Software: A high-potential, profitable option that can generate significant income, but it comes with the ongoing challenge of maintenance and updates.
• Services
  • Productized Services: These can scale more easily, but they may feel repetitive after a while. Still, they offer a reliable revenue stream and the ability to optimize.
  • Custom Services: Custom work lets you flex your creative muscles, but it’s harder to streamline. Plus, your clients have a lot of control over your time and what you do.

It might sound like I’m focusing on the downsides, but it’s important to understand what you’re getting into. I’m excited to explore most of these myself over the next few years. The good news is, you can always evolve and adjust as you grow.

5. Are You Buying or Building?

When launching a business, building from scratch is often the default move. But buying an existing business can be like a surprising castling move in chess. It’s not the first thing you might think of, but it can dramatically shift your position and accelerate your progress.

• Start from scratch: Full creative control, but high risk and effort. You’re building both the business and demand from the ground up, with no guarantees of success.
• Buy an existing business: Potentially quicker and less risky with a proven offer and customer base, but you’ll inherit existing systems (or lack thereof)—and likely the previous owner’s lifestyle.
• Hybrid approach: Buy a business to quickly gain a foothold or acquire key resources, then build on it with your own ideas for a balance of stability and creativity.

The King Stays Standing

Every business decision comes with trade-offs. The key is to make those decisions with purpose, keeping your main goal at the heart of everything you do. It’s the king that stays standing even when the rest of the board gets crowded with options.

If your business isn’t aligning with what you truly want, it’s not too late to course-correct—it just takes more effort.