5. Financing
Now this is the hard part, getting the necessary equity to gain assets to start the business. This can be done by selling shares to investors, though this is something I suggest not doing unless you have a strong background in Finance and Accounting as well as a lawyer handy. Your best chance is to get a loan from the bank. Banks love to lend money, that’s where they earn all the money in the first place - from interest rates. Be aware that it is never a good idea to borrow more than you need. You should know what you need if you wrote a detailed business plan.

6. Did I mention, "Learn accounting"?
With the loan, understand that although you debited your ‘Cash Account’, you credited your ‘Notes Payable Account’. That means an increase in Assets and an increase in Liability – you have to pay back the bank after all.

7. Implementing your business strategy
If your goal is to create a gaming organization, then your first step is to recruit players and secure them with contracts. Paying them increases their responsibility to reach your assigned goals and motivates them to do their best. It is pointless to market your organization right now. With marketing, which can be viewed most simply as just a product or service that allows customers and potential investors to find out about your organization, it is very important to never overestimate your potential and give false promises - this is going to hurt you more than not marketing at all. Similarly, it’s pointless to tell potential sponsors how good your team is and how your team is going to be at the top if your team’s achievements do not speak for themselves.

8. Marketing
Once your team or organization achieves something, it is time to market it. Publicize it and hype it up. Publicity stunts will do you good. but don’t believe the cliché that bad publicity is better than no publicity. In gaming and in sports, bad publicity is much like bad sportsmanship, and people will not support that.

9. Networking
With good marketing and good publicity, getting a sponsorship is easier than writing this article. A lot of times you can approach interested investors and sponsors at big gaming events. Similarly, you can get in touch with them through phone calls. Let me tell you a secret: within a company, everyone uses the same phone line. So, if the customer service number is 599-7100, try dialing 599-7107 and you might find yourself speaking to the CEO! Again, be prepared with your business plan and be professional. Telling a potential investor that your organization is ‘leet’ probably will not work.

10. Keeping your investors happy
With investors and sponsors you must keep them interested and up to date. Financial statements are a necessity, so you must learn how to record those. Whatever else you decide to do is entirely up to you now. Remember, once your organization is in the spotlight, every action taken will reflect on it. Good luck!

Understand these ten steps gives you a brief introduction to starting a gaming organization, or any type of organization for that matter. Lots of technical and legal issues are left out, and since I do not reside in the United States myself I have left out the potential tax issues as well.

If you are interested in knowing more, feel free to contact me by email at mlau@connect.carleton.ca or find me on irc.gamesurge.net in #gotfrag as baka.