Starting a new business is an exciting process. It begins with an inspiration—an idea about a product or service that you would like to offer. Then you visualise and plan how to bring your product or service to customers. Finally, you put your heart and soul into making that vision a reality.

What you normally don’t envision, however, are the organisational details involved. In your mind’s eye, you don’t picture the intricacies of choosing a business structure, incorporating a company and issuing shares, hiring employees and independent contractors, contracting with suppliers and distributors, protecting your intellectual property and trade secrets, financing the business and leasing property, and the like. And you certainly don’t dream about all of the documents involved.

But these items are as critical to the success of your business as the steel reinforcements are to the foundation of your house. If you don’t form your business properly during each step of the process—using the correct documents—the item you skip over could bring the enterprise that you worked so hard to build crashing to the ground.

So as you passionately prepare to launch your new business, make sure you simultaneously shore it up by paying close attention to the following matters.