| Businesses come in all shapes and sizes. Some | | | | Funding can come from savings, bank loans, friends |
| business owners started as kids, selling lemonade on | | | | and family, investors, donors, credit cards or other |
| the side of the street, while other business owners | | | | options. It seems better to over estimate your needs |
| have bloomed later after years of careful planning. | | | | than to underestimate them and be left with not |
| Whatever stage of life you're in, owning a business | | | | enough cash. |
| can be one of the most rewarding experiences you'll | | | | Revenue Flow |
| ever have. Starting a business is not for everyone | | | | How will your business make money? If it is selling a |
| though. Starting a business requires inspiration, hard | | | | product, how much will actually be made from each |
| work, planning and persistence. | | | | sale? When making this calculation and factoring in |
| Inspiration | | | | overhead estimations one can then determine how |
| The inspiration of business owners can range from not | | | | much needs to be sold to break even. Don't sell |
| having a boss, to making more money to improving the | | | | yourself short because you're a new business. |
| local community, to any number of other motivations. | | | | Legal |
| Whatever the reason, having strong inspiration will help | | | | There are hundreds of laws that pertain to running a |
| you get through anything, including starting a business. | | | | business. To understand and abide by all of these |
| Brainstorm | | | | laws, legal consul is in order. Consulting a lawyer will |
| After you've been inspired to start your business, | | | | also help protect your business with properly written |
| brainstorming is a good next step. What do you like | | | | contracts, terms of services, nondisclosure |
| doing? What does the world need? What can you | | | | agreements and the likes of such. It is much better to |
| provide that others can't or haven't? After you have a | | | | have the confidence of having consulted with a lawyer |
| bunch of ideas, think up some more. It is, after all, the | | | | than to wait until you really need one, when the |
| unique idea that often makes a business financially | | | | damage has already been done. A poorly written |
| successful. | | | | contract, or no contract at all, can cost a business |
| Research | | | | huge sums. |
| Finding out what potential competitors are up to can | | | | Employees |
| give you ideas and also help define how your business | | | | Having employees opens the door onto new realms of |
| will be different from others. Market research can help | | | | legal issues including tax withholdings, worker's comp, |
| determine what products and services to offer. | | | | rules regarding minimum wage, overtime, required |
| Further more, reading up on a variety of business | | | | postings, record keeping and so on and so on. Having |
| topics, like advertising, marketing, management, unique | | | | a specialist to handle these factors is very helpful to |
| selling points and more, can give you a huge edge. | | | | companies employing more than the owner. |
| Funding | | | | Accounting |
| Most businesses require some sort of funding to pay | | | | Software like Quick Books and Quicken can help the |
| for all of the things listed above. In today's world, | | | | small business owner keep track of business accounts |
| where an EBay account can be opened and items | | | | much more easily than without. Still, using a good CPA |
| listed for next to nothing, don't be fooled into thinking | | | | is highly recommended for helping uncover expenses |
| that starting a business is going to cost tons of cash. | | | | and rebates and giving you peace of mind should you |
| Some businesses will require serious money to be | | | | ever get audited. |
| invested upfront, while some home-based businesses | | | | As with all things, going for the cheapest business |
| can require a few hundred bucks or less. | | | | solutions will often cause a headache down the road. |
| After making estimates of your expenses, you will | | | | Spending a little more on an experienced professional, |
| have a goal as to how much you will need to run your | | | | complete with references, goes a long way when you |
| business. If your new business is going to be your only | | | | really need it to. Choosing a lawyer, CPA or Payroll |
| source of income, it is best to have at least two years | | | | Company based on cost alone can get you in big |
| of savings to allow your business time to become | | | | trouble. There are reasonably priced professional |
| profitable. If you will have another source of income, | | | | services out there, but make sure to shop around for |
| such as a part time job, then you may have more | | | | one with good references and qualifications before |
| flexibility in allowing your business the time it needs to | | | | choosing. |
| float on its own. | | | | |