Thinking about starting a business? Here are some tips you may want to consider before investing your time and money.
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- Are you doing it for the right reasons? Many times, people tell me they are thinking about starting a business so they can work less, not have a boss to report to or just want to be in charge. All of these are bad reasons to start a business. Anyone who has owned a successful business can tell you they work all the time not less than when they were working for someone else. Don’t like reporting to a boss as a business owner you have lots of people to report including your customers. Like being in charge, starting out in many businesses the only one you will be in charge of is yourself.
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- Just how much money do you have to invest and how much risk are you willing to take. For example, you might have $50,000 to invest; but in addition to that, you could be grantor on a lease, have a bank loan or even owe suppliers for goods. Knowing how much you are willing to risk can help you avoid putting yourself in a hole that you can never get out of.
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- Will you be starting a business from scratch coming up with a concept and deciding what to sell, how to sell it and how to market, or would you be best suited to buying and operating a franchise that has established products, selling, market and operating procedures?
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- Then there is choosing the type of business entity that best fits your needs now and into the future. What kind of business entity is best for you depends on many options, including whether you will have investors, additional owners who will also be working in the business and the kinds of liabilities the business could create. It will also depend on your plans to distribute profits or keep them in the business for expansion.
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- Other important choices include location, required licensing, sales and use tax responsibility, required leasehold improvement and bookkeeping requirements.For assistance with all these things and much more, it’s important to have a team of professionals you can trust to turn to.
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- Remember that it’s this team ‘ s job to see all the bumps and traps in the road ahead. Don’t be upset when they don’t seem as enthused about your plans as you do, because it not their job to get you excited it’s their job to be sure you are prepared. Your team should include an accounting and tax professional, an attorney and others depending on the kind of business you are starting.
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