Starting a Business

This week I want to switch gears to discuss something that I’ve been learning a lot about these last few years, starting a business. Starting your own business is a lot of hard work but can lead to greater financial and personal freedom. You should not expect to get rich overnight (if at all) but if done properly, starting a business can eventually give you much more control over your future. I also feel that this is the most visible way that most people will ever see their tax dollars at work because when you first start a business you need a lot of help from the government. Yes, taxes can help the economy. I find that the federal, state and local governments are the only organizations with a real interest in helping people start successful businesses since they directly benefit from the tax revenues. For most people, you need 3 things to start a business: a business plan, access to capital, and insurance.

I find that the first thing you need to do to build a business is to develop a business plan. This is a document, which clearly defines what you are going to do, how you are going to market your company, how much money you plan to spend and what the expected return on investment will be. The more detailed a business plan the better. You need to be realistic and conservative in your estimates. The best place to go for help in writing a business plan is a small business development center. There is one located in almost every city in almost every state. Many of these are affiliated with universities and do not charge for their services because these centers are normally supported by your tax dollars.

Access to money can occur in one of three ways, all of which require you to have a business plan: Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists and Small Business Loans. If you do not have a lot of very rich friends or an incredibly innovative idea forget about financing your company with Angel Investors. Venture Capitalists also only tend to invest in cutting edge technologies and they don’t so much want to invest in your company as they want to buy it. Working with a Venture Capitalist is more like working for them since they can fire you if your company is not producing enough profit and they always have an exit strategy (sell or take the company public in a few years). For most people, Small Business Loans are the best way to get started. These loans are backed by the government because if your business fails, there may not be anything for the bank to collect.

The last thing that you need to start your business is insurance (health, life and property). This is the most overlooked but important thing to any small business owner. As a full-time employee of a medium or large company, you can expect your employer to either provide health and life insurance or a means to purchase it. As an individual who is self-employed and starting a new business with no full-time employees, you are on your own. If you have a pre-existing condition such as cancer or kidney disease, you may not be able to purchase an individual policy. Insurance companies are much tougher on insuring individuals than groups, especially if they have a less than perfect health record. Ironically insurance is more important for people who are self-employed because if anything happens to them, their families may be hit with a one-two punch of medical bills and a failing business.

Currently there is no government help for people who are self-employed and uninsured. Hopefully this will change if and when the Obama health-care plan is approved. Until then remember that everything starts with a good financial plan. Go to http://www.FastFinancialAnalysis.com and get yours free today.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 25th, 2009 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

20 Responses to “Starting a Business”

Alice01 says:

November 10, 2009 at 8:55 am

Good information. This is very useful for new business persons. I agree this tips. Before start the business we must consult with the marketing consultants .That is the better for our business . I found one marketing consultant in internet . that is http://www.gentlerainaffluentmarketing.com/ . They are providing me a good tips and information.
Now i feel some improvements in my business.
Thanks http://www.gentlerainaffluentmarketing.com/ .

Regards,
Alice.
James says:

February 26, 2010 at 2:47 am

Your blog is awesome, excellent informations are shared. Your blog is useful for our visitors. As our website is similar to your blog, it will be beneficial for you.
Paladin Registry offers a Free online service for investors since 2003 – helping people find high quality Financial Advisors .
James says:

February 26, 2010 at 4:39 am

Hi,

Your blog is awesome, excellent informations are shared. Your blog is useful for our visitors. As our website is similar to your blog, it will be beneficial for you.
Paladin Registry offers a Free online service for investors since 2003 – helping people find high quality Local Financial Advisor .
network marketing brandee says:

July 2, 2010 at 5:27 pm

Ahh small business. I believe the number one item a small business can educate themselves on is how to build it themselves using targeted and specific marketing, what about you?
gold(html)wow says:

July 9, 2010 at 8:53 pm

Blizzard ignoring the needs of players for the purchase of gold coins there is another reason.
Some people say that if Blizzard official wow gold
sales, then the studio will make cheap wow gold coins, Daohao hacker bankruptcy closed. You have to be sure to think about that before you spend even more money on extra WoW gold.
Auto Insurance says:

July 10, 2010 at 11:39 pm

Interesting points you have brought up over here! Insurance is a must for everyone! Thanks for the useful informaiton.
plastic surgery philippines says:

September 18, 2010 at 3:01 am

pajamas for men -i enjoyed your post and style of writing … keep it up! nice!
rv parking says:

January 29, 2011 at 7:32 pm

Using Bing I was able to stumble across your Site – I’m surely adding your RSS Feed.
nintendo 3ds says:

April 7, 2011 at 8:02 am

Oui, c’est vraiment la découverte de la semaine. Merci pour l’avoir partagé avec nous, au plaisir de découvrir vos prochaines lignes.
Paypal Scams says:

June 4, 2011 at 11:54 am

Thanks for the great blog.
Bryant Gaumont says:

June 20, 2011 at 1:25 pm

Many businesses are still completely clueless when it comes to search engine marketing
Rich Ganske says:

June 29, 2011 at 1:08 pm

Meeting with non-competitive industry peers is the absolute best way to grow your own business
Logan Coachys says:

July 1, 2011 at 12:24 pm

A lot of small businesses are pretty surprised by how much time and money you have to invest into your website
Randell Regula says:

July 3, 2011 at 9:57 pm

If you are taking the correct steps to unravel the problems of credit rating then in less time and with fewer troubles you will be liberated from it
Quincy Belfiore says:

July 8, 2011 at 11:28 am

A lot of time and money needs to be poured into a website in order to make sure it is effective and reaching its audience
Tory Newens says:

July 13, 2011 at 6:12 pm

Excellent writing! Thank you for this wonderful source of information, peace.
Antoinette Coveney says:

July 27, 2011 at 10:41 pm

Excellent writing! Thank you for this wonderful source of information.
Christinia Bisom says:

August 25, 2011 at 7:13 am

Who knew: Great info if you’re new to selling – and a good refresher for you old pros!
Farmland Tax Relief Credit says:

October 14, 2011 at 1:53 am

I lodged my taxes on Friday however turbo taxation told me they were waiting to process until February 11th due to this taxation relief… does this mean my supply 600.00 from shrub will be added to my taxation money I am already getting back by direct deposition? Or are they going to be mailed? I don’t care to get word what peoples think about this whole revenue enhancement relief thing I only desire to know if anyone knows how it is going to be sent.
Clair Tosto says:

October 21, 2011 at 2:47 am

Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.

Starting a Business

20 Responses to “Starting a Business”

Leave a Reply

Home | About Us | Site Map | Link to Fastfa | Contact