Matrix

I would like to open a shelter someday. (Next 4 years maybe) for young women with children. I think I would beable to relate to alot of the females there and have a wnonderful thing. I have all these great ideas and ways to make it work, rules, classes, speakers and so forth….BUT it seems there are alot in Rochester, Ny already. Should I sya forget it or would this be a really good idea. I think since the MAJORITY of young girls who come she;ters are Black, that they would be a little more likely to open up to me and take my advice on education, dating & relationships and parenting. Alot of young black girls feel white women just dont understand for some reason so i feel this would be a start to getting our teens to follow the right tract. I have a lot of ideas, just a matter of keeping optimistic about this. What do you think?

The best thing to do would be to start at an existing NFP that does the things you are interested in doing. Perhaps your contribution will make the existing location better rather than stretching already thin resources further. Moreover, you may find yourself in a position to actually take over the existing NFP as people move on frequently.

what exactly is a business plan and what does it consist of? how do i get my idea off the ground?

i’ve always dreamed of owning a beauty parlour but i fear it will never take off!

1. Define your business first. What do you want to do? Make a list of possible businesses you can develop and write the pros and cons of each. Clarify your business model.

2. Check the feasibility of the business idea. Is it workable? Given your resources, do you think there’s a chance?

3. Once you’ve determined exactly what business to start, research about the business — how much will it take you to start the business, what do you need, who are doing it, who is your target market, how are you going to reach your market. This is your business plan. It is best to put it in writing, especially if you will be seeking loans or investors as they will require a business plan

4. Find out how much the business will cost and where you can get the money. If your resources are not enough, where will you get money? Can you get money elsewhere? If you really cannot raise the funds you need, are you willing to downscale the idea?

5. Decide if this is a business that can be done alone by you, or whether you will need a partner or you will hire employees. Aside from you, who else will be involved in the business?

6. Once you find out that you can really raise the capital you need and the personnel requirements, setup your business. Decide if you want to be a sole proprietor, partnership, LLC, S or C corporation.

7. Go to your local county to find out the steps for business registration, assumed name or DBA, and whether the business will require a license or not. Or check the Web for information on starting a business in your state, specifically from your state or local government websites. Then complete all legal and regulatory requirements.

8. Start the process of setting up the business. If this is a website, then start thinking of its contents, who will design the site, who will manage the site. If this is a restaurant, start looking for location. If this is a recipe book, start contacting agents and publishers or look into the option of self publishing.

9. Set up your office, whether at home or if you will lease an office space. Purchase the equipment you need.

10. Start developing your marketing materials such as business cards, brochures, flyers.

I recommend that you read the following books:

- What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business : Real Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs
- Starting From Scratch: How To Start A Business When You Don’t Have Money
- If You’re Clueless About Starting Your Own Business and Want to Know More
- On the Move : How to Succeed and Survive As an Entrepreneur
-How to Make 1000 Mistakes in Business and Still Succeed

If you need guidance in starting a business, there are several places that provides help to starting entrepreneurs. Here are places where you may be able to find a mentor:

- Government Mentoring Programs such as SBDCs, which works with community colleges and local business development councils to offer mentoring programs http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html ; or the Women’s Network for Entrepreneurial Training http://www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/wnet_roundtables.html
- Volunteer programs such as SCORE http://www.score.org which is composed of mostly retired executives and entrepreneurs
- Formal mentoring programs such as Athena Foundation http://www.athenafoundation.org/programs/globallinks.html , Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program http://www.helzbergmentoring.org/HEMP/ , or The Aspen Institute MicroMentor Program http://www.micromentor.org
- Professional organizations such as the National Women’s Business Council http://www.nwbc.gov/Mentoring/programs.html

Business start up costs should be capitalized and amortized ratably over 15 years. However, you can elect to expense up to $5,000 of these costs. The $5,000 deduction gets reduced if you have start-up costs in excess of $50,000.

I have to do a business plan as an assignment and every part of this plan is giving me trouble, but the executive summary the most. So if someone could help me by telling what exactly I should put in it, the format of it and how long it should be that would be great. Thank you so much!

Bplans.com has a good site explaining the Executive Summary section of a business plan. They even have some sample executive summaries that you can check

http://www.bplans.com/dp/executivesummary.cfm?affiliate=powerhomeb

We’ve started a new business and would like to know the best strategy to market my business in Sydney. Any help appreciated…..

o you have a website? If so the best strategy for marketing your business is to go online. We had a company take over our business marketing and within three days we were all over the front page of Google. From memory there were five results on the front page all leading back to us and the phone has been running hot ever since.

They’re called OSD Marketing and are based in Sydney. The website is http://www.officialsoftwaredownloads.com and the phone number from the site is 0448 970 201 We’ve been very happy with the service. Hope this helps.

PS: They also take care of all our newsletters to our customers and the newsletters really look good. Cheers

I’m starting a part-time party and event planning business and I need some good ideas. I live in a coastal area, am going into business with my best friend who is also female, and I will specialize in small, intimate affairs (although I hate that name), children’s parties, and things like that. I want to stray from weddings and receptions. Any ideas?

Amy,

Congratulations on starting your own business. Event planning can be a real thrill as well as a lot of work. I googled a lot to see what others had named their business. My business is www.thespecialeventsplanner.com which will be an online magazine when I have finished having it built. It will be resource for all kinds of planners who need help with tips and techniques, planning ideas, business ideas, resource directory, news, and articles. I am finalizing my design and logo and hope to have it up very shortly. If you are specializing in small meetings…maybe you could use something like

"It’s all about the little Things"-customized special events for children and corporate events….or something like that. Think of names and write them down and have a mixture of friends rate them. I am sure you will find the perfect name. Good Luck, Nancy

I have a few ideas that I think would be very successful businesses. But, I have no idea where to start. I have an idea for a clothing line and a few other businesses, but I don’t want to say too much. I don’t want my ideas stolen. But, how would I go about starting a business?

with a great idea and alot of heart

I am starting my own business teaching music to preschoolers. I will be working with multiple classrooms that will have approximately 20 students for each lesson every other week for about 50 minutes. What would be a fair amount to charge for the lessons???

if your really good at teaching you could charge at least 50 to 100 a student, but if thats a lil too high you could charge a good 30 per student

I’m 22 with a college education and ready to go
I want to work for myself, and now’s the time to start.

It took me 3 degrees before I figured out I needed to work for myself to be happy and to earn what I was worth. I own a health/wellness home based business with TNI. This industry is forecasted to be the next trillion dollar industry and I am with the right company at the right time. I applaud you for doing this at such a young age. Good luck to you.

Will I need it for anything else besides applying for loans? I have an outline, but not a "formal" business plan written out.

A business plan is more than just for financing, it provides structure for 1 and 5 years. If you happen to either save in one area or overspend. The first 5years are crucial you may go almost one year without showing a profit.

Here are some other things you might want to consider:

How are you listed? Sole Proprietor, S Corp, C Corp LLC

How are you doing your bookkeeping, receipts, invoices. are you adequately staffed?

Do you have the right insurance in place?

Legal Counsel? Document review, handle questions at an affordable price?

Marketing advice?

Human Resource questions answered?

Free listing to get your company the exposure needed from others?

If you need a resource or website to help let me know? I just want to make sure you have a good chance to succeed.