Matrix

Also, how did you determine the type of business that you wanted to open? What sort of start-up costs did you encounter? How long until your business started returning a profit? Are you better off now after starting your own business? Any tips you’d care to share?

42 yrs old, hated what i was doing and knew i would not earn what i needed (commission sales) started business in field which i had extensive knowledge and experience plus contacts. 50k sba backed loan. made money first year (paper loss) just sold co after 16 yrs…best thing i ever did.

best tip…first plan and research, second, plan and research, third look for all the flaws in 1 and 2 then adjust plan and research based on findings, then ask if you can live with worst case outcome if you can, go for it and make your plan. use the seven p’s proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance

with semi trucks..and you need a license ..what type of license would you need..i am not talking about the type you drive with..but the type you would need to have your own business..? your name on the letter head..were you own the company?

your name and address and your companys name and address also and where your home office is locater when you apply for your operating license and company logo

The bottom-line issue that will help you decide whether franchise ownership is really for you is to think in terms of control: how much control do you prefer to exert (or not exert) over how the business is operated.

Franchise ownership works for those persons who want to start their own business, but don’t really want to start EVERYTHING from scratch.

The parent franchise organization removes a lot of barriers because they have thought through a lot of what is involved in getting the business off the ground and moving…but then managing/growing the business is sometimes left up to you – the franchise owner.

Starting your own business from scratch gives you the leeway of doing everything your own way…but you’ve also got to struggle through all of the decisions regarding products/services to offer, naming, and pricing all on your own.

So, it really all depends on how much business ownership latitude you REALLY want.

Check out :http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/franchiseinfo/a/buyfranchise.htm it highlights the advantages/disadvantages of buying a franchise.

Best of luck deciding between the two!

Kind Regards,

Latarsha, MBA

I already know the product that I would like to sell but need to know what are the first steps that I should take in getting this business started?

Without question your first steps are to secure a business license which will allow you to take tax credits off all of the future steps including advice with legal and financial issues. Your attorney and accountant fees will be deductible as business expenses and should not be seen as a waste of money. Their costs are invaluable to the new business owner. It doesn’t matter if you are based from an office, from home, or a cart on the street it’s important to be legal. Consider business insurance from day one. Write a business plan. Educate yourself on small business and partner with professionals. Below are some websites that can offer you FREE advice:

Also, any additional advice would be fantastic!

If you are starting a business in photography, why are you talking about a printer?!? You need to have/own a darkroom or have a lad develop prints, you will NEVER achieve the quality of actually "developing" the film with a printer. N.Y.I of Photography has an at-home course that includes an entire unit about film, how to expose properly and how to develop. If you are using a digital camera load the pictures to your computer and copy them to a disk (you can then take them to an 1-hour photo) If you do any digital manipulating you need to edit them, copy to a disk and then send them to a "GOOD" lab. In one-hour photo places, their machine has a default auto correct for pictures, and will change your picture to what it deems correct (hue/saturation etc.)
If you are talking about just printing out pictures from your computer to sell, then your business will loose in the end when someone comes along and does it the proper way.
If you have some spare time and some extra cash you can become a certified photographer through the New York Institute of Photography (N.Y.I.) yes they have a lame commercial on t.v. but, the school is incredible and VERY affordable! BTW you also get an official Press Pass, so you can sell your photos to news papers and do free-lance.
I wish you the best of luck with your business.

One of the easiest and quickest business you can start, excluding online businesses, is a cleaning service. Stop! Read that again. Yes a cleaning service. So you’re telling yourself that the market is swamped with cleaning services. Yes there are lots of them but if you approach this in a smart way, you can make a very nice income. The start up costs are very low, usually under $100. This is a huge industry ($49 billion) so there is lots of room for someone like you.

I know this to be true because after I was laid off a couple years ago, I started my own cleaning service. I am very glad that I did because each month I take my cleaning profits to the bank. You can learn more and decide for yourself, but it is real!

For femals and males how do you go about staring your own small business? And does your age matter? I’m only 18 and a female. Any other information would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

"The Business School" by Robert Kiyosaki
"Cashflow Quadrant" by Robert Kiyosaki
"Leading the Consumer Rebellion" by Brady/Woodward
"The Next Millionaires" by Paul Zane Pilzer
"Parable of the Pipline" by Burke Hedges
"E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber
"Why we want You to be Rich" by Donald Trump/ Robert Kiyosaki

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

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

We have decided what to do and who we can work for. What next!?

establish a taxpayer id, a corporate identity, obtain a business license for the city you will be based in, contact a payroll service to arrange for your payroll, unless you plan on doing it in house, contact your state’s worker’s compensation board, if required in ur state (required in many states), obtain a general liability insurance policy, establish a company bank account, decide if u want to be a sole ownership company, or partnership, or corporation, and try to hire someone, even if only as a consultant, who has experience in the field of business you plan on owning.