Business Savvy » Starting a Small Business

More Americans Turning Their Passions Into Successful Businesses

Jennifer — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:51:29 +0000

(ARA) – If you’ve got a hobby, or even just a vision, it doesn’t take much to turn your dream into an online business that can provide extra income or even a backup plan in the event of a job loss.

In fact, LegalZoom.com, the nation’s leading online legal document and filing service, saw a 19 percent jump in customers forming limited liability companies (LLCs) in the fourth quarter of 2008 (compared to the year before), even while the economy as a whole shrank 3.8 percent. Celebrities are even joining the trend.

When Kim Kardashian, one of the most stylish celebrities in Hollywood, started ShoeDazzle.com, she turned to LegalZoom.com to help her take her passion for fashion and turn it into a thriving online business.

According to Kardashian, some of the most important steps to turning your own passion into starting your business include:

* Find your passion first.
Needless to say, passion is not the only thing you need to be successful in starting a business. You will also need lots of motivation and patience. But passion is essential as it will help you stay focused and keep moving without giving up easily.

* Make sure there is a demand for the business.
Do research to determine the demand for products or services from comparable businesses. You will find it helpful to see how quickly related businesses have been able to grow.

* Learn from others.
Check with similar companies and speak to other professionals who have experience in the industry. Most entrepreneurs are open to sharing their experiences and advice with those who won’t directly compete with them. This is a crucial initial step in determining your own likelihood of success.

“LegalZoom.com makes it easy and affordable for entrepreneurs like Kim to start a business,” says Brian Liu, co-founder and chairman of LegalZoom. “Whether it’s forming a corporation, LLC, or even filing a DBA, LegalZoom.com offers entrepreneurs the best online resource for learning about different business structures and then starting the business online.”

For more information and to find the necessary legal forms to start your business, visit LegalZoom.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

The Secret to Success in a Slow Economy

Jennifer — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:36:03 +0000

Invest in an Industry that’s Seeing Growth

(ARA) – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” In the first few lines of “A Tale of Two Cities,” Charles Dickens was referring to conditions in the years leading up to the French Revolution; but he could just as easily have been writing about society today.

While we live in one of the most prosperous countries in the world, many Americans have in some way been negatively affected by problems with the current economy. The credit crunch has persisted despite aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate cuts; retail sales are down; thousands are concerned about losing their homes due to the sub prime mortgage crisis; and gas is so expensive, a lot of people have been forced to park their cars for the foreseeable future.

As if those problems weren’t bad enough, many Americans go from day to day fearing they may lose their jobs. For Shawn Crawford, 38, of Brownsburg, Ind., a suburb of Indianapolis, you could say the writing was on the wall. He used to be the director of operations for a physician group that operated 30 doctor’s offices across the state of Indiana.

“I was responsible for set up, business development and customer service,” he says. “At first I found the job very rewarding, but once the economy started to get bad and the rapid expansion stopped, it reached a point where I feared my own job was about to be eliminated.”

Instead of waiting around to see what would happen, Crawford decided to follow his dream to start his own business. In July of 2006, he quit his job with the physician’s group and became a consultant; but spent every spare moment researching business opportunities.

“I wanted to do something that would capitalize on my experience and help people at the same time,” he says. “I figured people want to look good, feel good and be healthy, so why not open a gym?” But when he started looking into the costs involved in such a venture he became discouraged, that is until he came across some research that showed huge growth potential in health and fitness franchising. According to the International Health and Racket Sport Club Association, while the average growth rate for fast food franchises stands at 20 percent, the fitness sector’s five-year growth has been an impressive 144 percent.

There are a lot of health and fitness franchises out there, but the one Crawford decided to go with was Snap Fitness, a Minnesota-based fast-growing franchisor of compact, state-of-the-art 24/7 fitness centers in Canada and the United States. “The thing I liked best about Snap initially was their business model was pretty much turn-key,” says Crawford. “Unlike a traditional business start-up which would have required a lot of research, development and capital investment on my part, they did all the work for me.”

After he paid his franchise fee and found the perfect location, Snap Fitness provided the blueprint he needed to follow to get his business up and running. He was assigned a project manager who helped him every step of the way.

“The process was laid out and very easy to follow,” explains Crawford. “Snap provided everything I needed to get started – plans for the club design, access to vendors who would sell me the right equipment at a deep discount, all the tools I needed to set up my company Web site and the marketing materials I needed to get the word out.”

Snap also provided the financing, and today handles billing, security and other operational and marketing support for Crawford’s club, which opened for business in October of 2007 and now has about 900 members.

When people ask him for advice about franchising, Crawford advises them to do some investigative work. Talk to a business broker, pick up and read copies of Entrepreneur and the Wall Street Journal, and when they’re ready to proceed contact a franchisor like Snap Fitness directly. Most franchisor Web sites provide rich information about the business model, financial requirements and much more, and they grant access to executives and franchisees during your discovery process.

“We understand what a big decision opening a franchise can be, and that’s why I personally meet weekly with prospective franchisees to answer questions and help them make a decision that’s right for them,” says Snap Fitness CEO Peter Taunton.

“I followed the plan Snap gave me, and I’m quite pleased with my financial success, says Crawford, who is set to open his second Snap Fitness club sometime in April of 2008.

To learn more about this business opportunity, log on to www.SnapFitness.com and click on the link that says “Franchise Opportunities.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

EDITOR’S NOTE:

If you would like help localizing this story, contact Snap Fitness’ marketing communications director Patrick Strait at 952-426-7173 or via e-mail at pstrait@snapfitness.com.

Follow These Steps for a Successful Business Start-Up

Jennifer — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:48:34 +0000

The secret to a successful business is out: there is no secret. Starting your own business takes hard work and a steadfast commitment. Keep in mind these few essential first steps, and you may well be on a path to prosperity.

“Starting a business means starting a business from scratch, buying an existing business, acquiring a franchise or taking over a family business,” says Paul ZeMenye, Business and Accounting Program Coordinator at Brown Mackie College – Kansas City.

According to ZeMenye, every business starts with an idea for a product or service. Once the idea is nurtured, the entrepreneur should find a support system. A support system may include family, friends and other people who may help to bring the business idea to reality once market research is completed.

ZeMenye says it is important “to perform market research/analysis to see if there is a need for the product or service. This may involve talking to neighbors, friends, presenting samples or performing the service as a courtesy or on a trial basis.”

Finding funds to start the business can be both challenging and frustrating, explains ZeMenye. “Bankers and other lenders usually are not very receptive to new businesses unless the business can provide some solid collateral to secure loans,” says ZeMenye. “A well-written business plan and collateral should help to secure a loan. Some people have taken advantage of introductory credit card rates to finance their startup operations. Although risky, it can be a very cost effective way to launch a business as long as the owner sticks to the terms guaranteeing the low introductory rate.”

Once your business is financially secured, your business should be organized into one of three fundamental types of business organizations: sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation. Although there are hybrid forms of business organizations, such as limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies and s-corporations, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Most hybrid organizations will have some tax and legal advantages over the regular forms of organizations, says ZeMenye. An accountant or business lawyer can help you determine the best business organization structure for your needs.

While seeking the help of an accountant or lawyer, you should also determine the name of your business. According to ZeMenye, your business’ name should be secured with the Secretary of State where you intend to do business. The name and location of your business should be adapted to the type of business you intend to conduct.

When choosing the location for your business, take your suppliers, market potential, cost and accessibility into account.

“Choose your location carefully,” says ZeMenye. “It is costly to change locations frequently.”

Next, write your business plan early in the process. It is your original marketing tool and should be an evolving document as you gain knowledge and insight in the process. A business plan should include a marketing plan, a human resources plan, a production plan, sales forecasts and a set of forecasted financial statements. Resources are available to guide you through the early stages of building your business. An organization such as the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a resource partner of the Small Business Administration (SBA), voluntarily provides valuable assistance and expertise to new entrepreneurs. The SBA may also provide financial assistance, such as loan guarantees and set-aside programs, for certain groups.

“Many colleges and universities provide assistance to small businesses through their Small Business Assistance Centers (SBAC),” says ZeMenye. “They may provide assistance in matters such as business plan preparation, market research, networking and management.”

When it comes to being a successful entrepreneur, ZeMenye says the biggest mistake new business owners make is giving up after a failure. “Becoming a successful entrepreneur is a learning process. It may take several trials before getting it right. It is who and what you become in the process that determines whether you are a success or a failure.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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EDITOR’S NOTE:

Brown Mackie College – Kansas City is one of 16 school locations of the Brown Mackie College system of schools (www.brownmackie.edu), which is dedicated to providing educational programs that prepare students for entry-level positions in a competitive, rapidly-changing workplace. Brown Mackie College schools offer bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree, certificate, and diploma programs in health sciences, business, information technology, legal studies and design technologies to over 9,000 students (as of fall 2006).

Includes Editor’s Note

Keep your Day Job and Moonlight with your New Home Business

Jennifer — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 21:45:39 +0000

Some people may not be eligible to take out a loan so they may work a job during the day, and then work their business at night. Other people will take an evening job and work during the day. Either way, they are keeping their job so that they can advance their business without having excess outstanding expenses.

Keeping your day (or night) job may be necessary for a while for many reasons. The biggest one is the cold hard reality that it takes sometimes a year or longer to start to develop a steady cash flow from a home business. The only exception to this rule is for people who have saved up enough money so they will not have to work for a while. Someone will usually support them financially until their operation takes off-or until they decide to get a job after all.

If you have a job now, and are anxious to let it go for the better of your business, you need to carefully weigh that decision. You may want to wait to make that decision after you have saved quite a bit of money in case you have a time when the business slows down. You also may have to wait until you have enough income to replace your current income, unless you are willing to live a little less luxuriously for a short period of time.

Some people may have no choice but to keep their job while starting their business because they need their insurance. They would not be able to afford to pay for it otherwise-especially if they have kids and a family. If you can afford to pay for insurance for your whole family you may be ready to let go of your job but otherwise you should hang onto that job for a little while longer.

It can be hard to put your heart and soul into something you love to do for a time being and not make much money at it. That is usually the case when you first start out in a new business. It takes time to build a positive reputation between you and the people of your community. Furthermore, it takes time to establish international contact, if you choose to have your business launched online. Remember, this period will not last forever, especially if you believe in the venture that you are starting.

Since you need money in order to create your business, working a job while you own your business will be necessary for a while. If you truly do not want to be working for someone else that can be an inspiration for you to continue on your entrepreneurship adventure. It will give you fuel to continue working towards your goal-freedom.

One more good reason to keep your job while starting your business is so lenders will not turn up their noses at you. They will be more likely to extend to you money for your business to help you with start-up and operation costs if they know you will be able to afford the payments. Therefore, if anything, you may want to at least keep your job until several months after you have received the funding for your business.

Of course, there will come a time when you will be unable to keep a job. This is especially true when you reach a point when you begin to get burnt out trying to complete your business projects, plus work full time. Even if you hire others, after awhile you may need to let your current job go. However, in the beginning you are advised to hold onto it for as long as you need to.

The harder you work in the beginning of starting your business, the easier running your business well become later on. Not only that, but the harder you work while in the pioneering phase of your business the less likely you will have to return to work later on. In fact, it may be your turn to have others working for you at some point. All this will become a reality if you make wise decisions regarding finances and work in the early years of business growth.

After a few years you will notice that your business will grow larger than you ever dreamed. This is true no matter how long you keep your job. Sooner or later you may not even have to work your business at all. You can hire other people to do the work for you, while you just collect the money.

Five Reasons Why People Are Going the Self-Employment Route

Jennifer — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:04:36 +0000

Coming to the realization that being self-employed is what you want to do, can be quite a change from working for other people. Things that you are so used to, including benefits and a steady salary, are no longer a reality when you go the self-employment route. Reading others accounts you might stumble upon disadvantages, such as working longer hours. Yet there are many advantages, and depending on the type of business you start, this may or may not hold true. For example, being self-employed through an Internet enterprise can yield plenty of money with very few hours of work. It all hinges on your ability and willingness to succeed. The most important thing to have when becoming self-employed is self-motivation and determination; with these you can easily experience many advantages when working for yourself. Besides the obvious advantage of perhaps a shorter workweek, there are many others. Here are a few examples of what they may be.

One major plus that pleases a lot of self-employed people is the fact that they are more independent; they are their own bosses. They feel free without someone else as their boss. Without other people leaning over their shoulders telling them what to do, they have a sense of autonomy. Of course, this is only an advantage if you are capable of being your own boss. It takes a lot to stay on track without a boss telling you what to do and keeping you there. You may not feel as established at first, but time and effort can make you a very successful boss. So remember this before making a final decision regarding self-employment.

Another major benefit to being self-employed is making and working your own hours. This goes hand in hand with being your own boss. It especially seems to be a benefit with those who choose to work online. Working online can be the most convenient and easy way to be self-employed and to reap as many benefits as possible. Having the free time you need and still being able make enough money to enjoy it is possibly one of the best reasons for being self-employed.

One excellent advantage to being self-employed online is that it gives you control about how many hours you work and therefore control over how much you can and cannot earn. Everything is entirely up to you and how much you can earn is limitless based on your own drive and determination. Some people really benefit from working for themselves because the work they do directly benefits them and is not filter through bosses, corporations and rules and regulations. This sense that what they are doing benefits them directly makes them feel better about the work they are doing and therefore makes working not quite as much work.

Being self-employed also greatly compliments those who are naturally entrepreneurial by nature. If you do well in these types of situations self-employment would be the best routes. These individuals tend to be very self-motivated and that is something needed to succeed in self-employment, especially in the realm of working from home and online enterprises. All of these advantages can make being self-employed a dream come true. Not only do you receive these benefits but you can also be making a living at something you love to do naturally. This in itself is probably one of the biggest if not the biggest advantage in being self-employed. Feeling that you are not really working and getting paid is one of the best feelings in the world and definitely a huge plus in most books!

In the end you may have to weigh some of the disadvantages against the advantages, but if you know that you are a great self-starter and motivated these advantages will far out weigh the disadvantages. Of course if you are someone who enjoys steady hours, are not very disciplined and also enjoys a steady income with all it’s benefits self-employment may be the wrong thing for you. With the right determination and drive self-employment can succeed and bring you and your family benefits that are well worth what you may have left behind in the corporate world. Greater freedom and financial independence are rewards that are well worth a little hard work and drive.

Hire Out or Do-It-Yourself?

Jennifer — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:39:29 +0000

In starting out on a business venture you want to be sure you know the grandness of working ON your business, instead of IN your business. In one way you are arranging the ideas, producing the sight, directing your establishment (no matter what the size). On the other, you are arranging the genuine work of the business – particulars. As entrepreneurs their inclination is to carry out all the elaborate work in their company. In the first place this is what the entrepreneur knows how to do. On the other hand they are certain no one other then them can run the business as well as they do. What function should the entrepreneur be taking with the business? There are some important procedures in order to become a flourishing company. The three important things to remember are:

• Making determinations – matters that only the legal possessor can do

• Commercializing the natural process in which the owner can employ

• Characterizing the natural processes in which the owner can employ

The entrepreneur of the new company needs to interpret to each one of the functions, but is not a necessity to know how it is arranged. To help illustrate what is being said, here is something to think about, when it comes to starting up a web site. One of the greatest errors individuals who are proficient in their area, expand their time and energy attempting to acquire web designs. To make the process go a little faster, the individual can pay only $100 to a web designer and place that together for you. The web designer can apply any unparalleled certified design and of what content you determine to have on the site.

To make the business work like every other business out there, you want to ask yourself some questions. In this business does the owner do all the taxes on their own, or do they hire an accountant? Does the owner create all the merchandise materials, or do they hire a professional designer? Is the owner composing all of the contracts? Producing a web page is not very easy. Doing it good takes masterful acquirements. So take these questions above in to consideration while getting started.

The owner wants to acknowledge that when they determine to do it themselves, they need to be willing to pass the time and energy it acquires to do it. This will take away from their time thinking about the business, arriving at conclusions, and acting ON the business. Now the owner of the web site can also take up their time by learning the elaborateness of the web pages, or the can become beneficial owners. Just about every owner can better assist in the knowledge of the why’s and what’s of beneficial online business. The rest should be left up to the masters that are hired to do the how-to’s of the business.

The other things that can take from their time are actual merchandizing activities. Some of these consist of contending with the pay-per-click campaigns, presenting their own clauses to the listings, and also constructing link communications. The role that the owner should be most concerned with is the decision-making and the visionary for the business. The fact remains that the money is what most owners are concerned with. Can they afford to hire all these people? In just about every case yes! If the owner was to compute how much they could bring in per hour, applying there unparallel expertise (working with customers, producing a merchandise, providing a course), they will find that they can employ a lot of aid at $8-18 per hour and in reality gain them lucrative ness in the business!

The other thing that can be said is that the person time that you take cleaning your home. This could be taking up a good amount of your time per week, when all along you could hire someone to come in and clean your home for you. This could add more time towards the business you are trying to build. Committing your time to the business could mean more income coming in, instead of losing what is important to you. The obligations as the proprietor are to determine if you want your business to flourish or to flop. So be sure not too lax in your professional life and know that there are people out there to hire for the personal tasks to be done. This will keep you rolling in production in the business.

Clean Up with these Winning Tips to Start a Janitorial Service

Jennifer — Sun, 20 May 2007 18:53:07 +0000

Janitorial service is a very competitive industry that offers businesses a service that is in high demand. In other words, though starting a cleaning business seems to be a very popular business to start, there is the need for it. You will never run out of customers in this industry if you set your business up right.

It does not cost very much to start a janitorial service and the return on your investment is very high. You can start out small with just a high quality industrial mop bucket, broom, duster, vacuum cleaner professional grade cleaning equipment, portable trash cans, and other necessary equipment. You may also decide to store additional equipment in a janitor’s closet on site of each building you clean so you always have supplies to use.

With this equipment, you can start out cleaning small one or two room offices, or moderately small complexes. You can clean these offices in one to four hours just by yourself. In fact, if you were in business for yourself just to provide for yourself, chances are you could make enough money with just one or two four-hour accounts.

If you are planning on starting a larger scale janitorial service, you will need to purchase enough cleaning supplies and equipment to adequately cover each floor of each building, and every bathroom. You will also have to hire enough employees who you trust to be responsible enough to finish the job for you the right way. The key is to take on the size accounts that you know you and your team can handle.

The highest cost for starting any janitorial business is the insurance that you need. You will need to purchase liability insurance if you are working by yourself, and if you have employees, you will need to be bonded as well. This is to protect you from possible damage or theft. Of course, no one wants these unfortunate circumstances to occur, but most successful cleaning businesses will not operate unless they are insured. Not only that, but many companies who call upon cleaning services will not hire you if you are a company who does not have insurance.

Not only can your janitorial service clean offices, but you can also clean houses. Generally the hourly or per job rate is lower for house cleaning than it is for businesses. The average hourly rate for cleaning a house is between 15 to 20 dollars and hour. Sometimes first time house cleaners will charge a rate of 10 to 13 dollars an hour to build up new clientele. This differs slightly from the hourly rate of a professional office cleaner, otherwise known as a janitor, who makes usually 20 to 30 dollars an hour. Sometimes this rate is less, and sometimes the rate is more.

Most successful janitorial services will make sure not to take too many spending risks but instead plan their budget accordingly. Ideally, a person who wants to start a business should have as much money in the bank as possible in order to keep the business going. Either that, or they may need to have a job or other source of income to pay for expenses while they start their business. If you need starting capital and money for operating costs you might also be eligible for small business loans. These small business loans are generally given out to people with the best credit.

Some business opportunities also exist for people with less than perfect credit. It may take longer to find financing if you do not have as good of credit, or you may have to partner up with someone who believes in you and has the money to invest in your business. If you have a will there is a way for you to invest in a business. Sometimes you can find grants for certain types of business, especially if it is something that will benefit the public at large.

Those who would be most successful at starting and running a janitorial business are those who have janitorial cleaning experience. Managerial experience would be helpful as well, and experience dealing with people would be beneficial. If you think starting a janitorial service would be right for you it may be time for you to take initiative to do so.