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Starting A Business? Here’s Your Checklist

So, are you tired of living off from your salary? Do you feel like you have been working too hard without being paid just as much? Or are you over with the thought of having to need more than just one job to be able to pay your bills? Or perhaps you are a student, trying to find ways to pay off your student loan as much as you could to lessen your parents’ burden? Maybe you are a retired personnel wanting to invest money and make it grow? Or are you a homemaker whose kids have gone off to college and now has more time for yourself? In any case, today, to be able to survive, it is important to have an eye for business. Why business? Because business is the root of everything—the economy, supply and demand all rely on business and how it will grow. Even some academic institutions were built for the main purpose of profit. This is how important a business is. It is a part of the life cycle which may make or break the person. But just how do you start your business?

Here’s your checklist:

1. An Idea That Sells.

Before thinking of anything else, you have to know first, what it is that you are going to do. If you are good in baking, then you can probably start a bakery but with a twist—you wouldn’t want to be like the other bakeries! Maybe you can do something to lower your costs and then go for an everyday buy one take one, or a food truck that sells authentic dishes that cannot be found elsewhere.

2. A Unique Name.

To catch your customers or clients, you have to come up with a name that’s special and that speaks for your business. Remember, this name will carry your future.

3. Investors

You may or may not need investors because it depends on how big your budget is and your vision to the business. However, it would be better of course to have a partner to help you out with the chores and the errands. It wouldn’t hurt too, that they can lessen the money you will cash out.

4. Target Market

Who is your business for? This is in relation to the first item on the checklist. You have to know your bu
siness above anybody else. Your target market will help you in choosing your advertisements and even in the pricing strategy!

5. Paperworks

Now, you have to go on with the paper works such as the different permits you have to secure. In cases where the health may be at risk, be ready for an inspection in your area.

6. Headquarters

The headquarters will serve as your playroom slash boardroom. It is where you will discuss things that you are not comfortable discussing with others such are the tedious tasks, the amount of taxes you have to pay, the multiple permits you need, and the likes.

7. Employees

Unless you intend on a one-man job, you will need several employees to do the tasks for you.

8. Office Space

To grow a business, you need to have a decent office. The difference between this and the headquarters is that, the headquarters can be as messy as you want it to be.The office space needs to be gleaming and presentable at all times. Choose furniture that’s elegant, classy and never goes out of style. Office furniture such as the sofa in the waiting area will show your prospective clients that you mean business. As what they say, “”First impressions last.” . Remember, your office is the reflection of your business. Treat it as your
home.

About the Author: Marie is an Interior Designer and Decorator who specializes in offering design consulting to various Business’s. She occasionally shops for office furniture from Only Office Furniture.

Quick Tips For Reducing The Cost Of Doing Business

No business can afford to pass up on any form of cost saving tips in this tough economy. There are always ways that you can cut back on your business’ expenses without sacrificing quality, but you need to look for them. If you are not actively searching for lower prices, how do you know that you are not paying too much?

coins — License: Creative Commons href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/meshal/40297406/sizes/z/in/photostream/” rel=”nofollow”>image source

Here are a few quick tips for reducing the cost of doing business:

Audit business expenses

Every company needs to analysis and justify each business expense a few times each year. Make it a part of your quarterly strategy or at least annually and always start by re-quoting your supplies. If you don’t find a better deal out there, you can always negotiate lower prices or better terms with your existing suppliers.

Increase staff productivity

In today’s modern world, the first step to improving productivity is searching for technological advancements. Manual entry is a thing of the past and there are now automated systems for nearly anything you need to accomplish in a typical business day. There are automated marketing systems, invoice generators, and automatic order processing, including payment. The less time your staff is spending on entering paperwork means more time they can be spending on innovation and growth.

Cut staff if needed

You may also discuss some positions are not as necessary as you think. For example, if you only need to process less than fifty invoices per week (which is typical for a small business), then you probably don’t need to hire a full-time bookkeeper. You could enter the transactions yourself in less than an hour and save a considerable amount on labor expenses.

Use video-conferencing instead of meeting in person

To save the expense of commuting between locations, try using video-conferencing whenever possible. If you also use file sharing program like Google Drive, you can both even work on the same document without having to email it back and forth.

Use less expensive forms of marketing

Social media marketing is being used by more big business as a way to connect on a more person level with potential consumers. It is relatively inexpensive, especially when you compare it to all other mediums for global advertising. Create an engaging website, an interactive blog, a fun Facebook page, and an intriguing Twitter feed.

Reduce your paper costs

You can save time and money by switching to paper saving online solutions. Use email, online calendars, and online billing software to reduce the amount of paper you use. If you email invoices directly to your customers, you will save on both paper and stamps!

Take action and start saving money today by auditing your business expenses, increase productivity, take advantage of video-conferencing, use inexpensive marketing methods, and reduce your paper cost. These little things can add up to an incredible savings for your company.

About the Author: The article is posted by Gerwyn Wallto. You can find other related articles here.

Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Last

They say that if you want to earn unlimited income, you have to start your own business. No wonder that there are a lot of people who immediately resign from their jobs. Yes, that can be a great plan if you want financial freedom. However, it’s not that easy. You have to think twice, in fact you have to think a lot of times. If you will not plan your business right, you’ll end up bankrupted.

As much as you want to become your own boss, you need to prepare properly. You have to know the risks involved.

In this article, I will briefly explain some of the reasons why more than half of small businesses die.

They are too excited. This is one of the most common reasons why businesses falter in no time. We want to open up our own business even without careful research. Establishing your own trade doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, some successful business owners spent months, even years of preparation, so they can create a long running industry.

Your adrenalin might be at its peak. But don’t let that excitement push you to start something which you aren’t prepared for.

They usually join the ‘business trend’. It’s a big No for you to become a ‘copy – cat’. One business idea might be good in some locations. However, it might not be the best for you. You have to be original. You need to have fresh ideas.

Trends or fads are not forever. Are you going to establish a business that is just for a period of time? I don’t think you like that, right?

out of business — Image: AR McLin / Flickr

They lack promotion. In promoting your business, you have to be aggressive and personal. Don’t take this for granted. How can your business grow if no one knows it? I believe that most business fail in the first few months because they were not able to advertise it properly. You don’t have to spend so much. You can just send messages to your friends and I’m sure they would be willing to share the news with their friends too. Aside from that, you can maximize the social media. It would be nice if you will create your own business page in Facebook. You can also make a twitter account. There are so many ways to promote your business. Invest time for it if you want to be successful.

They don’t keep track of the inventory. Most business owners are busy counting their money. The problem is, they don’t check their inventory. That is very important. A lot of my friends who started their businesses thought that they were doing well only because they have money at the end of the day. But after few months, they realized that the money at hand is not equal to their inventory. And with further investigation, they found out that a clerk stole some items from them.

This can be avoided if you are strict in checking your inventory. Make it a regular habit.

They are not hands on. Even if you are the boss, it doesn’t mean that you have the license to be lousy. You shouldn’t depend the success of your business to your staff. You have to be on top of the game. Being a boss has a lot of responsibilities and being a couch potato is not one of those.

Now, you know what are the worst things you can do for your business. Plan carefully and be consistent so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor in no time.

About the Author: Toni Okeson writes for a great welding school site. If you want to start a career or a small stick welding business, you should try reading their resources.

How To Create Your Own Business?

Creating your business is starting a life full of rewards and difficulties as creating your own business has pros and cons. Starting your own business requires focus and time because you have to make it grow and succeed. There are a lot of steps and advices on how to start a business. Here are some of the great ways on how you can get through the startup phase of a business.

Conceptualize and Start with Your Own Idea

Starting your own business may need your own idea on the products or services that you are going to offer. Starting with your own idea means that you take hold of your own business; you can have additional advices from other people, but your own idea is most important because it is what you are going to offer the public.

Do research

Since you are just starting, looking into business plans of other small and large companies will be helpful in assisting you start your business. Research for your possible customers, how much you need, where should you advertise, who are your competitors and how will you compete with them. Research is one of the steps in planning your own business.

Draft your business plan

After researching, make your own business plan, which you will use in undertaking your own business. Make a thorough financial planning as to how much you need in order to fund all the aspects of your business.

Identify sources of funds

You have to determine if you need financing from bank loans, credit cards or others. You can also self-finance if you have adequate funds. It is important to have in your business plan the probable expenses in order for you to produce the adequate funds you are going to need. It is also important to allot a sufficient salary for yourself in order to mind your living as you still enter into a new world of business where several possibilities maybe met.

Make complete and updated list of your clients

The customers are the best asset of a business because the income of the business comes from them.

Have a clean book

This does not mean having book to read, but a list of the finances such as the expenses of income of the business. Most of the small busies do not accounting of their finances, which is very hard for them to know if they are gaining or not.

Have an electronic credit card machine

Even how small your business may be, it is important to have a credit card machine because other customers always have to pay using credit cards and you don’t want to lose any clients just because they will not be able to pay you with their cards.
Find the purpose of your business

In every business, it is important that you know where you are going and what your mission is. In this way, you become more inspired to start and maintain your own business.

Creating your own business will never be easy, but what is important is you have the passion and inspiration to start it.

About the Author: Amarendra, the author likes to write on how to start and register a company. He is blogger, freelance writer and SEO.

The Challenges of Starting a Consulting Business

As in any case, starting a consulting business isn’t easy. It takes a certain character, drive and passion to be able to stick through the roughest of times. Starting a consulting business, however, is very different from simply being a consultant at a firm. At that point, you are no longer an employee – you are a business owner in charge of clients, business operations, finances, and much more. Consider these 3 obstacles before getting started.

“Strong expertise and solid reputation do not guarantee success in the consulting business. Never make the mistake in believing that your reputation can sell itself on auto-pilot mode and that you can simply sit and wait for work. As a consultant, you need to aggressively sell your product – you!” – PowerHomebiz.com

Getting Clients

The first hurdle you’re likely to encounter is getting clients. This is a difficult task, as it could take years to build a strong, profitable client base. However, coming into this business, you have likely had experience with clients via your old or current job. This will be a great starting point in tackling this first step of the process.

Old clients: Clients that are no longer with your current or old firm are your best starting place. Because they no longer have an attachment, it should be a non-issue to contact them in regards to your own business.
Partnering: You can consider partnering with your current or old company. If you’ve had great recommendations from clients and an excellent track record, you can make a case for why the two companies should come together, in a long distance working relationship. This will help with name recognition, as well as client attraction.

Being Unique

In any business, it’s a struggle to be unique. It seems as though everything has already been done, so it can be hard distinguishing yourself in a sea of other consultants. Regardless, there are a number of ways you can be sure to stand alone that is both effective and beneficial.

Be diverse: Don’t just do business consulting, change up your range of services so you will appeal to a larger audience. Some companies may need help with more than one issue, and you’ll be the person that can fix that.
Be open: While you may not advertise certain services, it’s critical that you are open to various needs. If a client is looking for you to aid in something different, consider it before saying no. This makes for a happy client, and great referral.

Marketing Yourself

One of the toughest transitions may be adding marketing to your list of duties. If you’ve worked in a well known firm, they have marketing and years of experience in place to attract new clients. You, on the other hand, have minimal experience as a business owner and perhaps very little experience in the field of marketing. Luckily, the online world makes it a cinch for newbie marketers to get their business out there.

Social media: You are already on Facebook and Twitter, so just cater them to your business or start new accounts. Be active, engage with potential customers or old clients, and build your reputation.
Email marketing: If you have been able to compile a list of emails from current or old clients, begin your email marketing campaign. This is a very effective way to reach potential clients and get some word of mouth marketing.

There are many challenges you’ll face when starting your own consulting business. However, there are always techniques and tactics you can use to side step them. Becoming successful as a business owner is all about remembering, “When there’s a will, there’s a way.” So take advantage of networking opportunities and old relationships to start off on the right foot.

About the Author: Sara Fletcher is interested in emotional intelligence in leadership and understanding her DISC assessment. She loves to explore psychology, business, and sports in relation to eq tests.