So you want to be your own boss? Start your own business!
Planning a business can be as easy as opening up a front-lawn lemonade stand, or it can be very complicated. In this day and age, it is quite likely to be somewhere in between. Here are some things to keep in mind when you are considering opening up your own business. A good resource to use when starting your own business is the SCORE organization. They have a website at score.org. This is an organization of retired business professionals, and they give free business advice.
Keep in mind that the primary objective of a business is to stay in business! Unfortunately, that means that whatever the business is going to do, it must be at least self-sufficient. If the business cannot generate enough money to pay for itself, the business will not be able to stay open very long. Before opening a business, however, being prepared to lose money for the first several years is good planning. Have enough money set aside to run the business for the first several years.
The first step is to figure out what skills and talents you have that other businesses or consumers might want to pay money for.What is your business going to do? Will it provide a product or a service? Does this product or service have any appeal to the consumer? Have you identified who your customers are going to be? If you don't have a marketable skill, talent, or product, being your own boss, starting and running a successful business is going to be a lot more challenging than you thought!
Second will this be a non-profit charitable organization, or a for-profit business?
Third, will this business be structured as a sole proprietor, partnership, or some form of limited liability, such as a LLC or Corporation.
Fourth, will you need employees? This is important, because if you need employees then the business takes on a whole new set of rules and requirements.
Five (and this is a complicated one), where will this business be located? Will you run this business from home? Will your employees tele-commute or will they report to a brick and mortar office or factory building? What type of office furniture will be required? Will employees be needing special adjustable height ergonomic desks, or perhaps L-shaped desks that fit scanners and printers?
If you are going to have employees, you might want to analyze and tone up your leadership skills! In today's business environment there is a drastic reduction in employee loyalty. Many employers are under-paying their employees, and refusing to give them the benefits that companies used to provide in the past. This has created an atmosphere of resentment in many workplaces, and employees are less likely to be loyal to a company that is not providing them with the financial benefits they want – especially if the leadership style of their boss is offensive to them!
Consider reading a few books about leadership and management to help guide you to make the adjustments needed to keep your employees happy, motivated and loyal. An unhappy employee is not as valuable to a business as a happy employee.
Obviously this list is not all-inclusive, but if you follow these tips, you will be starting out on the right path to being your own boss!
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This featured post was brought to you by Jenna Smith.
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