Newbie Business do's and don'ts?

[markdavies1]

Hi there,

I've just started a new business up going from employee to employer and just wondered what is the biggest thing to lookout for when hiring someone to help me?

I've got my own ides but just wanted to try and see if there is something that i may have missed?

[Sinifar]

What kind of business?

Do you have a business plan? Know where you will draw your clients / customers from? Totally understand what you are selling / servicing?

What is your education? Are you familiar with financial management? Basic accounting? Inventory control? Personnel issues? Legal matters as far as taxes, types of business organizations and the liabilities of each? License and permitting problems? Leases and landlord problems - rights, responsibilities? Insurance for everything - liability, personal mistakes, employee mistakes, loss of tools and equipment?

What is your financial position? Do you have at least six months worth of cash in the bank to cover your current expenses? Do you have enough capitol to totally finance your business and buy inventory? Have you talked to a bank about a loan? What kind of paper work did they want you to file before you got the loan? IF not a bank, how will you finance the thing? Credit Cards? That is a wayy tooo expensive way to finance anything.

In starting a business, it looks exciting, it looks like the real deal, but as many find out it is more a major headache from all the things you don't know about - cover - plan on which cause business failures. 95% of all business fail within the first year. By the 5th year most if not all are gone.

To survive for 42 years as we have, one needs a super education, tons of planning, and the financial resources to pull this off.

Don't jump into this just because "I WANT A JOB" - being your own boss has it own pitfalls. There is nobody to cover you if you screw something up, and you will have to figure things out on your own.

Finally, ASK yourself, and OTHERS - IS there room in the market for ONE MORE of whatever you are selling / servicing. The market maybe already saturated with competitors who will EAT you for LUNCH. Trust me on that one.

Sinifar

[yogibayer]

What kind of business?

Do you have a business plan? Know where you will draw your clients / customers from? Totally understand what you are selling / servicing?

What is your education? Are you familiar with financial management? Basic accounting? Inventory control? Personnel issues? Legal matters as far as taxes, types of business organizations and the liabilities of each? License and permitting problems? Leases and landlord problems - rights, responsibilities? Insurance for everything - liability, personal mistakes, employee mistakes, loss of tools and equipment?

What is your financial position? Do you have at least six months worth of cash in the bank to cover your current expenses? Do you have enough capitol to totally finance your business and buy inventory? Have you talked to a bank about a loan? What kind of paper work did they want you to file before you got the loan? IF not a bank, how will you finance the thing? Credit Cards? That is a wayy tooo expensive way to finance anything.

In starting a business, it looks exciting, it looks like the real deal, but as many find out it is more a major headache from all the things you don't know about - cover - plan on which cause business failures. 95% of all business fail within the first year. By the 5th year most if not all are gone.

To survive for 42 years as we have, one needs a super education, tons of planning, and the financial resources to pull this off.

Don't jump into this just because "I WANT A JOB" - being your own boss has it own pitfalls. There is nobody to cover you if you screw something up, and you will have to figure things out on your own.

Finally, ASK yourself, and OTHERS - IS there room in the market for ONE MORE of whatever you are selling / servicing. The market maybe already saturated with competitors who will EAT you for LUNCH. Trust me on that one.

Sinifar

I would suggest more like 2 years of savings in today's economy.

[globallockytoo]

What kind of business?

Do you have a business plan? Know where you will draw your clients / customers from? Totally understand what you are selling / servicing?

What is your education? Are you familiar with financial management? Basic accounting? Inventory control? Personnel issues? Legal matters as far as taxes, types of business organizations and the liabilities of each? License and permitting problems? Leases and landlord problems - rights, responsibilities? Insurance for everything - liability, personal mistakes, employee mistakes, loss of tools and equipment?

What is your financial position? Do you have at least six months worth of cash in the bank to cover your current expenses? Do you have enough capitol to totally finance your business and buy inventory? Have you talked to a bank about a loan? What kind of paper work did they want you to file before you got the loan? IF not a bank, how will you finance the thing? Credit Cards? That is a wayy tooo expensive way to finance anything.

In starting a business, it looks exciting, it looks like the real deal, but as many find out it is more a major headache from all the things you don't know about - cover - plan on which cause business failures. 95% of all business fail within the first year. By the 5th year most if not all are gone.

To survive for 42 years as we have, one needs a super education, tons of planning, and the financial resources to pull this off.

Don't jump into this just because "I WANT A JOB" - being your own boss has it own pitfalls. There is nobody to cover you if you screw something up, and you will have to figure things out on your own.

Finally, ASK yourself, and OTHERS - IS there room in the market for ONE MORE of whatever you are selling / servicing. The market maybe already saturated with competitors who will EAT you for LUNCH. Trust me on that one.

Sinifar

way to scare him away Sinifar

[Sinifar]

Look, like they say, pay me now, or pay me later.

IF you do not consider all which I stated, then your chances of success are near ZERO. Good thoughts, and wishful thinking won't make a biz work. You need to have plans for everything, and a working budget to make it go.

Having reserve funds or "retained earnings" is how you get over the rough spots and times when sales drop off the map.

Not to discourage, but to encourage the PROPER PLANNING which goes into any biz. I want any new biz man to make it. WHY do you think 99 out of 100 new starts fail within the first year? Think about that one.

Reality can be a harsh mistress. But if you have the knowledge, the spirit, and the resources, then go ahead. Just know where the big holes and things which can fall on you and flatten you are. Knowledge is POWER -- KNOW as much as you can about your line of work, cover everything you can think of and ASK somebody else who is in the biz for more advise, and TAKE IT.

Financial Management is more than just "accounting" it is the working of capital in a biz setting. It is inventory, the buying of inventory - how much to mark up your stock, It is developing a working price schedule for your own labor. Not too much, and not too little. It is setting a working budget and sticking with it. It is account receivables, and payable. It is taxes, both personal, corporate and all the other added schedules like depreciation, and amortization. It management of the cash flow, both in and out.

Also is the "return on the investment" -- what you actually earn on the cash you invest in your own business.

It is business communications, how you write and present bids / quotes - it is everything your biz produces on paper.

I could go on, but this isn't a MBA class in small biz.

Sinifar

[dll932]

Hi there,

I've just started a new business up going from employee to employer and just wondered what is the biggest thing to lookout for when hiring someone to help me?

I've got my own ides but just wanted to try and see if there is something that i may have missed?

Check credentials of new hires: Criminal background, credit, ID, drug screening. Remember, YOU are ultimately responsible for what they do.