STEP 1: Determine My Ultimate Plan

I never take this preliminary step lightly. I always start off with thorough planning. As we always say, plan your life, and then plan your business. Once you know where to go, you can then have a pleasant journey.

I have noticed that there are many successful business people who are not happy in many ways even though they have all the money to last them for generations. On the other hand, I also found out that business people who are successful, joyful and happy are entrepreneurs who created a business that’s in perfect synchronization with what they want out of life. They do what they love, the kind of things that fit into their personality, their life purpose and their lifestyle.

Therefore, before I lunge into a new business venture, I would run though a personal checklist to ensure that I am aware of what I am doing and where I want to be ultimately.

Here is what I’ll do:

1. Review my area of importance – I would review thoroughly my current job or business, my physical being, my lifestyle, my relationship, my family, my hobby, my finance, my spiritual aspect and my emotional state. Next, I would grade each area of my life on a scale of 1-100 (1 means not important at all; 100 means utmost important; 50 means in between). When certain areas of life (at different phases of life) do not concern me much, they are usually not important to me. However, aspect of life that I want to elevate desperately or thing that bother me most of the time, are usually aspect that I perceive as utmost important.

For instance, if my life is motivated solely by relationship with my loved ones, I would rate it 100. And if my top priorities in life are making money and being happy (simultaneously), I would rate my business at 90 and my emotional state at 90. Let say currently I am obese, and that doesn’t bother my conscious, so my physical being would get somewhere around 10!

2. Perform goal setting – Then, I would review (or maybe redo) my personal life goals for the short and long term. My goals in life would be referring to the “ideal life” that I want to live in. Factor in things like family time, hobbies, charity work, and early retirement – anything that gets me really excited or motivated.

3. Identify my skills, expertise or interest – Next, I will list down my highest abilities, strengths or area of interest, that I can build on to attain “commercial value”. I would finalize what are my skills, expertise or interest that could be an asset to my business.

4. Identify what kind of business is most ideal – I would list down several kinds of businesses I want to venture into; that meet my life’s purpose, my skills, expertise or area of interest. Ultimately, I need to choose the kind of business that I can be enthusiastic about during the startup and daily management. One pointer, I must be 100% certain that the business I’ve chosen must present a “hungry market” or else I’ll be a sitting duck.

5. Discover my ideal work style – Finally I would discover how I want to run my new venture; full time or part time, mobile office or home office, one-man show or with a team of people, online or brick and mortar business.

Once I have completed the above five steps, all the above elements will get consolidated into a very brief document called “MY ULTIMATE PLAN”

It’s very important for me to have MY ULTIMATE PLAN printed out and kept in plain view. The reason for doing so… to constantly remind me of what I want, what’s important, and what to do next (especially when things get tough).

I would utilize MY ULTIMATE PLAN to provide a context for most strategic decisions I’ll make – including what niche business I choose to venture, what business model to employ, who to employ, where to operate, how much capital to raise, product pricing factor, how to automate my daily operations, home based, or a one-man operation.

Most importantly, MY ULTIMATE PLAN will position me to do what I LOVE MOST and that will always bring out the best in me as an entrepreneur – unleashing the untapped potential within me!

*Note: Unproven teories to not be shown to my readers! If you need any small business startup help, feel free to visit my Website

=> To get the complete online business course on

small business startup guide, log on to

http://www.12daysonly.com , and redeem your

BONUS PACKAGE worth US$1,396.00

–

Disclaimer – This article may be freely reprinted in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Dave J
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/10-stepbystep-business-startup-guide-step-1-130302.html

STEP 4: Organizational Structure

This is the step where I need to select an organization structure that best fits my business model. I personally find there is no “best” structure for all businesses. However, I normally prefer to select one that provides me with high autonomy and low tax liability. Again, this will also depend on the national, federal or local tax structure for each business entity in the country or state I conduct my business.

Before setting up my company, I would do insight research on all the options available for my particular business model, particularly the advantages and disadvantages of each formation, paying special attention to the tax implication and government formalities as well as red tape in the location or country where I operate. I never assume all countries are similar.

Let’s take a look at four common forms of business ownership:

1. Sole proprietor

2. Partnership

3. Corporation

4. Limited Liability Company

Before selecting the form of business, I always find it best to work closely with a lawyer or a financial planner to ensure I have the right information, compliance and resources that allow me to make the right choice.

Sole Proprietor

This is a very popular form of business in many countries (i.e. America, Canada, UK, India, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc.) because so little is needed to set up a sole proprietorship. Apart from local business licenses, there are minimal government fees and paperwork. It is instant, cost effective and minimal (or even zero) compliant requirements by local authorities.

On the other hand, there is also considerable risk to consider. The owner’s personal assets are vulnerable to creditors and other liabilities. Sole proprietorship doesn’t get the advantage of certain tax breaks that are reserved for Corporation or Limited Liability Company.

In short, this form of business is very ideal for home based business that has no massive inventory or a high number of staffs.

Partnership

Similar to sole proprietorship, this form is very easy to set up and maintain, requiring minimal government fee and paperwork. The initial setup cost and maintenance fees to run a partnership are very low. Moreover, no capital is required to form a partnership. Each partner is not required to raise any capital to start this form of business.

On the downside, each partner is required to account full responsibility for all the company’s debts. If one of the partners defaults on a company loan, creditors can actually go after your personal assets and belongings. Besides that, capital raising is also very limited in a partnership. Just like sole proprietorship, partnership doesn’t get much tax incentives.

Corporation

There are a few types of corporations available depending on the location or country the owners conduct business. However, most corporations (in many countries) share similar characteristics.

The key advantage of incorporating a business is that it shields equity holders (owners) of the company from personal liability. In other words, if business hits hard times, creditors cannot go after the owners’ personal assets to make up for any company debts. Yet, most creditors nowadays would require the owners of the corporation to guarantee the shortfalls if the company goes under. Besides that, a corporation offers significant tax savings (usually not extended to sole proprietorship or partnership), greater business flexibility, company name protection and better opportunity to raise capital via venture capitalist or financial institution.

Bear in mind that corporations are not cheap to set up. It requires some initial set up fees and certain amount of regular maintenance. With a corporation, you have to keep a proper set of financial records, audited by a certified accountant. Depending on where the business is conducted, some government or local authority would require a minimum set of compliance and would also require regular fees to be paid.

There is one option that a corporation possesses – that allow owners to sell their shares of stock to the public (known as public listed corporation). Then this will involve higher startup capital (usually runs into the millions), more legal and meticulous accounting compliances to adhere to.

Limited Liability Company

As for many new entrepreneurs, choosing a business structure comes down to liability protection, low startup costing, tax savings and convenience. This form of business requires fewer formalities and less on-going paperwork than corporations while offering the same personal liability protection and tax flexibility. Just as with a corporation, the company name is protected, and the other members of the company are shielded from creditors and other company liabilities such as lawsuits. A limited liability company only requires the owners to keep minimal company records, and there is no limit to the number of equity owners.

Nonetheless, this form of business is dissolved when a member dies or undergoes bankruptcy. In comparison to sole proprietorship or partnership, it has more paperwork and complexity to set up and to be maintained.

*Note: Unproven teories to not be shown to my readers! If you need any small business startup help, feel free to visit my Website

=> To get the complete online business course on

small business startup guide, log on to

http://www.12daysonly.com , and redeem your

BONUS PACKAGE worth US$1,396.00

–

Disclaimer – This article may be freely reprinted in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Dave J
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/10-stepbystep-business-startup-guide-step-4-130307.html

STEP 3: Prepare a Business Plan

Once I have done all the preparations, I would start creating a detailed business plan – a document that will provide the priorities, strategies, agenda and sanity I’ll need to startup my business.

In my experience and observation of the business world, the “activity” of creating a business plan is as valuable as the end product itself. Just remember that the most important audience for a business plan is ME. I am accountable for all the statements, claims, statistics and facts. So if I try to “twist” the figure, I am actually lying to myself!

The business plan can also aid me as a tool to generate interest from financiers, venture capitalists, staffs, suppliers and strategic associates.

Regardless of the structure or format of my business plan, I will ensure that my business planning must contain answers for the following twelve questions:

1. What’s my business idea?

2. How does my idea address consumers’ needs/wants?

3. What business model suits me best?

4. What’s unique about my business idea over the rivals?

5. What is the market opportunity and potential?

6. What is my role and responsibility?

7. Who are the key staffs or workers (skip if I do not have any)?

8. What price will the customer pay and how will they buy?

9. How much money do I need to start and run the business?

10. What’s the source of my capital?

11. How will I measure the success of my business?

12. What are my key milestones?

While preparing my business plan, I would cover all the elements of a business plan shown in DAY 3. Just for your study aims, I have attached a sample business plan at the end of this section.

I must ensure that my business plan is concise and neatly formatted (i.e. Microsoft Word document for the bulk of the plan, with any financial documents as attached spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel), and need not include fancy graphics, flowery language or photos. The easier I make it to read, the better.

Alternatively, there are occasions I work better with business plan templates and wizards. Hence, I would search online as there are many business planning software packages available that only cost in the neighborhood of $100, as well as a few free online business plan templates. I would normally spend some time searching for the right software or templates to aid me in constructing my business plan.

*Note: Unproven teories to not be shown to my readers! If you need any small business startup help, feel free to visit my Website

=> To get the complete online business course on

small business startup guide, log on to

http://www.12daysonly.com , and redeem your

BONUS PACKAGE worth US$1,396.00

–

Disclaimer – This article may be freely reprinted in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Dave J
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/10-stepbystep-business-startup-guide-step-3-130306.html

Have you recently started your own home business, but aren’t sure how to handle the finances?  Are you nervous when it comes to business debt, budgeting for the future and balancing your gross/net figures?  Below are some helpful tips to guide you through some of the most difficult tasks of business finance. You can accurately and consistently manage your business finances without a lot of stress if you’ll implement the simple principles below.

Finance Starting Point

In order to manage your home business finances, you need a definite starting point.  This will be a summary of your entire financial assessment for your business. Note of Warning:  Often, a home business finance plan mingles with personal finances.  Try to keep these as separate as possible for tax purposes and to avoid confusion.  Even if you buy something personal with business money, write it down so you’ll be sure not to include it as a business expense.

Your Starting Point Assessment Should Include the Following:

*Most Current Gross Profits/Loss of the Business

*Most Current Net Profits/Loss of the Business (your bottom line)

*Cash on Hand

*Checking Account Balance

*Debts/Loans for the Business (include payments due and balances)

*Assets

*Advertising Funds

*Miscellaneous Items having to do with your business finances

Once you have an assessment of where you stand financially with your home business, you can move forward.  The assessment is not your budget, but it allows you to create a budget based on realistic figures.  Budgeting on a dream is not wise with a business.  You might reach your goals, but what if you don’t?  Set your goals, but only budget for those amounts when you’ve actually reached them.

Creating a Home Business Budget

Most home businesses have a tremendous advantage over larger businesses because operating expenses are normally much lower.  There’s no building rent to pay, additional utilities, etc.  If you stay at  your desk most of the day, you will save on gas, car maintenance, etc. For this reason, it’s usually easier to budget for a home business. Based on what your business has profited over recent months, or your start-up cash if your business is brand new, write down all of your business expenses that need to be paid for each month or year to get a monthly estimate. What about your salary?  The salary must be determined only after your expenses are paid.  If there’s any left, you’ll still want to keep extra cash in your business account for emergencies or unexpected slow times.  You should determine your salary on the low end at first while building your business and stick with your salary amount to maintain a steady budget. For example, if you’re able to take a $350 per week salary in a brand new home business, that’s great!  Many home business owners work a full time job while building their business and take very little (if any) salary. If you have a business checking account or some form of online account for finances, you should deposit all funds into this account and pay your salary out of the account as well as your expenses.  Checking accounts make budgeting a simple process if you keep your checkbook well balanced at all times.

Create a Budget Based on the Following Categories (more if necessary):

Some of these items will be broken down into weekly figures, some monthly and some yearly.  However, you should calculate a monthly average in order to create a general monthly budget.

*Business Expenses (include supplies, equipment, phone, etc.)

*Insurance (business and personal health insurance can be included)

*Taxes (estimated figure from your accountant based on profits)

*Debt Repayment for any business loans

*Advertising (amount will vary, but you can set a minimum or maximum amount)

*Your Salary

Once you have a list of expenses for each month, write down due dates for each, and pay bills as they come due.  Pay on time, but not too early. Your money can sit in your bank account and draw interest in many cases while waiting on due dates.

Budget with Slow Times in Mind

Just because you have tremendous profits one month, this doesn’t indicate that you can raise your salary.  Leave money in your account for those slow times.  Also, budget in advance for payments which are due yearly.  It’s much easier to save a little each month than to be surprised with a large bill later. Following the simple budgeting guide above will enable you to keep an even pace while managing your business finances.  Handle your finances with care because this is the lifeline of your home business.

Curt Miller

Have you recently started your own home business, but aren’t sure how to handle the finances?  Are you nervous when it comes to business debt, budgeting for the future and balancing your gross/net figures?  Below are some helpful tips to guide you through some of the most difficult tasks of business finance. You can accurately and consistently manage your business finances without a lot of stress if you’ll implement the simple principles below.

Finance Starting Point

In order to manage your home business finances, you need a definite starting point.  This will be a summary of your entire financial assessment for your business. Note of Warning:  Often, a home business finance plan mingles with personal finances.  Try to keep these as separate as possible for tax purposes and to avoid confusion.  Even if you buy something personal with business money, write it down so you’ll be sure not to include it as a business expense.

Your Starting Point Assessment Should Include the Following:

*Most Current Gross Profits/Loss of the Business

*Most Current Net Profits/Loss of the Business (your bottom line)

*Cash on Hand

*Checking Account Balance

*Debts/Loans for the Business (include payments due and balances)

*Assets

*Advertising Funds

*Miscellaneous Items having to do with your business finances

Once you have an assessment of where you stand financially with your home business, you can move forward.  The assessment is not your budget, but it allows you to create a budget based on realistic figures.  Budgeting on a dream is not wise with a business.  You might reach your goals, but what if you don’t?  Set your goals, but only budget for those amounts when you’ve actually reached them.

Creating a Home Business Budget

Most home businesses have a tremendous advantage over larger businesses because operating expenses are normally much lower.  There’s no building rent to pay, additional utilities, etc.  If you stay at  your desk most of the day, you will save on gas, car maintenance, etc. For this reason, it’s usually easier to budget for a home business. Based on what your business has profited over recent months, or your start-up cash if your business is brand new, write down all of your business expenses that need to be paid for each month or year to get a monthly estimate. What about your salary?  The salary must be determined only after your expenses are paid.  If there’s any left, you’ll still want to keep extra cash in your business account for emergencies or unexpected slow times.  You should determine your salary on the low end at first while building your business and stick with your salary amount to maintain a steady budget. For example, if you’re able to take a $350 per week salary in a brand new home business, that’s great!  Many home business owners work a full time job while building their business and take very little (if any) salary. If you have a business checking account or some form of online account for finances, you should deposit all funds into this account and pay your salary out of the account as well as your expenses.  Checking accounts make budgeting a simple process if you keep your checkbook well balanced at all times.

Create a Budget Based on the Following Categories (more if necessary):

Some of these items will be broken down into weekly figures, some monthly and some yearly.  However, you should calculate a monthly average in order to create a general monthly budget.

*Business Expenses (include supplies, equipment, phone, etc.)

*Insurance (business and personal health insurance can be included)

*Taxes (estimated figure from your accountant based on profits)

*Debt Repayment for any business loans

*Advertising (amount will vary, but you can set a minimum or maximum amount)

*Your Salary

Once you have a list of expenses for each month, write down due dates for each, and pay bills as they come due.  Pay on time, but not too early. Your money can sit in your bank account and draw interest in many cases while waiting on due dates.

Budget with Slow Times in Mind

Just because you have tremendous profits one month, this doesn’t indicate that you can raise your salary.  Leave money in your account for those slow times.  Also, budget in advance for payments which are due yearly.  It’s much easier to save a little each month than to be surprised with a large bill later. Following the simple budgeting guide above will enable you to keep an even pace while managing your business finances.  Handle your finances with care because this is the lifeline of your home business.

Curt Miller