Basics to opening a business?

Question

I would love to start my own business. I've been doing my own research and asking my business owning friends about little stuff.

What do I need in terms of legal stuff and money?

How much should I have to start off a small vehicle maintanence shop? What do I need in terms of legality with California? Fictiotious name? Resale license? Tax license?? INVENTORY!? $$$ FOR INVENTORY!?!? $$$ FOR PROPERTY!?

Also, how do property billing/rent paying all work? I would like all the odds and ends and understand basically how to make it all work. Thanks for reading this you guys.

Answer 1

That all depends on what type of business you want to start.


I would first start by contacting your local SBDC (Small Business Development Center). They usually offer classes and one on one counseling to guide you through all of the steps of starting a business.

Next, you'll want to write a business plan. Writing a business plan (if you do it right) is one of the most difficult parts of starting a business but one of the most needed. It really forces you to think out your idea and gives you a realistic look at whether or not this idea is viable. I used business plan pro from PaloAlto Software. It actually helped with the process tremendously.

Also, writing a business plan will force you to decide how you would like yo organize your business. My business deals with large dollar amounts that I would like to keep separate from my personal finances. I chose to become an LLC but depending on what type of business you are starting another may be a good choice.

Bottom line. Contact your local SBDC & write a business plan before doing anything else. You'll appreciate it in the long run. I just started my business in Feb and Im going to break the 100k mark in revenue already because I had a well thought out business plan.

Answer 2

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

I also posted some CA specific sites.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Automotive Repair Service: Start and Run a Money-Making Business by Dan Ramsey
* Start Your Own Auto Repair Shop! by 125aday.com Publishing
* Small Business Start-up Kit for California by Peri Pakroo, Barbara Kate Repa

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

You've got some good advice on here. I've given very similar advice in the past to clients. I'd take a leaner approach today, however.

Start with the Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Guy was Apple's Marketing Guy for about 20 years, from the beginning, and he's now behind garage.com. You can read the book in about two hours, it'll keep you lean and focused, it'll force you to make some basic decisions up front, and you'll be on your way.

The business plan approach is great analytical work. It's going to get you very well-rounded in your thoughts and force you to take a bigger-picture approach to your business. When you're ready, that's exactly what you'll do. But, today, you don't want a detailed picture, you want a map. You want to know what activities will generate the results that will allow you to make the decisions you're going to document in your business plan.

When you're ready to gather the costs involved, go first to your local university and look up their references in the business department. The quality of information you'll get there would cost you several hundred dollars online. Use the assistants there, they'll walk you through whatever they've subscribed to. You can get average balance sheets and P&L statements for companies just like yours from around the country and in your own neck of the woods. Also, a good commercial real estate agent will get you good information about property prices. With a business like this, location is going to be a key driver to your success.

A general rule of thumb, keep it organic instead of mechanic. Let things grow, allow a little chaos and uncertainty, be flexible and adaptable in the beginning. If you've got to figure it all out today, have every detail penciled out, and all the risks mitigated, then you probably wouldn't enjoy the workaday to running your own business. If you are more detail oriented, risk-averse, I'd invest in a known entity by buying an existing business. You can then be more mechanical (rules based, stringent, analytical) and be comfortable that way.

Many successful entrepreneurs I've met have been very explicit about their key to success: keeping their butts in their chairs. I've heard one admit that he's not that smart (C student in high school and college), he's not that good of a salesman, he's not that charasmatic, creative, or anything else. But, he can stay focused on one and only one problem at a time, and drive himself to completion on the tasks that matter. That'll carry you through a lot of the broad challenges you'll be facing.

Final piece of advice: don't be afraid of business debt. Know your game, know your risks, know what you can deliver, be careful about that. Once you've got that, leverage your business to get where you've got to take it. Every successful entrepreneur I know doesn't make the business debt decisions based on emotion or fear, but on analytics.

Answer 4

Regarding getting a Tax License, you can go to California's Home Page at http://www.edd.ca.gov/. If you can't find it there, then you can find it at http://www.businesslicenses.com/Licenses/CA/San+Joaquin/Acampo-0607700156/Tax-Registration-21157/

Answer 5

1st work for someone else to test the water and to see if you like it ...
if not then you will know
as for lawsuit california has the highest lawsuit in the WORLD
one mistake your screw for life

http://www.sba.gov/

Answer 6

it's alot of money, time and work dude..i have my own