Anyone here know about starting a business?

Question

I'm a dancer who is ready to start her own school. I have students interested, but I'm stuck at the start-up. I was, well... dum when I was younger, and my credit is really bad. I don't know where to go. HELP!

Answer 1

A business can be summed up as follows:
Market (who are you selling to or in other words, who wants to buy what you want to sell - irrespective of this being a product or a service - where and for how much?)
+
Product / Service
+
Revenue Model (financials i.e. how much does it cost you to run the business and deliver the value you intend to and how much can you charge, to how many people you can serve ==> throw this is in a simple equation on a spreadsheet). This would also give you an idea as to how much start capital you need till you start seeing breakeven...that's where you credit score kicks in and you may want to take a loan...if you have family and friends or investors, go to them...they know you better than what your credit score reflects...see if they can be convinced that their investment in your efforts are not risky and that you can guarantee a certain rate of interest payable in future.

Based on the above understanding, you can now can make a serious decision on whether:
1) you want to be IN THIS "dance school" business or not;
2) it makes financial sense to be in the "dance school" business;
3) it can "breakeven" and make money within a short/relevant period of time before you grow frustrated
4) if this is a full time business opportunity or a sideshow that generates decent "extra" money.
5) Why you are doing this - i.e. starting a dance school business - makes sense or does that answer to the question "why?" need a relook? is this because you have expertise in this area, or you have money to invest etc...

That was the first stage of decision making and the most important part. Once you seriously know "Why?" you are in this, rest all is administrative and easy.

Get a relationship with a CPA to help you get a good handle on your costs then you can go and mark up the service fees for your margin.

Starting a business without any prior business or domain knowledge is not a bad thing by itself, just that the chances of failure are many.

Attracting students to sign up initially is a tough job...and then comes the tougher job, hiring substitute teachers or training the first batch yourself. Later you can then offer apprenticeship or jobs to graduates from your school as trainers to grow the business.

It seems like you think it is a piece of cake starting your own business...it maybe so, and that would depend on your personality first and then experience next. In general...here are a few things you have to remember about starting your own business...any business.

The minimum square footage for your school would depend on your estimation (by experience, market research and your financial model) on how many students you can get attention from, attract into your school and serve at any given point in time. How many dance experts do you need to work with these students? What is your financial health and budget for renting or buying an office? Is this going to be a -strategically speaking - real estate play or service business play? What term are you looking to sign up the lease (if renting) with the landlord? Be extra careful on the lease front, business people from Sam Walton (kicked out of his first succesful variety store by landlord who did not renew the contract) to regular johnnys who have had bad locations with long leases slammed on them...

Buy or lease equipment of such stuff as high end music/video / Internet servers : Is based on your specific financial modeling and short/long term plans.

Lease if:
Low on cash 2: write the lease of as expense each month 3: you have a short term lease with your landlord

Buy if:
You have cash on hand 2: you want to use depreciation on capital investment method for accounting and if this is a large amount 3; long term lease on hand through the break even time required and also if you are confident that your location is the perfect one.

The following points are useful for you to note:

Next, go to the website of your local state government, if you are in the USA, else to a legal counsel or account (CPA) to help with the basic decision making and advise on:
1. Formation of the company: name, capital structure, accounting formats/software, financial year etc.
2. Deciding on sole proprietor, partnership, S Corp, LLC or C Corp
3. Financial health required i.e. cash flow analysis, financial projections, financing needs and loans etc.

Then comes the execution part:
1. Marketing ==> advertising ==> budget and reaching out to your market/audience constantly.
2. Sales ==> Getting big projects ==>cold calling, meetings, deal closures
3. Business Development ==> partnerships, networking, swapping warm leads with other non-competing allies outside of your business / market area for a referral fee / affiliate commission.
4. eCommerce and eBusiness: an online angle to your business, to generate revenues online as well as take your offline business online in some way or the other.

Last comes in HR / Production / Operations: Looks like you are experts in this area already. Just keep these in mind:
1. to grow your company, you HAVE to hire new people, trust them (even if you are burnt multiple times...keep hiring), train them and try to get out of "you" out of the business and let it run on a systematic daily reports oriented effort...i.e most companies that are run by entrepreneurs / founders die when the founder leaves because the founder(s) was/were the company...therefore, on the operations front, put in an IT system in tandem with a Culture in place that can run the show on its own without your interference in the business decision making, revenue generation, order fulfilment and customer support. Also it is absolutely must that you get a T1 or higher internet with VoIP service for communications.

All in all, always remember that the seed you are planting already knows how large it can get, the one who plants may not be so aware of which seed he/she is planting...you have to design this business model /seed before you launch.

Good luck with your venture...nothing ventured, nothing gained...go for it...the learning would be fun after its been learnt...hindsight is 20/20...I can keep advising till the cows come home...having been there done that...for you, just do it :)

Sanjay Saggere
404-425-3021
[e-mail]
www.bizdevsystems.com click on eBusiness

Source(s):

1. For eBusiness eSsentials go to www.bizdevsystems.com click on eBusiness or email [e-mail]
2. For eCommerce / offline retail merchant accounts go to www.wynpay.com or email [e-mail]
3. For phone & Internet VoIP services www.ebolo.com

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.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore. 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:

* On the Journey to Open a New School: One Step at a Time by Brenda J. Travis
* Crash Course by Chris Whittle
* How to Market Your School : A guide to marketing, public relations, and communication for school administrators by Johanna M Lockhart

I also posted links to some free articles in the source box.

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

Answer 3

I wanted to share this with anyone who is in need of start up capital. If you have bad credit this company will still give you a loan. The catch? Your looking at an interest rate of about 20%. However, once you start paying off the loan your interest rate can drop and your monthly payments will go down. They also report to all 3 credit agencies. I borrowed $15,000.00 ffrom them last year and have had nothing but a positive experience with them.

This is not some "fly by night" company and I do not work for this company nor do I get paid to pass on any info about this company. I am simply doing this to help others who are having the same problems getting a start up loan.

You still have to work,(I put in about 50 hours a week on my webstore), and you still have to be honest. I do not know ANYONE who works 4 hours a day and makes thousands in a week. That's bull****!

I put my heart and soul into my webstore and I simply needed extra funds for inventory to sell. By getting this loan I was able to buy inventory and my sales went up because I had better items to offer and a lot more to choose from.

If your interested please email me at [e-mail].

I cannot give this company name out on here. I do not have their permission.

One more thing....I DO NOT MAKE MONEY FROM GIVING THEM REFERRALS! I make my money the old fashion way.....WORKING FOR IT.

Answer 4

There are a lot of options available for small business loans. Most states have a small business department or even business centers which can give you a lot of options. you can even consider non-traditional options depending on how much your start up costs will be, think of credit cards, home equity loans, or a partner. Also, if you develop a good business plan, you may find people such as family and friends or just associates willing to help you out.

Answer 5

my husband is doing the same thing. Look for a local entreprenurial center...its helped us a lot!

Answer 6

see if there is a local SCORE http://www.score.org/ they will help you!

Answer 7

http://www.kauffman.org
http://www.score.org
http://www.prosper.com