How do you open your own business?

Question

Eventually I want to open up my own dance studio. But I have no idea how to go about doing that. Do I need to get an MBA to be able to do that? Do you know how much money I should be looking at investing in something like this? I am planning on doing this with a friend. I know that can be dangerous, what kind of precautions should we make so that it can go smoothly without ruining a friendship (possibly)?

Answer 1

First off you need to write a business plan to establish a road map for what needs to be done. In doing this you will need to do a lot of research that will likely answer a lot of your questions.

A good article on business plans:
http://www.home-business-expo.com/8142006_BusinessPlans.asp

Next you will likely need to meet with a business attorney and I recommend even meeting with a CPA to discuss what type of business you should form and what other legal issues need to be addressed including your partnership with your friend.

Good article on the different types of business:
http://www.home-business-expo.com/8172006_Incorporating.asp

Once the business is established you will need to market it. I recommend getting as creative as possible and trying to save as much money for other operating costs. You can market on a budget.

Marketing on a budget:
http://www.home-business-expo.com/972006_AffordableMarketing.asp

Best of luck and continue to ask advice and seek as much information as possible.

Answer 2

No you don't need an MBA to start your own business.

The biggest chunk of the start-up cost is to outfit your studio space. Depending on good your landlord is, you might have to put up all the money for fixing up a place. You might be able to do a lot of work yourself, like repaint walls, putting up hand bars, put in hard wood floors etc but buying wall mirrors and neon signs are the most expensive.

Also depending on your local city ordinates, you might have to put in certain number of bathrooms, drinking water fountains to meet the requirement. We have a 1600 sq ft, 1000 for studio and 600 for other stuff, it costs $20k to fix the place.

Ongoing cost includes utilities, phone, trash pickup, cleaning etc But also consider business insurance, liability insurance, licenses, accountant service etc.

The important question when considering a business partner is "Can you completely trust and support the decisions made by your business partner?" If the answer is no, you may not want to have your friend as a business partner. Of course, it is nice to always respect each other and establish consensus in every decision, but it is not realistic to expect consensus could be made for everything. If you believe your friend is capable of making nutting decisions, then it is probably a bad idea to partner.

Best of luck.

Answer 3

Go to the Small Business Administration web site. There is a lot of information there.

If I can be of further assistance, let me know.

[e-mail]
http://www.geocities.com/pktull

Answer 4

start by researching how much it would cost to buy a location. next check to see how much insurance you should have and if you can afford it ,theres always advertizing costs, and i would consult a good attourney and accountant.BE ENTHUSTIASTIC.