whats the best way of starting your own business?

Question

I want to start up my own business with a friend but we are not sure how to go about it?

We will probably need a small business loan and we need to know what we need to do before we can apply for one.....any ideas?

Answer 1

Before going forward, be sure to sign a Buy-Sell agreement with your friend. You never know how you will work with your friend and whether the partnership will sail smoothly. A buy-sell agreement is a binding contract between the partners that defines: 1) What events will trigger a buyout, 2) the price that is to be paid for the disassociating partner's interest in the business, and 3) who can buy the dis-associating partner's interest (e.g. outsiders vs. other partners in the business).

Don't think of this in a negative way or think that the friendship will survive the business challenges you will face. But if you are thinking of investing your own money, and even getting a loan together, you need to protect yourself and your business interests. Same with your friend.

I suggest you check out SBA's free online courses to help you learn more about entrepreneurship -- from raising capital to business planning to cash flow management http://www.sba.gov/training/courses.html

I recommend that you read the following books:

- What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business : Real Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs
- Starting From Scratch: How To Start A Business When You Don't Have Money
- If You're Clueless About Starting Your Own Business and Want to Know More
- On the Move : How to Succeed and Survive As an Entrepreneur
- How to Make 1000 Mistakes in Business and Still Succeed

If you need guidance in starting a business, there are several places that provide help to starting entrepreneurs. Here are places where you may be able to find a mentor:

- Government Mentoring Programs such as SBDCs, which works with community colleges and local business development councils to offer mentoring programs http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html ; or the Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training http://www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/wnet_roundtables.html
- Volunteer programs such as SCORE http://www.score.org which is composed of mostly retired executives and entrepreneurs
- Formal mentoring programs such as Athena Foundation http://www.athenafoundation.org/programs/globallinks.html , Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program http://www.helzbergmentoring.org/HEMP/ , or The Aspen Institute MicroMentor Program http://www.micromentor.org
- Professional organizations such as the National Women’s Business Council http://www.nwbc.gov/Mentoring/programs.html
- Industry and trade associations
- Local business groups, such as the chamber of commerce
- Local chapters of business groups

Answer 2

I joined the family business on its centenary in 1967 when I was 21, the factory buildings were up to 200 years old and I managed to find within 5 years investors which allowed me to move to a brand new facility, unfortunately 15 years later those same investors forced me out. I went self emplyed for a while but that was very difficult as it was a manufacturing business and everything was down to me making ,selling, delivering, just could not get the business big enough to employ others. But through that business I got involved with another company again in manufacturing and was involved in distribution and sales over the UK, Middle and Far East, again however that company failed after 7 years. I have now found a distribution business which I run from home and which allows me at present to work in 19 different countries building teams of reps in each country, in actual fact all I and my teams do is acquire a few customers for a company which I am in partnership with, it is simple but the great thing is I now earn a residual income, as I get a percentage of all my, and my teams customers bills. I am now nearly 61 years old and I can honestly say that after nearly 40 years working in business I have never come across a business opportunity anything like the one I am now in. The founders of the company I am in partnership with are absolutely fantastic their ethics, honesty and integrity are second to none and are exactly the type of people most would want to work alongside. If you would like any further information I can be contacted through my 360 profile.

Answer 3

Go down to your local courthouse and get a DBA (Doing Business As) certificate. Costs about $20. This would be your legal name for the business.

Go to irs.gov and sign up for a tax id number, known as an EIN. This acts like a social security number for your business and is what you use to pay your self employment tax.

Take your DBA and your EIN to your bank and open a business checking/savings account. I recommend Washington Mutal wamu.com because they have free checking and are VERY business friendly.

As for the business loan, banks usually want your business to have been in operation for 2-3 years and show a track record for growth before they will lend based soley on you business credit. For most new businesses, they will require a personal guarantee. If you have great credit, normally they will do an unsecured loan, if your credit is not so good, they may ask for collateral for the loan. You can also apply for an SBA backed loan from your bank, the SBA usually requires you contribute about 10 percent of the loan towards the business before they will lend to you.

Good luck on your business venture :)

Answer 4

I think the best way is to start small as a part-time job while keeping a full-time job. Let the business grow itself by plowing the profits back into it until it can support you full-time. I would not recommend getting loans because that just puts undue pressure on you to suceed. Also, working in the same industry but for another company gives you the chance to learn and make mistakes on someone else's payroll before starting out on your own.

Answer 5

It's very personal and it depends on how you define a good business. First, set a goal for what? do you want in life. Plan what you will do to reach your goal.

I always tell people this, 'You can make money if you can create website or blogs'. by providing free and good information.

I'm 41 now, work from home in shorts and T-shirts and sometimes topless. I set my target as low as to make 1 dollar/page/day. I strive to create a new page for my websites everyday but I have all the freedom I need and making money 24/7 on the internet with Google Adsense and some affiliate programs. The only thing that tie me down is 'how much income I want or need'. Because the more websites and traffic I have will determine how much income I can much.

Anyone who can create websites or blogs to provide lots of good information can make money from Google Adsense. Blogger.com and Google pages lets you create blogs for free and allows you to make money too.

You can make money by joining me or Google as a publisher and publishing Google Adsense on your websites. If someone clicks on those ads, you will earn money.

Why sign up with me? Because we can link to each other to get more traffic and income. I'll be working on this website
http://tashi.web.design.googlepages.com soon after I'm done with my client's website.

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Answer 6

If you both are women, and even better if one or both of you is a minority or foreigner, there are all sort of free-money grants that will help you to start. Having a few thousand extra dollars will help you successfully get a loan or two. Just google "women business grants" and find out :)

Answer 7

you will need a business plan, collateral enough to stand good for the money you are trying to borrow, and good credit for both of you

Answer 8

What state are you in? I'm in New York, if you are too then check out this site: smallbiz.nypl.org
If not then check out these other sites:
Score.org
sba.gov

Answer 9

You can check ot this website for tips

Answer 10

visit www.falloch.co.uk you will get company details there, I will offer advice (if you are based in the UK)