Entrepreneurs have a knack for seeing opportunities where others don't. If you see 2010 as a good time to start a business despite the recession, then you may have an entrepreneurial perspective. Now you need to know if you have some of the other characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

What helps entrepreneurs these days is that virtual business models put more emphasis on talent and less on administration and infrastructure. After all, e-commerce solutions can give you an instant storefront presence and credit card processing services can handle your receivables, and SEO can give you access to online customers with a minimal up front investment.

So now all you need is the right set of skills and characteristics. Consider whether you have the following ingredients of successful entrepreneurship:
1. Talent.
You should be able to identify at least one area of ability that makes you stand out from the crowd. This can be anything: technical expertise, sales skill, marketing insight, or logistical know-how. Since small businesses are talent-driven, you have to start out with the belief that you have the raw material with which to compete and succeed. It helps if your skills happen to be in areas with growing demand, such as health care or computer technology. If you have medical knowledge or a skill such as Web design, you may have a little wind at your back.

2. A new or different perspective.
"Me-too" businesses have a tough time making a mark, especially during a weak economy. Your business should be founded on the idea that there is a better way to do things. Ideally, you should have enough experience in your chosen industry to be familiar with the normal way business is done, and to have developed some unique insights as to how that can be improved. Being able to clearly articulate a differing perspective should be central to your business plan. In turn, it should also become the vision you communicate to everyone you hire, and the selling proposition you use to pitch potential customers.

3. A business network of connections and affiliations
Experience is valuable not only for knowing how other companies do things, but also for helping you form a business network that will get your new company up and running more quickly. Remember, people--especially business-to-business customers--can be reluctant to do business with a start-up. You should have some contacts who respect you enough personally to take a chance on your new business. Of course a network of contacts can also help you identify potential investors, suppliers, and talented employees. If you need to build your network think about joining a business community of interest.

4. A war chest.
Don't start your business venture unless you have identified sufficient funding to not only get started, but to keep your business running through the inevitable lean months at the beginning. Many businesses are forced to go under just as they would be starting to gain some momentum, simply because they underestimated the amount of time it would take for profits to start rolling in. Funding can be from your own savings, outside investors, or loans. Of course, external sources of funding are harder to come by in a recession, but you can use techniques such as virtual offices to reduce the need for this type of funding.

5. Ability to take risk.
You should start any new business with a commitment to succeed, but an acceptance of the risk involved. Entrepreneurs are often people who are willing to trade a sure thing working for someone else for even a risky chance at running their own show.

6. An eye for complementary talent.
Once you start hiring people, you should think in terms of rounding out the team rather than looking for people just like yourself. It can be a mistake to have too many would-be leaders in one organization. If you have an independent and visionary outlook, you might do well to complement that with a strong administrator who can take care of the details.

7. Persistence.
Not only does it take a long time for a new business to gain traction, but entrepreneurs often don't succeed on their first try. As long as you have confidence in the first two items on this list--your talent and your unique perspective on the business--you should be willing to keep trying.

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Article Contributed by Jim DeLapa

Among the very first decisions you, as a future business owner must make is whether to write your own business plan, or turn that over to someone else. By taking ownership of this first, most important step in building your business, you will gain far more than a crisp document to be read by others. You'll develop a deep understanding of what it will take for your business to succeed. For this reason, it is essential that the business owner be the primary thought leader or sole author of the business plan. Outside help should be reserved for fine tuning, validation and in some cases to prepare financial projections.

Let it be YOUR plan.

As the founder and business owner you will be charting the course for the business. It will be important that the business plan be an extension of your personal vision for the company. For most entrepreneurs, the opportunity to call the shots and lead the way was an important part of why they wanted to get into business. Now is the time to start being a leader. Leaders develop their own plans and call the plays along the way. When it's not your plan, you relegate yourself to performing as an operator. You will find yourself going back to the business plan someone else wrote to occasionally re-read the directions, or ignoring it altogether. Either way, the value of having a plan has been greatly diminished.

The Value is in the Process.

The act of writing a business plan is one of forced discipline, problem solving and reconciling the results. When approached and completed in this manner the end product and the process itself will increase your self-confidence and assuredness about where your business is headed.

Starting with a simple business plan template, and there are lots of them available, force yourself to think through all the critical aspects of the business. This will be an iterative process that you repeat, fine tune and re-write. As you develop each section of your business plan, your thoughts about the other sections will evolve—even those that you've already written. You go back, edit and in the end, you make it all work together. That's the idea. You are developing an understanding of the relationships between every aspect of your business.

To underscore the importance of writing your own business plan, take this little exercise. Read the paragraph below as fast as you possibly can. Then stop, take a breath and move on to the next one.

Who will my customers be? What problem will I solve for them? How much are they willing to pay to have this problem solved? What are my costs associated with each sale? Why will customers choose to buy from my business? How will I find customers? Who will sell, produce, and deliver? Which markets will I go after first? Why? How much will it cost to operate the business each month? What will my breakeven point be? How fast can I get there? How much startup capital will I need? How will I succeed?

Okay, slow down now and consider this: The most important question isn't listed. The most important question is, "How are these factors interrelated?"

Imagine that today someone handed you the answers to all of the questions from our fast-read drill above. It would certainly save you a lot of time. Better still, these wouldn't be just any answers, but they would be the right answers from a solid business plan for a business that had already been proven to be successful, a business just like the one you're planning to start. You could read and re-read the answers many times over, practically memorizing them. You would know that they were the right answers. Yet, doing so will not help you develop an understanding of how the answers are interconnected.

If you change the way you plan to find customers, how will that impact your monthly operating costs? If customers are only willing to pay 80% of your planned price, what will that do to your breakeven point? How will the answers to these two questions impact how much capital you need to start the business? This example looks at just two questions. Realistically, the answer to each question is highly dependent on the answers to several of the other questions. In the end they must all work together and you must understand how they all work together.

If you develop your own business plan, section by section, thinking through all of the answers to the critical questions, you will also develop an intuitive sense of how they work together. It will require a lot of thinking and rethinking of your ideas and it will take time. It's not a fast drill. In the end, it will be the difference between 'memorizing the lines' and actually 'being the character.' Small business ownership is not the place to be reciting someone else's lines. You are the character. Write your own lines. Be the leader.

When to Bend the Guidelines

There are some times to reach outside for help. For example, perhaps you would say, "I'm not a numbers person; I don't think I can do the financial projections."

First, plan to become more of a numbers person because business ownership is about numbers. Sales, expenses and profits are the three that are most important. Even so, many business operators who have a good feel for the numbers need assistance with spreadsheets and financial statements. It is okay to get outside help preparing your financials, just be sure that you understand them when they are complete. If you are going to pay someone to prepare them, be sure that they also save time to go over them with you from top to bottom. Ultimately they are your numbers.

Others might say, "I have great ideas, but I'm not a great writer." It's understood that there can be a lot riding on someone else reading the final product of your business plan—such as a loan or an investment decision. For that reason, if you are not a strong writer you should start by going through the process of organizing, writing and rewriting your own business plan as best you can. Force yourself to go through all of the steps of writing, rethinking and rewriting as your ideas evolve. Then, have someone else take your finished draft and craft the final polished document. What is important is that the final document must accurately reflect your concepts, ideas and thought process, not the editors.

What if I Just Can't Do It?

Finally, some would say, "I want to start my own business. I am a strong operator, but honestly, I don't think I could write a business plan myself. What do you suggest?" Simple: Buy a franchise! They are perfect for people who are strong operators where someone else provides the strategic plan, the systems and some guidance. This might be the best ownership model for you. That's a topic for another day.

About the Author
Jim DeLapa is the founder of GreatBusinessPlans.com, a leading provider of small business plan assistance for current and future small business owners. DeLapa has launched and invested in numerous successful startups and played an active role in nurturing two of those from inception through being acquired by publicly traded firms.

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What do computer giant Dell, gourmet food basket maker Tastefully Simple, and organic brewer Honest Tea have in common? Though all three are now multi-million dollar companies, all were originally started within the founder’s home. You’ve probably heard how Michael Dell worked out of his garage to build his empire, but equally inspiring are the stories of Jill Blashack Strahan- who assembled gift baskets on the pool table of her backyard shed- and Seth Goldman- who brewed tea at his kitchen sink and presented homemade samples to clients in thermoses.

The home-based startup story has a certain magic to it that often glosses over the particulars: where to set up office equipment (computer, printer, copier,etc.), whether or not you should dedicate a business phone line or switch your VoIP service to include “follow” features so you’re always available, and how many hours you should put in when your office is in your kitchen. What does a stay-at-home entrepreneur really need? Here are a few necessities:

1. A Separate, Dedicated Workspace. Whether it’s your garage, a toolshed in the backyard, or just an area off the den, you will need a space that’s just for work.

2. A Separate Phone Line. Small business VoIP service plans are cheap and easy to sign up for. You can also add an extension or line to your existing residential VoIP service arrangement.

3. A Fast Internet Connection. For businesses based online, this is non-negotiable. Your internet connection should be fast enough to support online activity and VoIP calls, if you use an internet-based phone system as your method of business communication.

4. A Door…or Earplugs. If you can’t physically separate your workspace from the rest of the house, you can mentally separate it by using earplugs to tune out audio distractions, or a folding screen to tune out visual ones.

5. A “Do Not Disturb” sign. If you’re working while others are at home, make sure they know when you’re “unavailable.”

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If you’re thinking of switching to VoIP service from a traditional landline based Key, PBX, or hybrid phone system, you’re not alone- businesses of all sizes are beginning to realized the cost-saving benefits of computer/telephony integration. Switching to a VOIP phone is relatively simple- changes can be made quickly and easily, and there is usually very little equipment to purchase.

Whether you’re switching to a business VoIP service or implementing a phone system for the first time, here are a few things you need to consider:

Internet Connectivity

VoIP phone systems use the internet to make and receive calls- you’ll need to make sure your connection and your power supply can support system requirements. Generally, a steady, uninterrupted power supply and a high-speed internet connection are all that’s needed. Your connection should be able to support the added traffic that the system will create. Vendors will ask how many employees will be using the system, how many calls are placed daily, and take into consideration features like auto attendant and call transferring when setting up your internet connection to support your system. You may need to purchase additional routers or install a backup power supply.

VoIP Adapters

If you’re witching to VoIP from a traditional phone system, you can save by purchasing adapters for your current phones. A traditional phone fitted with a VoIP adapter works identically to a VoIP phone. Most adapters are less than $50 each, and are often available in bulk discounts for larger offices. In lieu of adaptors, you can also purchase VoIP phones, headsets, or microphones that can be connected directly to a computer and used in place of a traditional headset. Most business and residential VoIP service providers sell both VoIP-compatible phones and adapters.

VoIP Phones

Voice over Internet Protocol phones are slightly more expensive that VoIP adapters, but are a good investment if you plan to use the system for several years. VoIP phones are easy to use and install- they don’t take any special training to set up. Once installed, they work identically to traditional phones. Most VoIP phones cost at least $100 each, with many vendors offering steep discounts for phones purchased in bulk.

Switching to a VoIP system takes surprisingly little time. Once you’ve decided to make the switch, you can shop around for providers and compare prices for services and equipment. Most providers can also make suggestions about system configuration (i.e., if you need a faster internet connection) during this stage. Once you’ve settled on a service provider and purchased equipment, you can have the new system up and running in less than a week.

About the Author
Merrin Muxlow is a writer, yoga instructor, and law student based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for Resource Nation, a company that provides resources for business owners, and is a frequent contributor to several sites and programs that offer tools for entrepreneurs, including Dell and BizEquity.

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Advantages of Offshore Businesses

There are varying definitions for an offshore company, or offshore business. Definitions commonly refer to offshore business as involving the movement of an aspect of a company overseas. Regardless of the official definition, offshore companies are set up in jurisdictions, which offer advantages – which include no, or low, taxes on income and capital gains, no restrictions on employment policies and high confidentiality from minimal reporting requirements.

Generally, an offshore company is incorporated from outside the particular jurisdiction in question. It is also restricted from conducting business within that jurisdiction, although this can be dependent on the jurisdiction in question. The ultimate purpose of offshoring is the tremendous savings companies stand to gain by incorporating in certain offshore jurisdictions.

Offshore company formation can be an excellent way to legitimately minimize international taxation. For example, incorporation in Singapore, which is not seen as a traditional tax haven, allows international profits to be legally tax-exempt provided funds are not remitted to a Singapore corporate bank account.

Apart from being a legitimate way by which to protect global assets, international entrepreneurs choosing to form an offshore company in a reputable jurisdictions such as Singapore or Hong Kong, portray a positive, reputable image to customers, suppliers, investors and banks.

To summarise, advantages of using an offshore company can include:

* Minimising tax obligations
* Effective protection of global assets
* Efficient execution of international business
* Procedures for incorporation are usually less complex
* Limited reporting requirements, hence higher confidentiality
* Portrays international image, provided it is a reputable jurisdiction
* Protection against volatility in economic and political elements

‘Tax Haven’ Stigma

Whilst the benefits of taking a company offshore can be valuable, consideration should be given to the potential risks. Traditional offshore jurisdictions are becoming increasingly insecure. Many offshore jurisdictions have come under pressure from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to exchange company and bank account details of foreign clients as a way to assist in combating tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing.

After the recent G20 summit, many traditional ‘tax havens’ have made commitments to following the transparency guidelines set out by the OECD. This increased attention is not only on rich individuals but is on corporations – large and small. For this reason, it is crucial to develop the most appropriate corporate structure when undertaking offshore incorporation so as to avoid the ‘tax haven’ stigma that can negatively impact a company’s success.

The term ‘tax haven’ has recently received negative publicity due largely to the increased efforts of G20 nations, especially the US and UK, to clamp down on tax evasion. The case between Swiss bank UBS and the United States government is an example of this.

But is the cause of this attention due to the policies of these common offshore jurisdictions or the determined efforts of other countries to maintain, or maximize, their own tax revenues? Hopefully the objective is focused on reducing tax evasion. Differences between countries in terms of personal income and company taxes, incorporation requirements, trade and employee policy restrictions, foreign investment policies, confidentiality requirements etc. should help maintain a competitive international business environment. This helps to avoid larger governments trying to enforce restrictive tax and trade policies.

Asia provides efficient options for international entrepreneurs considering offshore jurisdictions. Singapore and Hong Kong are two jurisdictions that boast excellent international reputations, have investor-friendly business environments and are economically and politically stable.

Cooperation and transparency between authorities will increase but it is not the end of low tax jurisdictions or banking privacy. Offshore incorporation, when properly structured, is an excellent, tax-efficient strategy for entrepreneurs to conduct their international business.

Author information
Peter Cant is the Marketing Manager for Healy Consultants. Peter has over 11 years work experience within media, advertising and marketing and has worked on a range of business categories locally and internationally.

Resource Box
Healy Consultants is a corporate services firm providing international clients with a range of offshore company formation and corporate advisory services. Headquartered in Singapore, the firm has an exceptional knowledge of business set up procedures and a comprehensive understanding of legitimate, tax efficient financial structures. Visit our business website for detailed information on the firm’s services.

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Article Contributed by Lori Olson

Business goals need to be defined. Startup business plans always need to include what the expected destination will be. Image that you are going on vacation and have no idea where you are going as you get in your car. How do you pack for such a trip? You might end up in Florida with a suitcase full of ski clothing. As obvious as this may seem, many online businesses start out pretty clueless about this.

Step 1 - Pick an online business monetization model.

The four ways to make money online are:

- Ecommerce model - this applies to any business that has a product or service to sell online.

- Lead generation model - this is the cost per action (CPA) approach where information is sold to other businesses

- Advertising model - this applies to sites that are rich with content and attract lots of information seekers and repeat visitors. The site makes money through pay per click and affiliate products. It relies heavily on high traffic and repeat visitors.

- Support - this applies to businesses that specialize in solving customer problems

Once your business model has been defined ("your travel destination") you can figure out the steps needed to get you there. In some cases, there will be overlap of models but one will prevail as dominant.

Step 2 - Identify the steps you need to accomplish your goals.

Here are the minimum requirements for online success:

- Keyword research - This is a crucial first step that is most often skipped or done in a shoddy manner. It accounts for the majority of startup business online failure. It is so critical to be done right, yet most startups fail to take the time to fully research it. They make the mistake of brainstorming keywords that "sound" right. If they do any keyword research they usually stop after identifying keywords that are highly searched. They don't continue the investigation by finding out how much competition exists for those keywords. They don't determine whether the people searching on those terms are information seekers (and will never buy anything) or actual buyers. Keyword research needs all three of these components. If one of these is missing, it is extremely likely that the website will not succeed.

- An SEO friendly website - Failure to develop a search engine optimized (SEO) website is another typical and huge mistake that startup businesses make online. Unfortunately, the main focus is on a website’s looks (whether that be "pretty", "trendy", or professional). Many startups make the mistake of using web designers who know little or anything at all about SEO. They are graphic designers who will make a site look terrific but will be a coding nightmare for search engine spiders. They often include excessive amounts of flash (spiders are just starting to be able to make some sense of it) and dynamic scripts (e.g. spiders cannot read JavaScript). The focus should not be on creating the most beautiful website but rather on the most functional one that has high visitor usability.

- Great content - Sites need to provide the content that is highly relevant to the expected audience and that is also of great quality. It must contain the right keyword weight, frequency and proximity. The content needs to be chunked in a way that makes it easy for visitors to find and consumed. It needs to have correct spelling and grammar.

- An obvious call to action that is easy to execute. Anything that is frustrating to your visitor is likely to send them away (even if they are in the midst of your shopping cart).

- Web analytics - Business owners need to follow the Japanese concept of kaizen. This is looking for ways to make continuous improvement. Web analytics is essential for all web businesses. It can tell you about the way visitors enter and exit your site, how long they stay, what pages lead them on and which ones cause them to leave and so forth. Web analytics will tell you where your site needs to make improvement otherwise you will be completely clueless as to why the traffic your site gets does not convert.

- Marketing strategies - This includes developing organic search engine traffic (developing back links etc.), PPC and Social Media strategies.

- Business processing software - Systems that automate your business will cut down costs, prevent follow up failure and make your business manageable. This is important even no matter what size business you have. If you are a solo entrepreneur, it can be the difference between having free time or not.

Step 3 - Evaluation of your resources:

The first thing to realize is that there a lot of technical steps that need to be done. Startup businesses need to determine what in house skill sets exist and what needs to be outsourced. Solo entrepreneurs and small business owners typically have the "must do it yourself" attitude. This can be a formula for online businesses that are unprofessional looking, never get found online, and never get passed the formulation/beginning stage of development. It is not necessary to learn HTML, JavaScript and PHP. It is not necessary to become and SEO or analytics wizard. It is however, essential to know that you need these things. This is why so very many of online businesses fail. They are missing so many crucial elements because of not knowing or by doing things in an incomplete, haphazard and non-professional manner.

Evaluation of resources includes determining what can and should be done by whom. It includes deciding on how to allocate funds so that your business will grow. The reality is that most individuals to not have all the skill sets that are needed to do the required tasks of a successful online business. Getting the help of experts is the most cost effective route. Fortunately, getting expert help for an online business is highly affordable; especially compared to the costs of starting an offline business. Many so-it-yourselfers turn to "magic bullet" solutions. Startup businesses need to evaluate the benefits of the many do it yourself type of products that are available from internet gurus. While many of these products do have value, the cost in terms of time to learn how to effectively use them (and the energy involved) must be considered. How many products will be needed for the do-it-yourself approach? Will the product do what it says? The reality is that the cost of hiring professionals is often the same or less than attending workshops and buying products. After the workshop is over, small business owners still need to attend to execution of the details whereas hiring a professional accomplished this.

There is no doubt that startup businesses who follow this three step blueprint will distinguish themselves from the vast majority of new online businesses that fail.

About the Author
Lori Olson has a passion for helping small businesses develop strong online presences with a team of 250 professionals who analyze & implement SEO, SEM, PPC Campaign Mgmt, Social Media, Copy Writing & Web Development strategies which are customized to fit any needs, wants & budget. Update Small Business also provides leading edge employee & sales assessment & training; & CRM solutions. http://updatesmallbusiness.com or call 877.265.6568.

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Blogtrepreneur: Outsourcing has long been the practice of large companies looking to cut costs and streamline processes. But many small startups have also chosen to outsource some of the key functions of their business in order to manage things more effectively. Many young companies are running lean and mean with few employees wearing many hats. This is par for the course in a startup, but it also places you at risk because it means you’re not giving the highest level of attention to any one part of your business plan.

Individual pieces of your overall strategy such as marketing, accounting, or sales should have dedicated professionals running them. Yet it is expensive to hire a staff large enough to take on each portion of your business individually.

In recent years, a plethora of small firms and freelancers have established themselves, focused on providing small business solutions and specialized, outsourced management of key business areas. Thanks to modern technology, outsourcing has become affordable and allows these professionals to work remotely, without even taking up office space in your facility.

But is outsourcing always the best option for a startup? Keep in mind that there is no way you’re ever going to get out of working hard for your own business. Outsourcing can help lift some of the burden, but even then you’ll have to stay on top of everything that you’ve hired someone else to do.

Additionally, in order to be competitive in any market, you must strive to stand out from the crowd. If you’re hiring outside groups to do things for you, chances are high that they will be using tried and true methods. While this offers you some stability, it also means that you’re not going to be blazing any new trails. As an entrepreneur, you need to think creatively when it comes to your business strategy. You are the only one who has that drive and the passion to get your company moving in a unique direction. If you do outsource, it is essential that you maintain constant vigilance over the work being done for you by outside firms.

As an entrepreneur, you are the only who knows if you really need help. It is up to you to balance the decision between the costs associated with outsourcing with your own limitations of time and ability for managing certain aspects of your startup.

If you do decide to outsource, make sure you weigh your decision on whom to hire as seriously as the decision to hire in the first place. There are usually multiple options and you should be prepared to meet with these firms, check references, and find out their processes for working, communicating, and implementing before you sign a contract. Once you hire an outsourcing firm, they become an integral part of your business and you will be working with them on a daily basis. Their overall business philosophy should compliment yours.

Should Your Startup Outsource? [Blogtrepreneur]

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Making the decision to sell a business is an extremely important one but many business owners do not realize just how important it is until it is their business. It is absolutely imperative that you take the time to consider your options before making a decision, regardless of whether you built the business from nothing or bought into it and made it your own. There are plenty of factors to consider but if you decide to sell your business, you should do your research before marketing your business for sale.

There are several tips that could help you when selling your business, and ten of them are outlined below. This information is essential so make sure that you adhere to the following points:

1. Plan Your Exit Strategy – Experts agree that you should always plan ahead when you want to sell the business, and begin to prepare at least three years in advance where possible. This allows you to prepare for the handover, both personally and regarding the business for sale. It will allow you to maximize profit and get your paperwork in order.

2. Prepare The Business – If you want to get a higher price when selling your business, you need to make sure that it is well prepared. Any outstanding issues should be solved, new policies and strategies implemented, and fulfilling training will get you up to 10% more on your business than would otherwise be possible.

3. Disregard Your Own Valuation – You are emotionally involved in your business so any price expectations you place on it would be emotionally affected. As such, you are likely to over inflate the price and no buyer will want to know how much you believe your business is worth. The only valuation that matters is that of a valuation specialist or qualified appraiser.

4. Protect Yourself – Have your attorney draw up a confidentiality agreement with no possible loopholes before you make any disclosures pertaining to the business. This will protect your business no matter what and ensure that you are not stung if any sale falls through.

5. Inform Your Shareholders – Shareholders and other individuals with an interest in the business, such as board members, could actually stop any sale of your business going through. Advising them in advance and taking steps to ensure that their influence is ultimately muted is essential. Failing to do so may leave you with your business in your name along with a huge bill for costs incurred by brokers, accountants, and attorneys.

6. Prepare Your Conditions – Many business owners wait until a bid is made on their businesses before preparing their own terms and this can hold up a potential sale. It may even be the cause for a sale falling through. Preparing your written terms and conditions before you put your business on the market will inform buyers before they place a bid. You will then be able to negotiate.

7. Consider Your Retirement – Selling a business may only be the start of your retirement but it could lead to problems in your personal life. You need to consider what you will do following the sale of your business for your own peace of mind and general health. Do not neglect this point. Although it may not sound important now, it will be following the sale.

8. Do Not Give Priority To Price – You should never look at the sale of your business in immediate financial terms. The bids offered may be distinguished as the highest monetary bid and the lower ones, but accepting the former may mean you lose out. Lower bids may have clauses by which you earn a percentage of profits for so many years or even retain shares, As such, the cash amount should be placed behind the content of the bid terms when you consider them.

9. Full Disclosure – No matter what the weaknesses are for your business, you should always make a full disclosure, including warranties, about the state of your business. Be sure to include “to the best of your knowledge” in your contracts, and qualify all disclosure made so you and your buyer know exactly where you stand.

10. Choose The Deal – Approving a deal structure is of paramount importance when selling your business. You need to ensure that you are completely happy with every aspect of the deal. For example, you may want to retain a certain aspect of technology from your business for your future interests so this should be qualified in the terms. You may also wish to keep certain business interests out of the sale. Whatever your decision, you should always act in your own best interests so only offer the deal that you feel comfortable with.

About the Author:

GlobalBX provides a FREE business for sale exchange connecting business buyers, sellers and lenders. Search over 32,000 businesses for sale and franchise opportunities. Sell a business for free with no listing fees and zero commissions. We have all the top franchises as well as franchise resales. Find franchise reviews and get free franchise information. You can also contact over 300 lenders directly and get a business loan.

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Before you get involved with a franchise and commit to a future within a specific brand or business, there are essential elements of the law that you need to know. That law is determined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which requires franchisors to present all potential franchisees with a specific document offering disclosures at least ten days before a contract is signed or money changes hands. That agreement is known as the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC). It is designed to help potential franchisees decide whether an opportunity is the right investment for them and, as such, contains a total of 23 sections.

The Franchisor and its Predecessors and Affiliates – This is the first section and provides specific information about the franchisor. This includes the location, the products / services available, and the experience of personnel working for the company.

Business Experience – This is the second section and it provides you with employment histories for all of the franchise brokers, board members, executives, officers, and management. This is to demonstrate their experience and provides specific information for the previous five years.

Litigation – This is the third section and provides information about any and all litigation that any of the officers, board members, management and executives, as well as the franchisor itself, have previously been involved in. Your attorney should fully investigate any issues arising here.

Bankruptcy – This is the fourth section and is similar to litigation in that it will detail bankruptcy issues instead of litigation proceedings.

Fees – The fifth section informs you of any upfront fees and charges that are applicable to you, including any initial franchising fee that must be paid.

Ongoing Fees – The sixth section details all costs, fees, and payments that are required to be paid following those in section five. This may be royalties, advertising, maintenance, construction, and even staffing costs.

Initial Investment – The seventh section details how much you will need to plough into the business to get it off the ground. These figures are essential for applying for financing and compiling your business plan. Of course, the figures here are typical rather than actual and more of an investment may be required.

Restrictions on Sources of Products and Services – The eighth section is complex on paper but is easy to understand as it details the goods that you are obligated to purchase or lease from the franchisor or its partners. There are often details like the quantities of goods you have to purchase, so you will have an insight into the running of the business.

Franchisee's Obligations – The ninth section details your own personal obligations relating to the business and may or may not include policies, sale figures, training, and the site itself.

Financing – The tenth section will detail an outline of financial plans and arrangements that are available to you as a franchisee.

Franchisor's Obligations – This eleventh section will take some reading as it is easily the longest area of the UFOC. It is also extremely important because it details the franchisor’s obligations to you. It includes various information and all of it is vital to your interests. Pay particular attention to the part outlining the advertising policy.

Territory – The twelfth section of the UFOC details your legal territorial obligations and rights. It outlines whether you have exclusivity or whether you will or may have to share a location with your competition.

Trademarks – The thirteenth section outlines the trademark rights held and whom they actually belong to. It also includes legal details of how the protection works, and thus how and when you will be able to use it.

Patents, Copyrights and Proprietary Information – Further to the above section, the fourteenth section covers ownership of patents and copyrights, and the conditions under which you may use them.

Obligation to Participate in the Actual Operation of The Franchise Business – This may sound complex, but the fifteenth section basically outlines whether you have to be involved in the business personally and the extent of your involvement.

Restrictions on What The Franchisee May Sell – Section sixteen outlines the products you will sell if you invest in the franchise, and gives ideas of further products that you may be able to sell at a later date.

Renewal, Termination, Transfer and Dispute Resolution – Section seventeen is there to protect the franchisor and franchisee because it tells you how and why you may be terminated as well as determining your rights. Should a conflict occur, it would also inform you of how to proceed with a complaint or issue.

Public Figures – The eighteenth section highlights the celebrities or public personas that will be involved in any marketing campaigns, as well as the way in which he or she will receive compensation.

Earnings Claims – The nineteenth section of the UFOC is an important one because it details typical profits, sales, and information about other franchisees. This is not required so it may not be there, but if it is not then do some research to satisfy your suspicions because you need to know these figures.

List of Outlets – Section twenty of the UFOC details statistics about the system that the franchisor employs, including the number of outlets and the location details of at least 100 of them. There will also be information about closures and contract terminations over the past three years.

Financial Statements – Category twenty-one of the UFOC relates to the franchisor’s financial background and the full statements of accounts for the previous three years. It also includes the current balance sheet. All of the above has to be certified by an accountant to maintain their validity. Your own accountant should examine them for you.

Contracts And Agreements – Section twenty-two is exactly what it says it is, so be sure to consult with your attorney to ensure that they are in your best interests.

Acknowledgment of Receipt by Respective Franchisee – The final section is literally an acknowledgement that you received the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular and is of no other consequence.

Although the Federal Trade Commission requires that all of the above be sent to you in the form of a Uniform Franchising Offering Circular (UFOC), they will not have reviewed or approved the information within the document. As such, it is your responsibility to check its accuracy via your attorney and make sure that the franchise business is really in your best interests.

About the Author:

GlobalBX provides a FREE business for sale exchange connecting business buyers, sellers and lenders. Search over 32,000 businesses for sale and franchise opportunities. Sell a business for free with no listing fees and zero commissions. We have all the top franchises as well as franchise resales. Find franchise reviews and get free franchise information. You can also contact over 300 lenders directly and get a business loan.

You have two big decisions to make when deliberating over whether to use a franchise opportunity to set up a business. If you have already determined that a franchise may be the way to go for you then you have to choose the right one, but how can you do that?

First, you have to analyze yourself in depth to ensure that you have the personal skills, wants, and needs. You have to know exactly what you are capable of and the extent of your business aspirations. Brainstorming is a handy tool to use in this situation and it is essential that you do so before investigating current franchise opportunities that are available. Starting with industry analysis is the best route because you can then match your skill set to the industry requirements. As such, you can then narrow down your options to a few select industries before assessing whether those franchise options would work in your local geographic area. Only then can you begin to contact the franchisors and create a business plan.

When contacting franchisors about possible opportunities, always ask them to send you franchise information. If they are to be trusted then this should be available at no cost. When you receive the information, be sure to read it extremely carefully, paying attention to every detail. Do not take anything at face value and research every detail given in depth. After all, this is your future and no stone should be left unturned. You can use trade magazines, Internet profiles, professional journals, and annual reports. You should also contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and local authorities to make sure that there are no issues with the franchisor. You should extensively look into the reputation, financial health, growth, management, and day to day running of the business because it will be passed onto you as a franchisee.

When you have digested all of the above information and you are happy with it, ask for details of existing franchisees. It is essential to speak to them because they can give you an accurate viewpoint of how the franchisor runs the business, what the management is like to deal with, insider secrets, how the business is faring, and so on. Any good franchisor will be more than happy to provide this information whereas others may be reticent. Franchisees provide critical information so again only pursue franchises that are accessible. Only then should you assemble a legal team and accountant to answer any legal and financial questions you may have. They will also be able to find any holes that you have yet to discover, thus protecting your own interests.

About the Author:

GlobalBX provides a FREE business for sale exchange connecting business buyers, sellers and lenders. Search over 32,000 businesses for sale and franchise opportunities. Sell a business for free with no listing fees and zero commissions. We have all the top franchises as well as franchise resales. Find franchise reviews and get free franchise information. You can also contact over 300 lenders directly and get a business loan.

WBSOnline: The attached file contains a checklist for all the steps you should take before you start a new business. It's a "to do" list for starting a new business in much the same way that a grocery list is a "to do" for grocery shopping.

It contains a general, high-level listing of the tasks you need to complete in starting your new business. So, for example, while it lists "prepare a business plan" as one of the tasks, it does not list every step you need to take to create a business plan.

File Description:
The file contains a one-page document in rich text format (RTF) that is suitable for use with most word processing programs used in the Windows environment.

Download:
Owner's checklist for starting a new business

Special Features:

Included are the following:

* a listing of all the background steps you need to take, including establishing business goals, determining the best location for your business, and assessing your financial situation
* a listing of all the business transactions you need to take, such as hiring a lawyer, establishing a line of credit, and getting business insurance
* a listing of all the pre-opening steps you need to take, including reviewing building codes, obtaining business licenses, and joining professional organizations

Owner's Checklist for Starting a New Business [WBSOnline]

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Where other businesses struggle, franchise businesses thrive. Wendy’s and McDonald’s are prime examples of successful franchise businesses, and also provide inspiration for those individuals who really want to form their own successful businesses in the future. With a brand behind you and a good idea of what does and does not sell, it is no wonder that you have chosen to consider a franchise.

There are two types of franchises out there. One is the good franchise that takes care of its franchisees, providing training and support throughout. The second type does nothing but take from the franchisee and pushes for profit. There is a third type of franchise and that is the one that will rip off franchisees, taking them for as much money as possible. The latter two are not worth the time, money and energy, whereas the former is extremely desirable.

As such, it is essential that you do your research and investigate a franchise thoroughly before signing a contract or paying out any money. The list of questions below may help you to find the better ones as the answers they will yield will give you enough information to make an informed decision:

1. Have you and your attorney analyzed the franchise agreement in detail and do you both completely agree with the details?

2. Are there any elements or step required of you that would break the law or be to the detriment of yourself or your country?

3. Do the provisions in the franchise agreement give you exclusive territory for the period of your contract? If not, what is the maximum number of franchises that may open in your area?

4. Is this franchisor connected in any way with any other franchise company handling similar products or services?

5. If you answered yes to the above question, what is your protection against the second franchising company?

6. If you decide to end the franchising contract for any reason, what are the provisions for you to pull out of the contract and how much would you have to pay to break the agreement?

7. Are you able to sell your franchise during or at the end of your contract? If you are legally allowed to do so, what are the repercussions related to compensation?

8. What time period represents the duration of your contract and how long has the franchisor actually been in full operation?

9. Does the company offering you this franchise have a reputation for honesty and fair dealing among its franchisees?

10. Has the franchisor shown you any certified figures indicating exact net profits of one or more of its members, and have you personally checked the figures with these people?

11. Are you able to tap into franchisor assistance with training, PR, advertising, capital, credit or merchandising?

12. Are you offered assistance for finding the best location possible in your chosen area?

13. Does the franchising firm have solid financial input to ensure stability and the establishment of goals?

14. Does the franchisor have experienced management, trained in-depth?

15. Can the franchisor do anything above and beyond what you are capable of yourself?

16. Have investigations into your background been carried out and has the franchisor been assured that you are capable of making a profit?

17. Does the state in which you live in have franchising laws in place, and does the franchisor adhere to them completely?

18. How much equity capital will you need to purchase the franchise and operate it until your income equals your expenses?

It is extremely important to answer these questions fully and to your complete satisfaction. If this is the case then you may be extremely eager to become a franchisee. However, you should research all answers to get them verified in several places to ensure that your investment would be a wise one.

Purchasing a franchise can provide you with stability and profits in a short period of time but that is not to say that it is infallible. Less than 20% of all franchises fail so you need to ensure that you do not become a statistic. Information regarding specific franchising ideas can be found in the franchising directories, which are generally available at the local library. This will give you a little assistance to get started but you need to ensure that you are completely happy before committing.

About the Author:

GlobalBX provides a FREE business for sale exchange connecting business buyers, sellers and lenders. Search over 32,000 businesses for sale and franchise opportunities. Sell a business for free with no listing fees and zero commissions. We have all the top franchises as well as franchise resales. Find franchise reviews and get free franchise information. You can also contact over 300 lenders directly and get a business loan.

Franchising has a longer history than many people may imagine but there have been several defining moments during its history. One of the biggest events occurred on October 21, 1979 when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) introduced the Franchise Rule. This was designed to protect franchisees because it asserted that all US operational franchisors were legally obliged to fully disclose details that all potential franchisees should know before committing to investment.

As such, it enforced FTC standards to ensure that all disclosures contained uniform information that has been prepared to meet the legal criteria. One of the main requirements of this law ensured that there has to be evidence to support any financial details given. This in turn assures all potential franchisees that there is profit to be made and make them fully aware of any pitfalls.

More specifically, the Franchise Rule requires the following information to be disclosed by all franchisors:

(a) The franchisor must declare its affiliates, directors, officers, management and individuals responsible for all areas of the business, such as training, support, and franchising information.

(b) The franchisor must declare whether it or any of its officers, management, and directors have ever been bankrupt or faced lawsuits in the past, even those from before the individual in question joined the business.

(c) The exact amount you are expected to pay in franchise fees and various other associated charges must be disclosed. This includes all immediate and ongoing payments after the franchise contract is signed and the business has opened.

(d) Any and all restrictions on the quality of goods and services that you, as a franchisee, may use. This includes any purchase restrictions that may be in place.

(e) Any help and support that will be offered by the franchisor and any affiliates including financial support.

(f) All restrictions applicable to the goods and services you will be managing and selling, as well as any restrictions that you have to work with when dealing with customers.

(g) Any advantage or guarantees provided regarding the location and locality of the franchise.

(h) The franchise conditions under which your franchise may be terminated, sold on to another franchisee, repurchased, or modified.

(i) Franchisee training programs that are available and any fees associated with them.

(j) The involvement, if any, of celebrities or known figures in the public eye within the business, whether in advertising or behind the scenes.

(k) Site selection assistance that is offered by the franchisor.

(l) The number of present franchises, franchises projected for the future, franchises terminated or not to be renewed, and the number repurchased in the past.

(m) Full financial statement disclosure.

(n) How far you are expected to participate within the franchise operation after becoming a franchisee.

(o) Full disclosure of proof for earnings and profit claims made regarding other franchisees.

(p) Full names and addresses of franchisees that you can talk to.

All of the above legal considerations of franchising must be fully disclosed during initial contact with the representative of the franchise, whether that is a broker or the franchisor him or herself. As soon as the franchise opportunity is discussed, the legal considerations must be fully disclosed. The disclosure must be at least ten days prior to payment or to any franchise or related contract being signed. This pertains to the contract signing itself and also any financial statements changing hands.

The Federal Trade Commission does not require franchisors to register, but depending on the state your franchise may be in, it may have to register on a local level. The Uniform Franchise Circular Offering (UFOC) guidelines have been adopted by most states as a result of their strict disclosure requirements. However, you should never take it for granted that the franchise is registered or offers full disclosure, thus providing you with protection of any kind. You must research the franchisor fully before committing.

About the Author:

GlobalBX provides a FREE business for sale exchange connecting business buyers, sellers and lenders. Search over 32,000 businesses for sale and franchises for sale. Sell your business for sale for free with no listing fees and zero commissions. We have 1000s of franchises as well as franchise resales. Find franchise reviews and get free franchise information. You can also contact over 300 lenders directly and get a business loan.

For any individual looking to capitalize on franchising opportunities and owning a franchise business, there are several advantages to consider. Some of those you may be interested in are outlined below:

The Franchise Business Pros
· Having a brand behind you, whether it is locally or nationally famous, will save you a lot of time and money that would be needed to create your own brand or trademark. You will also attract customers immediately rather than having to advertise extensively.
· You will have an established business framework to work within, which dramatically reduces the risk associated with a startup business.
· You will already have tried and tested suppliers and services at your disposal, which will again save you the time and money associated with finding your own.
· You will receive ongoing support for sales and marketing throughout your franchise ownership. Franchisees often choose to tap into the help that is offered to them throughout their tenure via existing marketing and advertising assistance.
· Franchisees often get comprehensive financial assistance because banks are often more willing to lend money to well-known brands and names than business startups that are completely unknown to consumers. Franchisees may also have access to direct financial assistance from the franchisor.
· The risk of investing in a franchise is lower than it is for a regular business startup. An established concept is much more desirable because there is less risk.
· Continued development opportunities and research will be available. Franchisors tend to choose to tap into information concerning competition in the local area, seasonal goods, demand, and local attitudes.
· You will get business support from your franchisor, which will help to find you the best possible site and enable any construction work that needs to be done in addition to employee training and operational assistance.
· All business procedures and methods that you use will already be tried, tested, and proven to work.
· The quality and desirability of the franchisor products have been proven and come at a certain standard level that is well established.
· You will have the buying power of the franchisor and centralized purchasing at your fingertips, so costs may be reduced as a result of bulk buying savings that are handed down to the franchisee.

In addition to the pros of franchise businesses as outlined above, there are also others that you may want to consider. For example, expansion may come more easily with a franchise business and you may enhance your business interests with additional businesses, either within the franchise or outside of it. This is how dreams of riches become realities.

That is not to say that there are not cons and disadvantages associated with franchise businesses. A few of them are outlined below:

The Franchise Business Cons
· You may lose ultimate control of your business as a result of the established franchise standards that you have to run your business in accordance with. You may also find that you cannot implement your own ideas and initiatives.
· The level of royalties could be as much as 10% or more in select cases, which will of course affect your profits.
· You will have to pay an initial fee to buy into the franchise. It could be as little as $4,000 but may extend up to $50,000 so there is significant initial outlay.
· You will have to pay advertising fees to ensure that your business is recognized as existing in your current location. If the franchisor advertises poorly then your fees are wasted.
· You may have to buy a signage pack from your franchisor. Some franchisors insist on you buying their specific signage and so you may find it extremely expensive.
· If the franchisor gets into difficulties then so do you. As you effectively bear their name then you bear the brunt of a problem, including issues with suppliers.

In conclusion, although there are some disadvantages with having a franchise business, the positives far outweigh the negatives. The risks of failure are significantly reduced and so there are fewer problems than a brand new startup business. Of course, you should always ensure that the paperwork is in order, and you should complete your research and due diligence before committing because there are no guaranteed profits, and you would ultimately be responsible should the venture fail.

About the Author:

GlobalBX provides a FREE business for sale exchange connecting business buyers, sellers and lenders. Search over 32,000 businesses for sale and franchises for sale. Sell your business for sale for free with no listing fees and zero commissions. We have 1000s of franchises as well as franchise resales. Find franchise reviews and get free franchise information. You can also contact over 300 lenders directly and get a business loan.

This article is contributed by Guy Kingston

Modern business planning owes it origins to two very different parents.

The first is the obligation to prepare a “Prospectus” when floating a company, outlining the “prospects” of the new venture. Although an early prospectus has little in common with a modern business plan, it might well have contained elements that might find their way into such a plan – a statement of purpose, a “vision” of where the new company intends to be in a few years, an analysis of opportunities and threats, and so on.

A prospectus is primarily a legal and financial document, but it is also a marketing tool to sell the new company to investors. What it is not is a strategy.

The second major influence on business planning is military planning. Many of the early pioneers of business planning were professional soldiers or naval officers who were retired or who found themselves surplus to requirements between wars. They brought the techniques they had learned in the services into the world of commerce.

There is a saying to the effect that “When amateurs talk about war, they talk about strategy; when professionals talk about war, they talk about logistics.”

There is much truth in that. The key to winning wars is less actual fighting than being able to move men and material at short notice and under pressure to the place where they are most needed. The army that does this most effectively will usually win the fighting.

Since professional soldiers devote a great deal of their time and thought to this, they tend to get good at it. Experience has taught them a few simple techniques that are usually very effective in practice. Although there are many famous logistical failures, they are famous because they are exceptional.

This is the military efficiency that proved so useful in the private sector.

However, the downside of professional soldiers being good at logistics because they talk about the subject more than strategy is that they are not so good at strategy.

Career soldiers are not necessarily expert strategists. The skills that make them good at logistical detail rarely come with a view of the bigger picture. Experienced commanders have often made elementary strategic errors that even a well-informed amateur would have foreseen and avoided. Whatever one’s view of the policies of the West in Iraq and Afghanistan, no one can deny that the implementation of those policies has been full of avoidable strategic errors.

Many of the fine military minds that influenced the development of business planning were characterised by the same combination of logistical skill and strategic blindness.

Here then is the great gap between the two sources of business planning: neither was particularly interested in actual strategy.

Those who could draft a good prospectus might be able to conjure up an enticing picture of how things could be, and those in the military tradition could deal with the nuts and bolts of running a business, but the problem of turning the pretty picture into the nuts and bolts was never addressed.

There were plans and plans but no real strategy.

This original problem has never quite been resolved. One sees it reflected in too many business plans today. They are big on the broad vision and sound on the operational details, but have no strategy to turn one into the other – which, one would have thought, was the whole point of a business plan in the first place!

About the Author:
Guy Kingston produces and presents the Mind Your Own Business podcast, offering free business advice to entrepreneurs and business owners. As well as audio podcasts there are more articles like this, compelling videos and a must-read blog. All at www.myobpod.com or you can network and join in discussions on the MYOB Facebook group.

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OnStartups: The following is a guest article by Jason Cohen. Jason is the CEO and founder of Smart Bear, Inc. Smart Bear creates tools for peer code review. Jason "gets" software startups.

Doom and gloom. Layoffs, bankruptcy, insolvency, bailouts. Blah blah blah Wall Street, blah blah blah Main Street.

It's a terrible time to start a company, right? Wrong!

Here are six reasons why you should start your new company right now.

1. Low opportunity cost

When the economy is booming, staying in a regular job makes sense. Generous bonuses are common when revenues are soaring, stock option grants are valuable when an IPO is imminent, your resume is improving in direct proportion to the success of the company. Upside and safety! Fabulous.

Of course that scenario is almost non-existent today. Most companies aren't hiring; many are laying off. Salaries are low, bonuses are suspended, stock options are as worthless as a vote for Pat Buchanan.

So if the alternative is working for low pay without job security, why not work for yourself and build your startup? You'll be investing your time and energy into something with more potential upside in future. If you're talented and have always toyed with the idea of a startup, financially it makes sense to do it now.

2. Cheap Talent

It's hard to hire good people because they already have a job. But right now that's not true -- companies are exploding and laying off everyone, even the stars.

If you're starting a company you're probably looking for a co-founder more than an employee. Even better. In an environment where few companies are hiring, lots of stars (or, better, potential stars) are out of work.

The market is flooded with good people. Maybe you yourself just got laid off with some co-workers you like! Just keep your hiring standards high and dig into your social network. (Or go get a social network now. See? That Facebook account really was a good idea.)

3. Cheap Stuff

Need cheap office space? Layoffs mean newly empty desks in empty offices with phones that still work. Look for subleases where someone is trying to recoup some costs -- often they'll throw in Internet as long as you don't abuse it.

Need cheap furniture? Companies are dumping stuff into used furniture stores and there aren't a lot of buyers. Drive a hard bargain.

Need cheap advertising? Ad revenue is drying up as companies down-size marketing budgets and miss their next round of funding. Combine that with lower readership (especially in print) and ad deals are everywhere. Don't listen to the protestations of ad reps -- they're under duress and will take almost any offer. (I'll post later on ways to wrangle with ad reps.)

With everyone hurting, deals are everywhere. Your expenses will never be lower than right now. Low expenses mean getting to profitability faster -- exactly what a new bootstrapped company needs.

4. Eager customers

When budgets are tight, people need to get stuff for free. Good for open source projects, bad for companies, right?

Good for startups. Remember, with your first twenty customers you'll be giving away your product for nothing. You need to -- your product isn't fully-formed, they're helping you work out the kinks, you're counting on them for testamonials, and you need to prove your product works in the market.

You'll be a Godsend to companies who need your product. Their (lack of) budget prevents them from buying anything else, including competing products that are better than yours. They'll be ecstatic to get something for free or cheap.

Here's a trick: Trade your product for a customer story (that you write and they approve). They'll be happy to tell the world how you bailed them out of their crisis.

I'd like a side of grated cheese, please?

5. Competitor carnage

Is there an 800 lb gorilla blocking your market? Or a few hip companies you're afraid to compete with?

They're all in SOS mode now. They have overhead, recurring bills, 12-month advertising contracts and 5-year office leases. Their prices are high and are hard to lower.

They're eating cash. Those that are unfunded are watching cash reserves fall, computing months-remaining before they'll have to close the doors. Venture-backed companies are in a bigger pickle -- they weren't profitable before, cash is now disappearing at an alarming rate, and many of them won't get fed again when they run out.

Perfect, if you're a little startup. You have none of these pains; you're sipping cash with no overhead and lots of time to devote to coddling new customers. While your competitors convulse, shed talent, and invent stories to calm their doubting shareholders, you've got nowhere to go but up. While they're figuring out how to wring more money from their existing customers, you're acquiring new customers they can no longer entice.

6. "Now" is always the right time

The most common day for starting a new company is the same as starting a new diet: Tomorrow.

Take the leap. Not tomorrow. Today.

The third-hardest thing you'll do is to take the leap. (The second-hardest is getting through the first fifty sales, the ones well before the chasm, when you're sick of tech support and wondering when the real money is going to show up. The hardest is firing someone.)

Never mind all that. Get started. "Now" is always the right time to start, because otherwise odds are you'll never start.

If you don't start, you're doomed to a life of trudging through jobs, depending on someone else for salary and bonuses and health care and retirement, a life's work without ownership or upside.

You're better than that. That's why you're reading this blog.

So go for it.

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Article Contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick

Starting a business strong can be a challenging endeavor for small business owners and entrepreneurs. There are many factors at play when getting your fledgling business off the ground and running smoothly and effectively.

After looking past all the logistics, there are some key things you can do to help your business connect with people on a more personal level and keep them coming back to you in the future. The following five tips are some suggestions on how you can do just that.

1. Have a great website and related blog. If you aren’t on the web yet, you must do this right away. Being listed in the appropriate local directories and being available to your customers 24/7 is one of the greatest functions of the internet. Maintaining a great site with appropriate blog entries to enhance your page will help to ensure your success.

2. Forge relationships with complementary businesses. It only makes sense that you should try to work with other businesses that complement your own. For example, if you are starting a photography business, you should get to know event planners and other people that can recommend your services. You can do the same for them as well. No business is mutually exclusive; take advantage of what the referral system and word of mouth can do for you.

3. Donate goods and services. You can gain much-needed exposure when you employ this tactic as part of your business plan. Donate to silent auctions, give services for free to get your name out there. Your name recognition and reputation will grow rapidly if this is done in the right venues.

4. Become active in your community. Get involved in what is going on in your locale and people will know that you care about the community where you’ve decided to start your business. People will take more of an interest in your business if they know you have a vested interest in the community.

5. Make good on your promise(s). If the opening of your business intends to fill a void in the business community, make sure that you make good on that promise. Customer satisfaction and perception is essential to gaining positive feedback and word-of-mouth, which can make or break a new business.

About the Author
This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of business school rankings. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24@gmail.com

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Easy Accounting

While a sole trader does not have to keep formal basic accounts financial records are required to enable the net taxable profit to be calculated with paperwork to support that calculation. Documentary evidence includes paperwork obtained from third parties such as sales records and receipts, purchase invoices and receipts and if maintained the business bank account. Sole Trader accounting really is the simplest easy accounting as the formal reporting requirements are the easiest.

It is not essential to employ an accountant to prepare the sole trader accounts and the tax return. Employing an accountant has the advantages of saving time in preparing the basic accounts, tax return; professional advice on what expenses can be claimed including calculating the capital allowances. The disadvantage is the cost and that is the choice of the sole trader.

Tax returns, Income Tax and National Insurance

Sole traders are assessed for income tax and national insurance on an annual basis based upon the self employed Tax return everyone self employed must complete and send to the tax authority. HMRC issue tax returns in April each year which need to be completed and submitted by 31 October following the end of the financial year. Tax returns filed online can be submitted with a financial submission date of 31 January, some 10 months after the end of the financial year.

There are 2 versions of the self employed tax return, The short tax return is completed if sales turnover is below £64,000 for 2007-08 and the more detailed full self employed tax return completed if sales exceeded the cut off point which for 2007-08 was also the level at which vat registration was required.

In calculating the tax payable HMRC deduct from the net taxable profit the personal tax allowance and calculate the income tax payable at the 20 per cent basic rate for 2008-09 on profits up to the higher earnings threshold and 40 per cent on net earnings above the higher threshold. Losses incurred in previous years can be offset against the net taxable profit.

Self employed pay class 2 national insurance contributions which were set at £2.30 for the financial year 2008-09. Refunds, through the small exceptions rules, are possible if net taxable profits are very low. In addition self employed also pay class 4 national insurance which in 2008-09 was 8% on net profit above the personal allowance and up to the primary threshold and 1 per cent above the national insurance primary threshold

Following the financial year end on 5 April the income tax and national insurance calculated by HMRC must be paid in full by the following 31 January. In addition HMRC also assess the liability for the next financial year and 50 per cent is also payable on 31 January with the remaining 50 per cent payable by 31 July.

Benefits and disadvantages of vat registration

Starting up as a sole trader does not involve compulsory registration for vat. If a business is unregistered for vat then the vat charged on purchases is treated in the accounts as a cost and vat is not added to the sales values. Businesses are required to register for vat when sales reach the vat threshold in a 12 month period, the current vat threshold as from April 2008 is £67,000.

If sales are mainly to the public who cannot reclaim the vat charged then it is usually better to delay registration until the threshold is reached. Where sales are mainly to other vat registered businesses that can reclaim the vat the sole trader adds to the sales value then it may be appropriate to voluntarily register to enable the vat input charged on purchases to be reclaimed against the vat charged to customers.

A business set up that registers for vat needs to maintain more than just basic accounts. Easy accounting can be adopted provided there ia an audit trail to support the quarterly vat return.

Bank accounts

A sole trader does not need to open a separate business account. If a specific business account is used then HMRC have a right to see the transactions through that business account as supporting evidence to the accounts and so bookkeeping records should be maintained. HMRC may ask to see a private account but they do not have a statutory right to do so.

Since all banking transactions are the personal responsibility and liability of the sole trader if a separate business bank account is opened then it must state the name of the sole trader. Typically the bank account name would be Your Name trading as Business Name.

The advantages of maintaining a separate business account are significant in keeping business and personal finances separate. The disadvantages are business bank charges and being committed to declaring the details to HMRC should they ask. If the business is run honestly then that should not be a problem.

Terry Cartwright qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant and Chartered Company Secretary in 1971. A successful business career followed as Head of Finance for major companies in the UK and several consultancy appointments. In 2006 he created DIY Accounting producing Accounting Software for self employed and small companies that use simple accounts spreadsheets to automate tax returns.

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By adopting an approach of researching the opportunity and getting the administration right from the start the chance of success is increased, and that is important, as more new start up businesses go out of business leaving the sole trader with personal debts than survive in the first 3 years.

Setting up with the Business name, Business plan and personal liability risk

The first point of how to start up business as a sole trader is you can use your own name or choose a suitable business name. All transactions would be conducted under the actual name of the sole trader or the actual name trading as the business name. The sole trader own name should be used on all business stationery, letters, invoices, receipts and cheques.

As all liabilities incurred are the personal responsibility of the sole trader and there is no distinction between business assets and personal assets. Should the business incur losses, and that is quite common in the first year, all losses remain the personal liability of the sole trader.

An important part of how to start up business to take before trading commences is to prepare a business plan. A business plan is essential for a new start up if funding is being sought but is also important since the first year trading performance can be difficult. The business plan consists of sales, purchases, investment in assets and a financial profit statement plus cash flow forecast.

The major benefit initially to be obtained from the business plan for a new start up is the research the sole trader conducts into such areas as competition, market research, suppliers, costs and funding requirements. A business plan is essential to raising new start up finance.

HMRC registration, local authority licenses, retail change of use.

When trading starts, which would be the date of the first sale or purchase, all new start up sole traders have a responsibility to register as self employed with HMRC. Self employment business registration is required within 3 months of trading commencing or the sole trader may be fined £100 for failing to register on time. Following business registration HMRC will send an annual self employed tax return which has to be completed each financial year. It is usually advisable to adopt the 5 April as the year end date and so the first year would be less than 12 months trading.

The self employed registration form can be obtained by telephoning HMRC or visiting and downloading the new business registration form direct from the HMRC website.

There is no requirement to register the business or business name with Companies House which is solely for limited companies.

Depending upon the type of trade there may be a requirement to for business registration with the local authority where either an application for change of use of the premises might be required for a retail business and/or a local authority license required for the proposed trade such as a taxi driver license, child minder, restaurant or pet shop license. Sole traders need to contact the local authority to determine if a license is required for the new business.

Insurance and public liability

When considering how to start up business a sole trader consideration should be given to insurance requirements. Employers liability insurance will be required if employees are employed, insurance specific to the trade may be advisable to offer protection from claims, public liability insurance may be required and is often essential in retail trades particularly if that trade also requires a local authority license.

Payroll and Employees

The business set up status of a sole trader is not affected if employees are engaged as the sole trader is still self employed. If employees are engaged then the sole trader needs to register with HMRC as an employer and operate a PAYE scheme which involves calculating and deducting income tax and national insurance from employees gross pay, incurring the employers national insurance contribution, issuing payslips and keeping records of all employees and deductions. Income tax, employees and employers national insurance can be paid to HMRC quarterly if under £1500 per quarter or monthly if exceeding this level.

Networking with business groups

There are numerous groups a sole trader may consider joining for more information on how to start up business. The government organisation Business Link offer free advice on many issues and may have new business grants available for new start ups. Business Link also has contacts with local enterprise agencies who offer support. The Federation of Small Business charges an annual subscription, hold regular local meetings and provide a range of discounted services to small businesses.

Terry Cartwright qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant and Chartered Company Secretary in 1971. A successful business career followed as Head of Finance for major companies in the UK and several consultancy appointments. In 2006 he created DIY Accounting producing Accounting Software for self employed and small companies that use simple accounts spreadsheets to automate tax returns.

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Article Contributed by Stan Spector

This may absolutely, positively be the best time to start a well-funded business if you can take advantage of these 10 factors.

1. Equipment
In many business sectors, large numbers of business are going out of business, declaring bankruptcy or downsizing. Much of the equipment from these businesses is available for pennies on the dollar if you look to purchase used equipment.

2. Customers
Many businesses are going out of business and their customer will need a new supplier. These customers are up for grabs if you can find them quickly. Hiring a sales representative from one of those companies that are closing can help you find their clients and get them to your business.

3. No Financing
Most of the companies in financial distress may rely on short-term borrowing to stock their business for the peak season, such as Christmas sales. Many will not get the credit they did in past years. So a well-funded, new business with a business model that doesn’t require borrowing every year will get a boost in these tough times.

4. Rent
Many commercial landlords are having problems keeping their property filled. You can negotiate better rents now than you have been able in many years and you can lock up long-term leases that are less expensive than your competitions. This will reduce your fixed expenses. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.

5. Staffing
Existing competitors have too many employees for the reduced business they have now. It is hard for them to cut loyal staff and they keep the staff on long after they can financially justify their pay. You are starting your company so are probably understaffed for the work you have. Keep it understaffed until the business grows.

6. Employees
It is hard for an existing company to reduce pay to workers that they have employ for many years. You can hire new employees that have been laid off from your competition for many months that are now desperate for a job at less than they were making before.

7. Credit
Clients now expect to be scrutinized and expect to provide a lot of private information, and possibly personal guarantees, to get new credit from suppliers. Every businessperson knows the “no doc(ument)” credit is done. Your existing competitors can’t recheck their customers credit or tighten their terms without upsetting the client. You can do this as a new supplier and possibly charge a higher price (or offer less of a discount) for clients who are desperate for credit.

8. Sector
Focus Most business have sectors of customers that are still doing fine while other customer sectors are failing. You can focus on the good sector with your products or services and avoid the deadbeat sectors that will stick you with bad debt.

9. Low
Overhead Low pricing will dominate the customer’s decisions when they consider buying from you. If you can cut the overhead by the preceding ideas, you can offer lower pricing under similar terms as your competitors and get the sales.

10. Attitude
Negative employee attitudes go hand-in-hand with struggling companies. The customers sense this and look for suppliers that have good attitudes and more pleasant customer service representatives. Even if you hire ex-employees of these failing companies, their attitude can change overnight if they are now working for a well-funded company.

Stan Spector is the author of “Baby Boomers’ Official Guide to Retirement Income - Over 100 Part-time or Seasonal Businesses for the New Retiree”. The book's website can be found at StanSpector.com.

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Article Contributed by Stephanie Fish

Business burnout can be suffered by any business owner, whether you own and manage an online business or brick-and-morter business. Most people would agree that business burnout can occur for many different reasons but the most common reasons are (1) When a person tries to do every task on their own or (2) They don't know their limitations and try to do everything for everyone, and actually end up neglecting themselves.

Here are 3 common ways to get control over your "business burnout":

1) Chart- (also known as "plan") Make a list of every task that needs to be accomplished, whether its personal, household or business related. Once you have everything written down assign a day of the week that you can solely focus on that specific task. Remember, every task should help you reach your goal. Charting your tasks and goals are very important for any size business. Here's a little exercise that can help you chart your way to success. Get a large piece of paper and draw a bulls-eye with about 5 rings. The middle ring is your ultimate goal, from there each ring would be a step towards your goal. The most outer ring would be where you are today. Beside each task you should give yourself a date that represents the date you would like to begin and end each goal. Making sure you are giving yourself ample time to get a task completed makes you more focused and relaxed, there's nothing worse than getting yourself upset over a task that wasn't completed in an unrealistic time frame to begin with. Charting takes a little effort and some getting used to, but the pay off in the end will be worth it. If you are completely unable to focus on charting by yourself, then utilizing the assistance of a virtual assistant or business coach will be to your best advantage.

2) Outsource- Outsourcing isn't just for the "big businesses" anymore! Every business can benefit from outsourcing, if its done correctly. If you look at your competition or perhaps a company that you admire, you'll see that they have a team in place, with most projects and tasks being outsourced to another company. The owner does not do every task himself, infact his business is so large in part by having a team of specialists in place so that he/she can now focus on other aspects of the business. Outsourcing does not have to cost you a small fortune, if done correctly in the beginning. That's why its so important to have your chart inf ront of you at all times.

3) (Be) Purposeful- Did you know purposeful means "compulsive, determined, driven"? To be successful in business every decision you make should be made on purpose and with a purpose. I find it very intreging how some people just jump into their businesses without a purpose and when they don't see the increase in sales right away they give up. They might have a goal in mind, say for instance "I want to make $1,000 per week in sales" this is a statement, not a goal. What is it that you really want out of owning and running your own business? It can be as simple as you not wanting to work for someone else. Being a purposeful business owner takes time, a lot of thought and an inner desire to make it to the next level and stick with your business. Being purposeful in charting your business must include having a team in place. You can't do it all yourself.

COPs isn't just for law anymore, it's what helps your business succeed in this world and help you fulfill your business dreams. Remember the next time you feel like throwing in the towel, hanging up a "closed" sign and shutting your business doors, that COPs is right here waiting on you.

About the Author
Stephanie Fish, owner of Buckeye V.A. offers virtual assistance in marketing, research, and consulting to business owners who are ready to take that next step in business. To learn more about outsourcing and building your business team, be sure to sign-up for our newsletter at www.buckeyeva.com

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When considering the advantages of a private limited company registration against retaining self employed status the decision taken by a sole trader is often entirely focused upon the tax advantages. There are other private limited company advantages and also disadvantages particularly in regard to limited company accounts and administration compared to producing a simple set of sole trader basic accounts.

A private limited company advantages include:

1. Limitation of Liability
There is no distinction between business money and personal money for anyone self employed as all business debts are the personal responsibility of the sole trader. The private limited company advantages are that the company is a separate corporate body and liability for payment of debts stops with the pvt ltd company, the owners, shareholders are not personally liable. The directors are only liable if they continue to trade and incur liabilities after it becomes apparent the ltd company is insolvent.

2. Lower Taxes
Lower corporation tax offered a private limited company advantages over self employment in recent years. The £10,000 tax free limit was cancelled several years ago. Corporation tax rates have increased from 20 per cent to 22 per cent for small ltd companies over the last three years compared with the basic rate tax for a sole trader which has reduced from 22 per cent to 20 per cent Incorporation does still offer tax saving advantages dependent upon the net profit before tax.

The private limited company advantages come from the flexibility of being able to determine the proportions of salary and dividends taken compared with a sole trader whose basic accounts are subject to tax at fixed tax rates and thresholds.

A sole trader receives a £6,035 personal allowance and pays basic rate tax of 20 per cent on the next £34,800 of earnings up to the higher threshold limit and 40 per cent tax thereafter. Class 4 national insurance is 8 per cent of earnings up to the upper primary threshold and 1 per cent thereafter.

Dividends are taxed at 10 per cent on total income up to the higher threshold and 32.5 per cent above. The dividend is a distribution of company profit after corporation tax has been deducted and so the shareholder also receives a dividend tax credit from the pvt ltd company of 10 per cent.

There are significant private limited company advantages regarding tax liability compared to a sole trader where net income is below the upper earnings threshold.

For example assuming the limited company net profit before salary is £35,000. A sole trader would pay income tax of £5,793 plus national insurance of £2,317.20, a total of £8,107.20.
If a salary of £6.035 is taken and the rest is taken in dividends a private limited company would pay £6,372.30 corporation tax, after deducting the salary from net taxable profit and the sole trader now the shareholder would pay no income tax.

The advantages increase where net taxable profit is above the self employment upper earnings limit as money can be left in the business and therefore only subject to the 22 per cent corporation tax rate thereby avoiding the sole trader 40 per cent tax rate. Another possibility is to distribute the shares among family members to reduce the risk of 40 per cent tax.

3. Limited Company accounts and Sole Trader basic accounts
Sole trader basic accounts can be quite simple as a formal accounting system is not required and can be reduced to simple lists of income and expenditure supported by documentary evidence of sales and purchase invoices, effectively single entry bookkeeping. Producing a balance sheet is optional. Due to the simplicity then an accountant may not be required saving a significant cost.

Ltd company accounts have to use double entry bookkeeping to produce the year end accounts including a balance sheet with statutory notes and statements. Unless accounting software is employed to produce the company accounts in this format then accounting knowledge is required and an accountants fee may well be in the region of £500 to £1,000. An accountant is not essential for a small pvt ltd company but is the normal approach and offsets some of the tax advantages.

4. Additional financial considerations
Because a director is also officially an employee of the pvt ltd company this gives rise to a number of considerations in determining the extent of a private limited company advantages.

Pension contributions of a sole trader are personal and while may be deducted from the personal income liability do not form part of the basic accounts. The pension costs including any company contribution to a pension scheme by a private limited company is a deductible business expense as an employee cost.

Using a car for business purposes may have an impact. The sole trader basic accounts would include the business proportion of the vehicle running costs or the mileage allowance. If that vehicle is used by a director then that director is receiving a taxable benefit potentially resulting in a higher tax burden depending upon the type of vehicle as taxable benefits vary. An alternative may be to leave the company vehicle privately owned and the director claim mileage allowances rather than vehicle running costs.

Potentially small issues but there differences in the accounting treatment of deductible expenses such as charitable donations, entertaining expenses and use of home as office. A private limited company advantages consist of being able to claim such expenses as valid business expenses which would not be claimable in the sole trader basic accounts as treated as personal not business.

If the director and main shareholder have other associated companies then the corporation basic tax rate could be affected.

5. Administration, management and business standing
A sole trader basically pleases themselves with regard to the administration and management of the business. A company director is responsible for adhering to company administration according to statutory regulations in regard to both the limited company accounts, statutory books and management as stated in the articles of association. The duties of a director are more formal than a sole trader.

Forming a private limited company is an indication that a business is both serious, has a long term objective and is correctly managed. This psychological perception can increase the business standing of a business. In addition funding requirements are more likely to be met as the lender to a sole trader has to consider the absence of a balance sheet statement in the basic accounts and the financial influences personally affecting the sole trader. A private limited company advantages concern the published financial statements, protection of the financial position from personal influences and the option of increasing security by virtue of asking directors to provide additional personal guarantees.

A private limited company advantages over self employment also extends to long term finance. Companies tend to retain more funds within the business to meet future financial commitments which aids year on year growth, a more sustainable business and medium term profits growth over a sole trader.

Terry Cartwright qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant and Chartered Company Secretary in 1971. A successful business career followed as Head of Finance for major companies in the UK and several consultancy appointments. In 2006 he created DIY Accounting producing Accounting Software for self employed and small companies that use simple accounts spreadsheets to automate tax returns.

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Article contributed by Michelle Ulrich

1.Social networks – how to work it
a.http://www.craigslist.com
b.http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com
c.http://www.ryze.com
d.Ning.com is a create-your-own social network site

2.Free Classified Ads
a.Backpage
b.Craigslist
c.MySpace – need to be a member with a profile, I believe

3.Teleclasses/Podcasts
a.These can be pre-recorded if you don’t want to interact with others
b.Teleclasses are great for getting the word out about your products/services; guest speakers can promote you to their list and increase your list on a monthly basis
c.Use www.fullcalendar.com to promote teleclasses and events

4.Joint Ventures – co-creation of…
a.New products
b.New teleclasses
c.New workshops
d.New podcasts
e.New ebooks
f.Limitless ideas…

5.Strategic Alliances
a.Promote one another via banner ad exchanges
b.Promote one another via ezine or newsletter mentions

6.Article submissions
a.Write an article – submit online
b.Repurpose into an ezine article or ezine series if article is long
c.Repurpose into a podcast
d.Repurpose into an ebook with additional resources
e.Repurpose into a speech/presentation for live events

7.Ezine submissions
a.Write an ezine – submit online to ezine banks
b.Repurpose into an article
c.Repurpose into a podcast
d.Repurpose into an ebook with additional resources
e.Repurpose into a speech/presentation for live events

8.Ezine with tips, resources, trends
a.Submit to ezine banks for additional subscribers

9.Blog
a.Blog or have someone else blog for you no less than 3x/wk
b.Pick a theme for each month to make it easy
c.Base the theme on your teleclasses and ezine, etc. to make all items/tasks easier to complete

10.Affiliate accounts
a.Amazon – book store, software store, web store, etc.
b.Commission Junction
c.Create your own affiliate account – essentially provides a means for others interested in your product a way for them to make a small percentage while you gain a virtual sales force

11.Blogtalk Radio – 15 mins – longer monologues or full blown radio show; record to podcast
a.Repurpose into an article
b.Repurpose into an ezine piece
c.Repurpose into a podcast
d.Repurpose into an ebook with additional resources
e.Repurpose into a speech/presentation for live events

12.Get involved; share your passion
a.Share your passion with others
i.Online
1.Social networks
2.Forums
3.Message boards
ii.In person
1.Networking
2.Volunteer opportunities in community
3.Church
4.Youth groups
5.Etc.
iii.Don’t forget to share your projects and/or websites with others

About the Author
Michelle Ulrich is the Chief Villager and founder of The Virtual Nation™, an educational destination for Virtual Professionals around the globe. Michelle is an avid believer in giving back to her industry and she does this by offering coaching, teleclasses, resources, and tools, in addition to providing a community of learning, a nation of culture, and a virtual village for her members.

She maintains her private practice where she specializes in working with authors, coaches and speakers who struggle to keep up with e-commerce and new technologies. Clients can check out her services at www.virtualbusinessmarketing.com, while Virtual Assistants can find her over at www.thevirtualnation.com. She can be reached by telephone at (916) 536-9799 in the Pacific time zone.

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This article is contributed by Michelle Ulrich.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." by Margaret Mead

Here is a list of my Top 10 Reasons Volunteering Can Help You Grow Your Business:

1. Volunteering helps you find your place in the community, whether online or in person, especially if you are "the new kid on the block."
2. Volunteering facilitates many new learning opportunities. This occurs through mentoring or just being around others who share your passion or interests.
3. Volunteering fosters new relationships and builds on existing ones.
4. Volunteering can be a great opportunity to try out new skills or hone existing ones.
5. Volunteering gives you a sense of giving service; studies have found this to be very healthy for our brains, our overall health and our psyche (soul).
6. Volunteering creates opportunities for you to be on ‘ground zero’ of your community or industry.
7. Volunteering builds self-confidence and great potential for leadership building opportunities.
8. Volunteering can lead to business opportunities as most people like to do business with people they know and trust.
9. Volunteering is an important value we can teach our children. We can also act as role models for those in need. You may be the reason they give back and volunteer when they are ready.
10. Volunteering is a way to share your knowledge with others as others before you have passed down history and traditions from one generation to the next.

When you are in a rut, need some help or want to impart your knowledge to others, find a community (online or offline) and get involved. It won’t feel so lonely, your questions will be answered and you can pass down your legacy to share with others. Besides, it’s good for your health and well-being.

P.S. Volunteering can be a great way to 'pay it forward.' I have seen commercials where one person is having a horrible day and takes it out on someone else, and then the next person takes it out on the next and so on. If we turn that around and perform random acts of kindness via volunteering in our communities, what an incredible and beautiful synergy we can pass on to others. We can affect our communities with one single act. Imagine if everyone pitched in and volunteered for something...what a peaceful and happy planet this would be!

About the Author
Michelle Ulrich is the Chief Villager and founder of The Virtual Nation, an educational destination for Virtual Professionals around the globe. Michelle is an avid believer in giving back to her industry and she does this by offering coaching, teleclasses, resources, and tools, in addition to providing a community of learning, a nation of culture, and a virtual village for her members. Education is the foundation of her organization as well as for her own personal and professional development. Michelle has been a community college instructor teaching a Virtual Assistant certificate program online. Aside from coaching and teaching, she is also a speaker and soon-to-be author on the subject of Virtual Assistance. She maintains her private practice where she specializes in working with authors, coaches and speakers who struggle to keep up with e-commerce and new technologies. Clients can check out her services at www.virtualbusinessmarketing.com, while Virtual Assistants can find her over at www.thevirtualnation.com. She can be reached by telephone at (916) 536-9799 in the Pacific Time zone.

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This article is contributed by Michelle Ulrich.

1. Website
a. http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/ - FREE
Microsoft Office Live Basics is the easy way to get started on the Web. If you have always wanted your own Web site, Microsoft Office Live has just made it easier — much easier.
- Free domain name and Web hosting
- Easy-to-use Web site design tools
- 500 MB of Web site storage space
- 25 company-branded e-mail accounts
- Web site reports
- Search advertising tool with $50 credit* - (I do not recommended to start)

b. Go Daddy’s Website Tonight for as little as $4.00/month

Go Daddy has THREE plans (or so) to choose from!

Blog instead of a website
c. Blogger.com – Free
d. WordPress.com – Free
e. TypePad.com – Basic Level is Free
i. With TypePad Basic you’ll be blogging in minutes. Choose your design from dozens of professional templates. TypePad makes it easy to include pictures and links, manage comments, and categorize your posts. Includes 100MB of storage and 2GB of bandwidth per month.
ii. $4.95 per month for higher level of service (more storage space, etc.)

Benefits of a blog versus a website
- No web designer needed
- Pick a template and start adding content
- Useful for selling one product (i.e. a book, ebook, info product, etc.)
- Useful for selling a relationship with potential clients
- Useful for opinion writing – be careful what you put out there; people read blogs!
- Hone writing skills
- Post at a minimum of 3x/wk for higher Google rankings
- Can also be a link from a website, which also increases traffic to your website

2. List capture form on your website and ezine delivery
a. iContact.com $9.95/month for up to 500 subscribers; 15-day free trial
i. Non-profits receive 20% discount and may pay by check monthly, quarterly, or annually
ii. Templates or design and paste HTML code
iii. Surveys
iv. Auto Responders
b. ConstantContact.com $15/month for up to 500 subscribers; 60-day free trial
c. CampaignMonitor.com
i. For each campaign you send with more than 5 recipients, you pay a flat delivery fee of $5 plus 1 cent/recipient. Any campaigns you send to 5 or less people are free of charge.
ii. Let's say you're sending an email newsletter for a client to their database of 4,500 subscribers. To send this newsletter, you will be charged $5 plus a cent for each recipient, $45 in this case, making a total of $50. All prices are in US dollars.

3. Shopping Carts and eCommerce
a. Mals-e.com
i. Shopping cart, digital downloads and affiliate program ONLY
ii. FREE for up to 1000 digital deliveries per month; you can purchase more as you increase your sales.
iii. $8/mo option for unlimited orders per month
iv. $95 flat one-time fee for their mOrders plus version for a desktop application for downloading and ‘databasing’ orders properly and permanently. www.mals-e.com/morders.php
v. Reporting
vi. Numerous third-party add-ons

b. E-Junkie.com
i. FREE 1-week trial
ii. $5/mo for 10 products/50 MB storage space; rates go up to $125 incrementally based on the number of products
iii. Product storage and delivery
iv. Easy to use, pop-up free, installation free
v. Shipping and postage calculations
vi. Sales tax and VAT calculations
vii. Inventory management
viii. Product promotion
ix. Discount codes
x. Affiliate management
xi. Customization (even works with an existing cart for digital downloads)
xii. Tracking, logging and notifications
xiii. Global acceptance
1. download page and email in language of your choice
xiv. Extras
1. send out free expirable download links
2. Works with eBay and MySpace, too!

c. Payloadz.com
i. Digital downloads ONLY
ii. FREE for up to $100 transaction limit / 50MB of storage
iii. $15/mo for $500 transaction limit / 100 MB of storage

d. WAHMcart.com
i. Full shopping cart very similar to Professional Cart Solutions (see below for full list of options, but you get EVERYTHING for $29.99/mo – no tiers

e. Professional Cart Solutions (aka – 1shoppingcart.com and many other private labels)
i. FREE 30-day trial or $3.95 for 30-days depending upon private label partner
ii. Four tiers of service
1. Starter $29
2. Auto Responder $29
3. Basic $49
4. Pro $79
iii. Shopping cart
iv. Broadcast (ezine, email announcements, etc.) delivery
v. Auto Responders
vi. Digital downloads
vii. Affiliate program
viii. Ad tracking
ix. Reporting
x. Payment processing with PayPal as well as a large list of merchants such as Authorize.net; QuickBooks/Intuit will be on the list soon (poss. Fall 2007)
xi. Templates for ezine delivery to come out soon (poss. Fall 2007)

4. Online Publishing Centers
a. CaféPress.com
b. LightningSource.com – Most recommended by traditional publishers if you must do Print On Demand (POD).
c. Lulu.com

5. Miscellaneous online services
a. CentralDesktop.com – Free online collaboration tool for up to 3 users; $25/mo for up to 10 users and other various packages. Use this tool to work with a virtual team to delegate the projects or pieces of larger projects.
b. EventBrite.com – Event management program. First event is free, then up to $9.95 each event. For paid events, your PayPal, Google Cart or merchant fees shall apply. You can specify donations or payments, number of ‘seats’ available, reporting, and lots of extras.
c. Evite.com – Free event management tool where you can pick a template, customize one on your own, add your Outlook contacts, track responses, and it even integrates with PayPal for paid events.
d. Foldershare.com – Free folder sharing application from Microsoft (a bit clunky to set up between two parties, but is an awesome program for sharing documents with clients, subcontractors, etc.)
e. Google.com – Google offers email, word processor, spreadsheet, calendar, classifieds (Google Base), groups, Blogger, Desktop and lots of other programs for FREE.
f. OpenOffice.org – Free office suite similar to and compatible with Microsoft office. Includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program. Interface similar to other office suites.
g. SurveyMonkey.com – Free up to 10 survey questions with 100 responses allowed; $19.95/mo for unlimited questions per survey and 1000 responses allowed, $200/yr to have unlimited questions and responses.
h. TheBasementVentures.com – Host teleclasses, teleseminars, etc. with this free tool. You can even record your own audio and then copy and paste the html code on your website, download the mp3 file and burn it to a CD for info product sales.
i. Thumbstacks.com – Free webinar presentation tool. This is for PowerPoints or various incarnations of PowerPoint only.
j. YouSendit.com – Free file sending program; $4.99/mo for 2 GB file sending, send multiple files, and no ads on your ‘send’ invitation.
k. Zoho.com – Office suite with free and $5 on up for other options. Word processing, spreadsheet, presentation tool, Wiki, notebook, Meeting (desktop sharing, web conferencing, online meetings, etc.), projects, CRM, database creator, planner (online organizer), chat, mail, and more.

About the Author
Michelle Ulrich is the Chief Villager and founder of The Virtual Nation, an educational destination for Virtual Professionals around the globe. Michelle is an avid believer in giving back to her industry and she does this by offering coaching, teleclasses, resources, and tools, in addition to providing a community of learning, a nation of culture, and a virtual village for her members. Education is the foundation of her organization as well as for her own personal and professional development. Michelle has been a community college instructor teaching a Virtual Assistant certificate program online. Aside from coaching and teaching, she is also a speaker and soon-to-be author on the subject of Virtual Assistance. She maintains her private practice where she specializes in working with authors, coaches and speakers who struggle to keep up with e-commerce and new technologies. Clients can check out her services at www.virtualbusinessmarketing.com, while Virtual Assistants can find her over at www.thevirtualnation.com. She can be reached by telephone at (916) 536-9799 in the Pacific Time zone.

• 1 Comments

This guest post is contributed by Constantinos Tassigiannis.

Want to start your own business but don’t know how? Read on and get the knowledge to live the dream.

First, let’s look at the positives and negatives of starting your own business. The upside is that you are in charge of your own career and pay and if your business really takes off, you can end up with a massive salary which is much more than you can earn at the regular job. The downside is that many businesses fail in their first year and it’s not for people who prefer working to a nine till five schedule as most of the time, in order to succeed, you have to work round the clock. A seventy hour working week is not unusual.

The key to starting a successful business is recognising a gap in the market and taking advantage of it. Others however choose to come up with ways of improving an existing product. Whatever road you decide, research is essential as it can make or break you.

Do you have an idea that no one has thought of yet? How about an improved design that costs less to make than the original, or makes it work more efficient? How dedicated you are to your idea will reflect on the outcome. There are different approaches, such as a tried a tested business model, a specific business opportunity, taking control and changing your life or working part time, depending on what road you want to take.

Once you have come up with a product or service, you need to refine it. We do this by developing it by using research. Does it satisfy a need? Once you have done that, you need to brainstorm your idea with friends and colleagues. Everyone brings forth their own perspective on the idea and can inform if there is someone doing the same thing. Think about how you will run your business e.g. will it be sorely run online or will it have stores? What makes it unique and better than the competition? Make sure your product complies with any legislations and safety regulations.

Once you have come up with a product or service, you need to protect it. We do this by having a record of ownership over it, known as Intellectual Property, IP for short.

There are four types of IP and the type of product you have determines the type of IP you should use.

* Patents for inventions

New or improved products that are capable for industrial application.

* Trademarks

Used to protect brand and corporate identity of goods and services, allowing distinctions between different traders

* Designs

Protect product appearance such as lines, colours, contours, shape, and texture, materials of the product itself or its ornaments.

* Copyright

Literacy, music, films, audio, broadcasts, software and media can be protected under this category.

It should be noted that it often is not possible to protect IP and gain IP rights without being applied for and granted. Copyright IP’s however arise automatically without registration, as long as proof of creation exists.

Importantly, you need to create a business plan, because without one, you aren’t going to get anywhere as an entrepreneur. A high quality business plan can help attract the right type of funding to keep your capital high.

You need to have an executive summary, stating exactly what you’re business is and why it exists. Basically, it is an overview of what your business is all about and this is vital as investors will make a judgement based on this section alone. Its purpose is to draw attention and make the reader want to find out more, possibly making them want to invest in your idea. If it has caught their attention, it has done its job. Make sure you do not use hype as an experienced investor will see right through this.

Then, you need a short description of the business opportunity, detailing who you are, what service or goods you will provide and who is your target market. Detail when your business will start, or when it did if it already has. The industry and sector it is a part of and its key features should be written. Any relevant history should also be noted, such as past owners et cetera. You also have to detail your current legal structure and what your vision of the future will be. Define your products differences to competition and what benefits it brings forth. Also noting what development you have in mind and if you own any patents or IP's.

Once you have finished that, it's time to put your strategy to the test. Write down what marketing and sales ideas you have. How will you get people to buy your product and where will they be able to buy from? What are the markets key current issues and how big is it? It is also important to know your competition. Note how you will go about positioning your product in the market place. Also detail pricing policies and how you will go about promoting your business. Maybe you'll use advertising, PR campaigns, direct marketing, email or e-sales. You need to conduct market research and see if you idea truly fills a gap in the market effectively.

An effective way of researching a need is to convey surveys of the public, whether they would use the product. Ask customers of competing products for what improvements they would like to see. Monitor the competitions activities as this keeps you in the know whether they start a new service or release a new product that may compete with yours to a greater extent. Another utility that you should put to use is using focus groups to test out your product, using feedback from them to evolve your business. It is very important that you cover everything you can and conduct as much market research as possible as mistakes made later on due to poor information can be costly. Hire a market research agent to help out and make sure you haven’t missed anything as the more information you have, the better you can satisfy your customers.

Now that you have your point of sale ideas down, you need to work out who makes up your marketing team. List your credentials and the people you plan to recruit to work with you. Give details of the number of people you have in your workforce in total and by departments. How much time each employ spends working and how much they earn should be given here and any other numbers that affect the total amount of profit brought in by the company. You should also note down a timescale, noting costs and any training that will be given.

Onto operations and time to note down the premises you'll be operating from, production facilities, your management information systems and your networking and IT. Do you have a business property or do you rent it? What are your long term commitments to the property and what facilities does it provide or will there be investments put in this field? Noting down all of this as well as how you go about using the facilities effectively really show that you know what you're doing and you won't be wasting time, as time is money. Any established procedures for stock control, management accounts and quality control should be put in this category as well as any IT experience you have because as technology evolves, so will everything else and you can't risk falling behind.

Make sure your business plan reflects your personal vision, keep it simple and realistic and your business plan should work well.

Once that's out the way, research is next, especially financial. Make sure you have Unique Selling Proposition and a business model at hand, showing how the revenue will come in. Also note forecasts for profit and loss, sales and cash flow statements. To help your business survive its first year, you’re going to need to cover your financial needs. Many businesses don’t make a profit in the first year, making only enough to cover their outgoings. So it is important to have funding if you want to survive. Plan out a budget using a personal budget spreadsheet detailing your domestic financial needs for the year. Keep a record of your spending and try and cut back on unnecessary buys. Appling for funding can really help and make things easier. You can do this in a number of ways. Sources of help include local business links, start-up schemes and financial advisors and accountants.

The Prince’s Trust (eligible age 18-30), that can provide a low interest loan of up to £4,000 for a sole trader and up to £5,000 for a partnership. They also provide up to £250 on test marketing, as well as access to a wide range of products and services to help your business stay in business.

Business Link: a company that provides a service in business planning, borrowing shares and equity, grants and government support banking, financial and debt recovery. It also has a wide range of information for entrepreneurs.

Chamber Of Commerce: “The National Voice for Local Business” employs more than 5 million people and also the widest business community to help fund you and give you the skills and information to succeed.

But you can also do things yourself to help fund your ideas, such as releasing equity from an existing asset, such as trading in your car for a cheaper one. Sell things you do not use or really need, get a loan from family members and friends. Get an overdraft with your bank account

Besides help with funding, there is also the choice of incubation. There are a good amount of incubators to choose from In the UK. They are designed to nurture your company, help guide your business, supply you with workspace and also provide you with the right information and advice with a combination of business development processes and infrastructure. Research has shown an 87 % and upwards survival rate for incubated companies compared to only a 40 % survival rate for non-incubated.

Incubators include Digital Inc in Liverpool ICDC, who currently house 12 small businesses and brought in a profit of over two million pound in the 2004 - 2005 year and is the UK's first business incubator to be focused on the digital industries. Its current funding ends after 2008 but its manager Mr Peter Leather is putting together a sustainability model is confident that Digital Inc will become a centre of excellence.

Another incubator that has just recently opened is the Liverpool Science Park, which is run by Peter Leather, ex-manger of Digital Inc. This is a new modern building with office space and lecture rooms that can be utilised by small and corporate businesses. As with every incubator, an affordable fee is paid for the space needed, which is worth it considering the knowledge they’ll be passing on to you, as well as support given by staff and help lines.

Once you have enough information, you need to decide how you will trade. Will your business be a Limited Company or a Sole Trader?

A Sole Trader is a business which legally has no separate existence from its owner. All debts of the business are debts of the owner. The advantage in being a Sole Trader is control and business administration, due to their only being one owner.

A Limited Company has liability limited by the law. Funds can be raised by selling shares of the business. The drawback is that you risk losing control if shareholders join and equal a greater amount of ownership than yourself.

One final bit of advice is to make sure you hire the right type of people. Often, businesses can be hurt due to lack or determination or commitment put in by others besides the owner. You need to explore the options available to you, such as freelancers, fixed term contract employees, temporary staff, consultants and contractors. Whoever you hire, make sure they work to a high caliber, with the right mix of skills. It's not an easy process but one that will pay dividends.

Article contributed by Constantinos Tassigiannis, BA Hons MBCS.
Freelance iMedian, artistic entrepreneur and disabled weight lifter.
www.DinoT.co.uk

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This article contributed by Michelle Ulrich.

Why should you think about your niche, your ideal client and your message? If you don’t and your competitor does, guess who will get the client or close a sale? Your competitor will. These three areas will set you apart, create your unique selling proposition, and differentiate you from your competition.

As you work your way through each of these steps, you will begin to unfold the reasons why someone would want to do business with you versus your competitor.

Before we begin exploring your niche, let’s discover your passions. Your passions will tell you more about yourself and what to focus on in your business than you thought possible. Write down your current passions, things that you love to do, things that you could spend all day on if you had the time and no one interrupted you. Next, write down passions you used to feel that way about. Finally, write down things you think you would love to learn, things that you think would absolutely love to do someday. Don’t cheat yourself by writing things down you think others want you to do or explore. This is for you and you alone!

Grab a piece of paper, make three columns with the headings: 1) Current passions, 2) Past passions, and 3) Future passions (to explore). Write down as many things that come into your mind. Try not to let your mind tell you that you can’t write something down—write whatever comes to your mind. Don’t let negative self-talk enter your mind and keep you from writing something down. It could be the best stuff that comes out of your brain!

Now, look at all of your passions and see if there are any items that might correlate, like a child’s matching game. Draw a line connecting the items you think you’d like to match up even if you think there is no way they could realistically work together. Sit with this, sleep on it and then ask yourself if there are any possibilities, creative ways to match up these passions into your business. If you still don’t see it, ask others what they think. Be careful to ask others who are non-judgmental, and impartial. Seek out a SCORE counselor at www.score.org and ask the counselor what they think. Asking family and friends may work if they know you and are open-minded. Sometimes, those closest to us can be the most closed-minded. You may even ask a child, a high school student, or college counselor what they think.

Once you’ve determined your passions, you can layer on your skills to add a new dimension. Let’s try this example:

Michelle’s current passion is speaking on Virtual Assistance, her past passion was writing poetry and a future passion she would like to explore is traveling. She could match these up and combine them by speaking on Virtual Assistance as she travels throughout the country. In addition, she could write poems or do creative writing in her speeches, her Virtual Assistant practice, or as a ghost writer for her clients.

Identify Your Niche Specialty

Your niche could be the type of work you perform or the industry in which you would like to work. So, don’t get caught up on an industry type. You can confidently say to those who say you ‘should’ have a niche, “Yes, I work in [type of work] or [industry] as my niche.”

1. Identify your niche (type of work), then narrow it down further to specific areas of concentration
a. Academia – theses, term papers, reports, research…
b. Event Planning – small, medium, large
i. Corporate, small business, individual
ii. Themes, holiday, other
c. Ezines
d. Graphic design/Desktop publishing - advanced, intermediate, simple
e. Real estate – transaction coordination, marketing, listings…
f. Shopping carts
g. Transcription – general, court, medical – dental, surgery…
i. Digital, video, DVD…
h. Travel – research, bookings – air, car, cruises, hotel, destination
i. Web design – advanced, intermediate, simple
Write down your top three specialties.

Identify Your Niche Industry

2. Identify your niche industry then narrow it down further to specific areas of concentration.
a. Animals – veterinarian clinics, breeders, pet sitters, dog groomers…
b. Authors – fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, cookbooks…
c. Coaches – business, corporate, life, relationship, financial, parent, holistic…
d. Environment – entrepreneurs, builders, solar professionals…
e. Food – caterers, bakeries, dessert diners, and mom-n-pop deli’s…
f. Real estate – luxury homes, commercial, residential, horse property…
Write down your top three industries in which you’d like to work.

Your Ideal Client

3. Identify your ideal client. Get as specific as if you were describing your best friend, or the neighbor next door.
a. Gender – female
b. Age – 30-60 years of age
c. Values – easy going, passionate, excited about their business, fun, want to be connected and is aware of what is going on in their industry, and wants to stay on the cutting edge as they grow their business.
d. Profession (s) – authors, coaches, speakers
e. Financial – financially fit and make an excess of $50,000 per year
f. Health – fit and work at it every day
g. Spiritual – doesn’t matter as long as they respect my different points of view

Describe your ideal client. Let your imagination run wild. If you describe your ideal client as if he or she is sitting across from you while you have a cup of coffee or tea, that is the perfect set up/scenario. Pretend you are conversing with him/her; write down on your paper how you would describe him/her as if you were introducing him/her to your best friend. Don’t leave out important details like being able to afford you, they respect you as a person and as a professional, etc.

So, now, your ideal client should be clear in your mind. Example: “My ideal client is between 30-60 years old, a female author, coach, and/or speaker, who shares my values. She is both financially and healthfully fit, in addition to being respectful of my spiritual boundaries.

Your Message

4. Write out your 30-second message, read it aloud to yourself, read it aloud to your family, then your friends, then your colleagues, and finally, to strangers who could be your potential clients. Rehearse it in the mirror to see how it looks, record it to hear how it sounds, and keep improving until you feel you’ve nailed it and it doesn’t sound rehearsed. Find passion in your voice when saying what you do; others listening will become excited, too.

Example: “I specialize in working with authors, coaches, and speakers who struggle to keep up with e-commerce and new technologies. I take the struggle off their shoulders, relieving them of the stress. I implement their needs to help them grow their bottom line without having to learn all the new technologies themselves.”

Try this for your business. “I specialize in working with [fill in the blank] who struggle to keep up with [fill in the blank]. I implement their needs to help them grow their bottom line without having to [fill in the blank].

You are now prepared to go forth and prospect for clients. You know your passions, niche (type of work or industry), who your ideal client is and you also have a clear message. Now, you can help others to be empowered to help you find and refer the right clients to you without hesitation.

Go with passion and excitement—it’s yours for the taking!

About the Author
Michelle Ulrich is the Chief Villager and founder of The Virtual Nation, an educational destination for Virtual Professionals around the globe. Michelle is an avid believer in giving back to her industry and she does this by offering coaching, teleclasses, resources, and tools, in addition to providing a community of learning, a nation of culture, and a virtual village for her members. Education is the foundation of her organization as well as for her own personal and professional development. Michelle has been a community college instructor teaching a Virtual Assistant certificate program online. Aside from coaching and teaching, she is also a speaker and soon-to-be author on the subject of Virtual Assistance. She maintains her private practice where she specializes in working with authors, coaches and speakers who struggle to keep up with e-commerce and new technologies. Clients can check out her services at www.virtualbusinessmarketing.com, while Virtual Assistants can find her over at www.thevirtualnation.com. She can be reached by telephone at (916) 536-9799 in the Pacific Time zone.

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Bankaholic: If you count yourself as one of the masses that is sick and tired of the daily grind of your mindless job, then getting out and starting your own business is a real possibility. It may seem like a daunting task; but you can get into business on your own with as little as $5,000.

Erase the notion that you need hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to make it on your own. If you can get your boss (read: spouse) on board then you’re on your way to a liberating experience. Here are some tips for you to get started on opening your own business:

1. You’ll need more than an idea.
Once you’ve created your business model you’ll have to develop the skills necessary to make it in this nitty-gritty world of the unknown. Pure smarts aren’t enough to be successful. You need to rely on determination, guts, tough skin and confidence. You are sure to encounter many roadblocks along the way and you have to be ready to face these head on.

2. Scrape together your dough.
You have to assess how long you can get by with little or no income. Aside from turning into a frugal being, you have to be completely honest with yourself when it comes to your personal finances. Make sure you credit is in good order as this will help you when it comes to applying for bank loans.

3. Cut corners.
As much as you’d want to have a luxurious office you have to be reasonable. Work out of your home and set up an office that has all the amenities minus the rental costs. If you need space for conferences or meetings then ask around friends and see if you can share their space for cheap. Remember you will have to have some face-to-face meetings, so plan accordingly.

4. Make do with what you’ve got.
A new computer system could cost upwards of $2,000 so maybe what you’ve already got could be sufficient. If you need a new system then lease instead of buy.

5. Think outside the box.
There are many ways to be frugal without looking cheap. Search bargain outlets for office materials, scour the internet for deals and just keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities as they come knocking because the best deals aren’t advertised but are found out through word of mouth!

5 Ways to Start Your Business With No Money! [Bankaholic]

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This article is by our guest writer Diana Ennen, who is also the Author of Virtual Assistant: The Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, & The Corel Word Perfect Office Ready Virtual Assistant Solution Pack. She also owns a website: http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Virtual Assistants (VAs) are highly skilled professionals who provide administrative support and specialized services to businesses, entrepreneurs, executives, and others who have more work to do than time to do it. Examples of services a VA can do include web design and maintenance, word processing, meeting and event planning, desktop publishing, internet research, e-mail coordination, business start-up consultations and so much more. This can be the perfect work-at-home opportunity for many with good computer and Internet skills. Following are several Do's and Dont's to keep in mind for starting and operating your Virtual Assisting business.

DO -- Decide on a targeted market and initially focus your marketing efforts in that area. By developing a "niche" in your field, your reputation spreads quickly and soon you become a recognized expert. Several specialties include: publicity and marketing, website design, article writing and distribution, press release writing and distribution, medical, legal or business transcription, resume consulting, transaction coordination -- real estate industry, desktop publishing, manuscript preparing, academic typing, e-mail support, internet research, etc.

DO -- Be creative about where you can find business. The Internet offers a large variety of potential for clients just waiting for you to contact them. Actively network and don't limit your marketing to simply placing a few ads in newspapers or the Yellow Pages. You want to find where there might be a need- and go fill it.

DO -- Write a complete business plan and marketing plan. Too many leave out this vital step and waste valuable time unorganized and without a clear-cut goal and direction for their business. When starting a business you will have tons of ideas floating around. You need to materialize all these and put them into a workable plan of action.

DO -- Develop a website that looks sensational! Your website is often the first connection a potential client has with your services. It must immediately let them know that they are dealing with a professional. Your site must then have the POWER to draw them to you and contact you. Let them see that you value quality by the look and feel of it. Additional tips include letting them know what services you offer and why you are qualified to offer those services by mentioning your experience and education. Be sure to include points on why you stand out among the rest and are the BEST! For example, if you have been featured in articles, radio shows, etc., have them listed with the dates.

DO -- Learn everything you can about starting a business. Knowledge is power and the more you know, the greater your chances for success. Look to online services and message boards and chats to talk with other Virtual Assistants operating a business. Remember these are often run by pros who have been in business for years and are willing to share their experience.

For example, I mentor and manage virtual assisting boards on HBWM.com, Momspreneursonline.com and VAnetworking.com. With 23 year's experience, I often know what works and what doesn't in starting a business and staying successful, so my experience can prove beneficial.

DO -- Join associations that are targeted for our Industry. A few of the more popular ones are IAVOA.com and IVAA.com, but there are many others. By connecting with these associations and being active, you learn from them what works and what doesn't and you are able to post your questions to associate members via list serves often getting answers to your questions within minutes.

DO -- Read, read, read. By frequently continuing to increase your skills and your knowledge of your profession, the end result is a more confident satisfied you. Every tip you get from a book can be a new tool in your business. I recommend highlighting areas from several books and adding them to your library. Keep in mind that you might not use that idea today, but it might apply to specialties you might add down the road. We encourage you to purchase our book, Virtual Assistant the Series, Become a Highly Successful Sought After VA with its accompanying workbook. It has everything you need to succeed in your own business.

DO – Enjoy. There's no greater feeling than landing that first client or finishing your first big project. Plus, wait until you get the opportunity to tell someone you own and operate your own virtual assisting business. It sure beats I'm a secretary at .... Plus, when you enjoy your business it shows. Your clients will sense your positive attitude and want to be a part
of your team.

DON'T -- Underprice your services. The average virtual assistant today makes $35 to $100 an hour, depending on their skills, services offered, location, and years of experience. Don't make the mistake of assuming if you charge the lowest prices, you'll get the most work. You won't. Instead, you'll end up working outrageous hours for peanuts! Clients will pay more for professional services. When a potential client discovers you're charging a lower rate than standard, they often feel they will receive a quality of services that is also lower.

DON'T -- Overextend yourself. One of the common mistakes many virtual assistants make is to accept too much work and then not be able to accurately complete it. Learn to say no or have a back-up helper who can assist you with any overflow work. Remember one of the most important ingredients for success is keeping your clients satisfied. If you overextend yourself and make a lot of errors, it will jeopardize your business.

DON'T -- Get discouraged. It takes time to get a business going. Plan ahead and have money saved in reserve. Don't buy items until you have found the best possible price and there is an absolute need. This advance planning takes the pressure off of having to make money NOW. If things are slow and the phone just isn't ringing ... MAKE IT RING!! There's plenty of work out there, you just need to aggressively pursue it.

Finally, the most important ingredient for success is your belief in yourself. If you believe that with your skills and experience, you can own your own business, then there's nothing stopping you. DREAMS DO COME TRUE.SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO MAKE THEM HAPPEN.

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Some people would think that in order to start business, you need to work and that you need to accumulate capital.

There are two parts to this. The first is yes, you do you need a lot of experience to start a business. The second part is you do need a lot of capital.

A question people ask, do you need a lot of experience in a certain business to start a business, I would say yes, you do.

But people say I've never worked before and they ask, "Where did you get the experience from".

Well here's some of my personal experience that will answer this question.

Well I did work. It's just that I started very, very young. And in fact a lot of the work that I did was voluntary work. I was not paid but yes, I did.

Like for example, the first business I ever started was the mobile disco business. I started at 15 years old and for those of you who do not know what a mobile disco is; basically you own a set of equipment, lighting, sound system. And when people have got parties, like for example birthday parties, functions, dinner and dance, you go up there, you set up the disco.

And in fact, before I set up that mobile disco company, I learned it from another company by working for them part time as a DJ. Even before that, I went to my own parties and that's how it started basically

The next part is about capital. Well, do you need a bit of capital? It took me $2,000 to start my mobile disco company. A lot of people have this mindset, that you need hundreds of thousands and from my personal experience, no you don't, you can start with just a few thousand dollars.

In fact, if you asked me, I think having a lot of money to start a business is a curse sometimes. You know why? Because when you have got a lot of money, you tend to spend it. In fact, out of all my businesses, the only business which I truly invested a lot of money in was my interior design business. I invested a quarter million dollars only to lose it in a year.

The strategy is that when you've got no money in starting a business, it forces you to be creative; it forces you to think of ways to do things without needing money. And when I started, all the costs were kept variable. We didn't rent our own place. We couldn't afford it, so we worked out of our house and other people's company.

When we had no business, we have no costs and all the costs were variable and most of the staff we hired were freelancers or interns or people we paid on a project basis so all the costs were variable. There were no risks at all. A lot of the stuff we use were our own personal computers so again there was no costs at all.

Therefore sometimes it requires a willingness to learn as well as thinking out of the box. So hopefully these personal experiences will help answer the questions of those of you who are seeking to start your own business.

Adam Khoo is an entrepreneur, a best-selling author and a peak performance trainer. A self-made millionaire by the age of 26, he owns and runs several businesses in education, training, event management and advertising, all with a combined annual turnover of $20 million. His best-selling "Patterns of Excellence" is a complete step-by-step system that will literally program you for success in life.

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You'll pay too much in taxes if you don't understand that cash in minus cash out does not equal profit.

This is the most important thing you need to know before you start keeping records for your business...cash in minus cash out does not equal profit. It simply equals cash left over. Or, in many cases, it's a negative number, so it equals cash you owe somebody.

What this means is that you'll need to understand the IRS rules and keep your records according to those rules so you report your profit correctly and take (and be able to prove) all the deductions you're allowed to take. Because you want to pay the least amount of tax possible, right?

The way you'll need to keep your books will be different depending on whether your business is a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation. The rules for calculating income and deductions (and therefore profit) and the forms used for reporting to the IRS are different for the different business types.

What counts as income? Most or all of the money you take into your business will count as income. This includes fees for services and/or product sales.

But not all the cash that comes into your business counts as income.

If you get a rebate for a purchase you made at your local office supply store, that's cash in, but it's not income. It's a reduction in your supplies expense.

If you get a refund of part of your insurance premium at the end of the year, that's cash in, but it's not income. It's a reduction in insurance expense.

If you borrow money (and it doesn't matter if it's from your brother or the bank), that's cash in, but it doesn't count as income.

What counts as expenses? Most of the money you spend for your business will probably count as expenses. This includes advertising, postage, office supplies, and similar items.

But not all the cash that goes out of your business counts as expenses.

When you buy business property like cars, computers, and furniture that will last longer than a year, you're not allowed to deduct their entire cost as an expense in the year of purchase (except in special circumstances).

These items are called capital assets. Sometimes they're referred to as fixed assets.

You have to depreciate them over several years. Basically, depreciation is a process of spreading the cost of an item over its useful life.

You might have cash of several hundred or thousands of dollars go out the door when you purchase fixed assets, but you can't deduct the entire amount of the purchase price as an expense when you buy them.

Some things that your business pays for might only count as partial expenses. An example of that is business meals and entertainment where you can only deduct half of the cost.

That doesn't mean that your business can't pay for 100 % of the cost, but only that you're limited in the amount of the tax deduction you can take. This is another example of cash out that doesn't translate directly to expenses.

Some things your business pays for might not be tax deductible at all.

An example of this would be a contribution to a Political Action Committee. That doesn't mean that the business can't pay for it, just that it's not a deductible expense on your tax return.

Some more examples of cash that goes out the door that doesn't count as expenses are: draws for sole proprietors and distributions for partners or S corporation shareholders.

There's also one type of expense that can be more than the amount of cash that the business actually spends. It's the home office deduction that some sole proprietors can take.

So you see why it's so important to understand that cash in minus cash out does not equal profit.

Unfortunately, the IRS rules and regulations don't always make logical sense; they might seem complicated and unfair. One thing is certain. They are the way they are, so we have to deal with them. Learn what you can. And get help when you need it.

Sheryl Schuff, CPA, is a Certified Public Accountant, author, and consultant who teaches entrepreneurs how to get their businesses organized, keep good accounting records, and maximize their business tax deductions. She is President of Schuff & Associates, PC and has been in private practice for over 30 years. She recently started an information products company www.TaxesForSmallBusiness.com to provide individual training materials for small business owners.

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The Closet Entrepreneur: You can use any word-processor to create your business plan, yet the urban sprawl of text that results after your second or third page is enough to render the plan useless. Your business plan is supposed to be a tool that effortlessly tracks the tasks and details of your business, yet word-processors create page after page of static text which makes accessing, organizing, and updating the different sections of your business plan slow and cumbersome. Of course you could always add bookmarks, hyperlinks, and a table of contents to access the sections, yet even these items require extra work.

Finding A Better Solution

The first thing that can make your business plan more useful is separating the various sections by tabs. For example, you can create a separate tab for your vision, branding, to-dos, advertising, financials, et cetera. This way, instead of digging through several pages to find the section you’re looking for, you simply click that section’s tab.

The second thing that can make your plan more useful is the ability to prioritize specific items and reorganize sections on a page - in essence, the ability to create your own to-do and task lists.

Last but not least, being able to collaborate with business partners is a bonus as well as being able to send a Word or PDF version to a VC, Angel Investor, or Bank.

By the way, fans of GTD are probably already using something that does all these things so please feel free to share any recommended apps in the comments!

Five Applications That Will Make Your Business Plan More Useful

Taking the aforementioned wish list into account, here’s a list of readily available applications that make your business plan more useful.

1) Microsoft OneNote
2) Microsoft Word for Mac
3) 37signals’ Backpack
4) Google Notebook
5) PlanHQ

5 Apps That Make Your Business Plan More Useful [The Closet Entrepreneur]

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When most small business owners think about taxes, they think about Federal income taxes. But there are other taxes that I want to let you know about, so you’re not surprised if you have to pay them.

The first is self-employment tax. If you’ve ever worked for someone else, you know that social security and Medicare taxes get deducted from your paycheck. When you’re self-employed, you don’t actually get a paycheck.

Here’s what happens if you’re a sole proprietor. Following the IRS rules and regulations for calculating income and expense, you report your results for the year on your personal 1040 by filling out Schedule C.

Then you take the net profit and put it on Schedule SE for self-employment tax. After a small deduction, you calculate 15.3 % as your self-employment tax. This is double the rate of 7.65 % that’s deducted from employee paychecks because as a sole proprietor you’re both the employer and the employee so you have to pay both parts.

You get to take half of the amount of self employment tax as a deduction from your income on the front of your 1040. This has the effect of reducing your taxable income.

The self employment tax itself goes on the back of the 1040 in the section called Other Taxes on the line that says self employment tax. For the 2006 filing year that was line 58. This tax gets added to your Federal income tax and any other taxes you owe and is paid when you file your 1040.

If you (and/or your spouse on a joint return) have had Federal income tax withheld during the year that adds up to more than your total taxes for the year (which includes self employment tax), you’ll still qualify for a refund.

If your business is operated as a corporation AND you’re active in your business, you should receive W-2 wages and you won’t be subject to self employment tax on your earnings. Distributions from S corporations are generally not subject to self employment taxes.

If your business is operated as a partnership, you might have some items of income that are subject to self employment tax and some that are not. These items will be reported to you on a schedule K-1 that is part of the business tax return.

Sales tax

Many States have sales taxes. If you sell products to customers, you’ll have to charge them sales tax and pay it to the State. In some cases, digital downloads are considered products as far as the sales tax rules are concerned and certain services might also subject to sales tax. In Indiana, where I live, the rules are put out by the Indiana Department of Revenue. There will be a similar agency in your state who you can contact to find out the rules.

Local Taxes

Some cities and school districts have local taxes that you might have to pay. Some of these depend on your type of business. There might be additional sales taxes, property taxes, innkeeper’s taxes, or food and beverage taxes. Check with the authorities in your area for details.

And then there’s the often dreaded Estimated Taxes

This is a subject that confuses many people.

First, let’s try to understand the reason that the estimated payment system exists. Our system of Federal taxes is a “pay as you go” system. When you think about it, that makes sense. The government needs money all year long to pay for various things.

When you work for someone else, taxes are withheld from your paycheck each pay period, so the government gets its money over the course of the year. If you’re a sole proprietor, this doesn’t happen, so you’re expected to make estimated payments.

As with many IRS rules, there are some exceptions, and some penalties if you don’t pay enough or pay on time. There are some cases where you might not be required to make estimated payments (and you won’t have a penalty if you don’t), but it would still make sense to make them anyway, to avoid having to pay a large amount on April 15th.

If you have another job in addition to your self-employment, you can increase your Federal withholding on that job to cover the amount of the estimated taxes that you would otherwise have to pay. And if you’re married and file a joint return and your spouse has wages from another job, he/she can have additional Federal withholding taken out to cover the estimated payments.

Or, you can make quarterly payments using Form 1040-ES. You can also sign up to make the payments on-line. You might also need to make estimated payments towards your State taxes.

Payroll

If you have employees, you’ll need to pay various Federal, State, and local payroll taxes. But we’ll have to save that conversation for another time.

The most important thing you need to understand is that it’s your responsibility to find out what taxes your business has to pay. And that the laws vary from place to place and by type of business.

A good source of information is an accountant who specializes in consulting with small businesses.

Sheryl Schuff, CPA, is a Certified Public Accountant, author, and consultant who teaches entrepreneurs how to get their businesses organized, keep good accounting records, and maximize their business tax deductions. She is President of Schuff & Associates, PC and has been in private practice for over 30 years. She recently started an information products company www.TaxesForSmallBusiness.com to provide individual training materials for small business owners.

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Monica O’Brien is a guest writer from Twenty Set, a blog about personal and professional development for millennials.

Young Go Getter: One of my friends graduated in June 2007 and was headhunted for a startup after posting his resume on CareerBuilder. He was 20 years-old and had a choice: do the startup or take the other, much safer offer at a larger company. He chose the startup and joined a team of nine employees who built robots for large firms - in the CEO’s father’s basement.

What I failed to mention is how I met my friend - we’ve been coworkers for the past four months. The startup company was doing great business by building the top robots in the industry - but went bankrupt five months after my friend started due to lawsuits from the CEO’s old company.

But my friend survived his first affair with a startup, and you can too - because startups aren’t that risky. Here are three reasons why…

You Can Find Another Job Easily

Startup goes under? Sure, it’s tough to see something you worked so hard at fail; but you’re awesome and you will find another job easily.

How do I know? Because if you’re not awesome and great at personal branding then you don’t get recruited for startups in the first place. So even if the startup goes under, you still have yourself and your fabulous skill set. Oh, and you have a startup under your belt, which makes for a pretty impressive resume builder.

So you can do one of two things:

* Get into another startup, which you already have the experience and connections for
* Reenter corporate where they are looking to recruit people with awesome resumes like yours (Hat Tip: Ryan)

Neither is better or worse. In fact, I have another friend who moved to Chicago from Silicon Valley last August. He worked for a few different startups, including this little one called Facebook, and now he’s an investment banker (of all things).

But that’s the great thing about careers these days - there is no clear-cut path to where you want to go. The playing field no longer looks like a game of Chutes and Ladders; it’s more like a football game, where there are lots of different plays that can score a touchdown.

Job Security Sucks These Days

The economy is not so good and companies are changing hands - this means that people can get laid off in a blink. This happens in the public sector when companies get acquired. This happens in the private sector when companies go under.

It doesn’t seem to matter where you work anymore; good people are let go from their jobs every day. It starts with a hiring freeze and progresses to layoffs, often around performance review time. Since job security in the traditional sense is nonexistent at most companies, you may as well work where you want and stop worrying. For many of us young go-getters, that’s a startup.

Working For a Startup is Like Starting a Business 101

I want to start a business someday, but pretty much every entrepreneur I know tells me I need to do a startup first. I’ll admit I thought this was dumb the first time I heard it; but 15-people-giving-me-the-exact-same-advice later? It would be foolish of me to think I know better.

So if you want to start a business someday, you have two choices:

* Stay in corporate America for awhile and then start a business with no entrepreneurship experience
* Do a startup (or a few), get experience starting businesses, then start your own business without repeating the same mistakes

Which one sounds riskier to you?

Why Working For a Startup Isn’t So Risky [Young Go Getter]

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Not long ago I took a trip to Tuscany and spent a week in a cooking class. Before the trip I spent time researching my options. I wanted to know who would be teaching the class, what courses and dishes would be covered, how hand-on the class was, if wine-pairings with the dishes would be addressed and if the class included trips to the local farmer’s markets to select fresh produce. Finding just the right cooking school was important to me because I would be spending a significant amount of money traveling to Italy and I wanted my experience to be well worth my time and effort.

For a woman interested in buying a franchise, evaluating the training a franchise business offers should involve even greater research – after all, this is about your future – not a vacation.

As part of your due diligence when researching a franchise opportunity, find out everything about the training a franchise system provides. A good training program should cover not only the product or service but also setting up the business, marketing, employee management, business procedures, reporting, etc.

The best way to find out about the scope of the training program is to ask existing franchisees. Find out what stood out about the training they received and what they feel could have been covered more completely. Ask them how prepared they felt when they opened their business and what ongoing training they have been provided.

Keep in mind that the franchisees you talk with may have been through various versions of the training program. Problems that existed at one time may have been fixed. Or, you may find that a training program that was fine in a company’s early days is now out-of-date. Be sure to include in your research franchisees who have had the same training you will receive to get an accurate assessment of its value.

Ask current franchisee if they received a training manual and if the information is updated periodically. Also ask if the franchisor offers other training resources such as conference calls, webinars or intranet sites. Ongoing training is important for many companies who adjust their business with changes in the marketplace. If this applies to the business you are reviewing, find out what they do to keep each franchisee up to speed.

An addition source of training may come from periodic conferences held by the franchisor. Besides providing additional education about the product or service, conferences offer franchisees an excellent opportunity to connect and network with other franchisees in the system. A network of peers is one of franchising’s invaluable resources so be sure to ask if this is an opportunity the franchisor provides.

Although this is less of a problem today than in the past, some industries may have an “old boy’s club” mentality among franchisees. You will be able to tell by reading the UFOC if there are other woman franchisees. Include some women in your due diligence calls so you can get an idea of the business culture and the prevailing attitude towards woman franchisees.

Many franchisors will have field support personnel who are available to be at your site during your grand opening and at periodic intervals during your first year in business or longer. Having someone right there to answer your questions may help calm your first-day jitters so find out if this a serviced provided by the franchisor.

If, after your franchise investigation process is completed, you don’t feel the offered training will adequately prepare you to run your new business, it’s time to step back and look at other opportunities. As reported in the August 2006 Franchising World magazine, a recent study by FRANdata found nearly 2500 franchise concepts in 18 different industries and almost 900 of these concepts were started over the past three years. You don’t have to compromise – if one company does not have the training you are looking for, there are sure to be many other companies who can meet your needs.

I’m happy to report that the cooking school in Tuscany exceeded my expectations and I left there able to prepare a number of authentic and delicious Italian dishes. Had I not researched the available schools so thoroughly, I might have been very disappointed with my choice.

To get full value for your investment in a franchise business, the training should answer all your questions and set you up as a confident and successful owner.

Franchisee training should include:

• Everything you need to know about the product or service
• Everything about using/protecting the brand
• How to find your business location
• How to negotiate a lease
• How you complete the permits and buildout
• How to find, hire and manage employees
• How to market your product or service
• How to keep books and records for the business
• The reporting requirements and processes
• Where to get the equipment needed for the business
• How or where to buy supplies and inventory
• How to get help when you have a problem

Kimberley Ellis is the President of Bison.com, a leading online resource for franchise and business opportunities. She has been quoted as an industry expert in USA Today, Wall Street Journal and a variety of local and regional publications regarding trends in business and franchising. Kim combines her entrepreneurial spirit with a diverse background in marketing and operation to help others succeed in franchising.

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This article is contributed by Sam Carpenter, author of the new book, 'Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More'.

Whether you’ve established a small business, are in the midst of launching one, or simply considering it for the future, it’s certain you want at least one thing out of this investment: success.

Starting, and running, a small business isn’t a cakewalk. It’s hard to believe, but over 50 percent of small businesses fail in their first year and 95 percent fail within the first five years, according to the U.S. Small Business Association. Starting a business is risky for most, but success can come for those who proceed with logic and discipline.

Here are five common mistakes people tend to make when starting up a small business – and how you can avoid them:

1. Business owners don’t create documented procedures for the day-to-day operation.

It’s a simple equation: Systems = freedom. A “working procedure” is a documented description of how to perform a task. Having it prevents random problems and ensures the task is performed exactly and consistently. Procedures help you delegate, improve your scheduling ability, and allow you to work smarter and accomplish more with less effort. Thus, work less and make more. It’s ironic, but by implementing documented system procedures, your employees are free to be creative because they don’t have to “wing it” each time they perform their job duties; everyone operates at a smoother pace because there is a proven, working process. Everyone knows what to do and what to expect. Your people don’t have to be mind-readers or fortune tellers.

2. Owners don’t delegate – they are “doing the work.”

The reason a business owner can work a few hours a week, or take an extended vacation without stress, is because they have created systems, implemented written procedures with supporting documentation, and have learned to delegate. I know, I know. You’re zealous, dreamy-eyed, and proficient at what you do, and as the leader of an organization, you’re committed to doing whatever it takes to get your new business off the ground. Successful people don’t work harder; they work smarter. This means focusing on what you do best, and delegating the rest. Ask yourself what you enjoy doing least for your business. Perhaps that’s bookkeeping or making phone calls to potential clients. Then, imagine literally giving away these tasks. Get rid of the “I am Superman” attitude and hire people who are trustworthy and qualified to take much of the weight off your shoulders.

3. Owners don’t use time wisely.

Biological Prime Time is when your brainpower is at peak capacity. People function at maximum effectiveness about six hours out of a 24-hour day. It is important to understand this interesting facet of human performance, determine precisely when your prime time occurs, and then use it wisely. Six hours out of a 24-hour day is not much. Presuming you wish to reach your goals sooner rather than later, it is best the tasks that contribute most to your primary goals are performed during your prime time hours and you protect those hours from interruption. Also, don’t start your day without a to-do list. Make a list of tasks and categorize them into business-building activities, client activities, and personal items. Then, prioritize, remove distractions, delegate, and stick to your plan.

4. Owners see their job, life, and business as “holistic.”

You must change your fundamental perspective to see the elements of your world as separate, linear systems. See that these systems can be perfected, one-by-one. Understand that by perfecting a primary system’s sub-systems, the primary system will be perfected – and, although you are taking a non-holistic approach, your end product – your business – will be a highly efficient, entirely holistic, “Primary System.”

5. Owners don’t have a strategic objective or set of operating principles.

A strategic objective is short, usually a single page in length. It defines overall goals, describes methodology, and prescribes action. It gives direction for making major and minor decisions. It’s an essential instrument for a business and for personal life. General operating principles are a two to three page collection of “guidelines for decision making” that are congruent with the strategic objective. Essential for the work environment and in a simplified and shorter format, they also guide one’s personal life. Two examples of simple operating principles are “Do it now,” and, “choose the simplest solution.”

Sam Carpenter, author and speaker, is president and CEO of Centratel, an elite quality telephone answering service, and author of the new book, Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More. Success in life, business, and relationships can be yours, too. Sam's approach is not mystical or esoteric; it’s simple, mechanical, and attainable. Visit http://www.workthesystem.com to purchase your copy of Work the System.

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This article is submitted by Marcia Niles, Editor of Entrepreneurial Women's Digest.

Every human being born into the world is unique! Each of us has been blessed with wonderful and unique gifts and talents. When we discover what they are and exercise ourselves in them, others are inspired and we are fulfilled in our life's work.

More than achieving monetary gain is the joy of seeing our dreams materialize and the difference we can make in someone's life. More than a tool to help you determine what endeavor to pursue, this worksheet will make you to pause and consider how you are spending your days, months, and years. Not every passion would necessarily lead to running an enterprise. You might simply be looking for an outlet to release and channel your creativity. Take a moment and complete the following worksheet:

1) What have you always enjoyed doing as a child that you would consider your special gift or talent? It's possible that you might have more than one.

2) When you experience boredom, what is the primary thing that you do, that is creative and brings you enormous joy? Some ideas: reading, writing, gardening, cooking, sewing, shopping, decorating and traveling. Make a list of your top 3 hobbies or pastimes.

3) Reflect over all your work experiences, and list some of your greatest achievements in the workplace. Also note what areas of your work are/were the most fulfilling. What did or do you look forward to most on a daily basis?

4) What are some of the things other people admire most about you? What do they say you are good at?

If you were given the opportunity today to start a business, what would it be?

Getting Ready

Before you embark on your entrepreneurial journey or channel your creativity, here is a list of things that will try to hinder you. Put them on your DO NOT PACK list.

Fear: What would you consider your biggest fear in starting a business or exercising your gifts and talents to the fullest? Though fear is a natural response to danger, it should not consume your entire life to the point it debilitates you from taking those critical steps of faith towards your goals.

Procrastination: Are you constantly listening to the opinions of others, (most negative?) Is the idea that you need lots of money to begin or a world stage blocking your vision? Are you constantly deferring until tomorrow what you can accomplish today?

Rejection: Are you afraid that no one will be interested in your product or service or that you don't have what it takes to succeed in your endeavor?

Negativity: Are you frequently bombarded with the negative attitudes and criticisms of others whenever you mention your plans or ideas? Check yes or no.

Yes No

If yes, then you need to deliberately tune out naysayers. Keep your hand to the plow, keep focus on your vision, and move ahead.

Fuel Your Passion

Even your greatest aspirations would need a support system. You must believe that the good gift or talent within you can help others, and that you are not just a spectator but a participant on the road of life and discovery. Maintain your level of excitement by constantly surrounding yourself with information that offers inspiration -- magazines, books, events, and other resources, including those people who spur you on. Above all, begin. You must get out of the parking zone. That will take faith! With each step, you will become more passionate, as you experience the joy of creating something of worth and value.

Staying Focused

As you contemplate what type of business to start, you might become overwhelmed by the hundreds of exciting opportunities around or unclear as to how to implement your great ideas. It's easy to lose focus and become involved in ventures that start out wonderfully, but eventually your interest wanes because your heart is not in it. This could go on for years, and your deepest aspirations might never get off the "back burner."

You must purposely channel your energy and time developing your ideal company or creating that special outlet that allows you to see the fruit of your labor of love. Do what you love and you'll always have that vibrant approach and stamina to stretch yourself. Do not allow anyone to set parameters for you. Know for yourself what you are capable of accomplishing; seek help when necessary, but don't be controlled by others forcing their agendas upon you.

If you happen to be already involved in a venture that is unprofitable or is not a true expression of your creativity, then you need to do a little "housecleaning" or put up a "For Sale Sign." Why spend the rest of your days regretting that you were not brave enough to take a leap of faith in the direction you were assured was yours to take.

Express yourself in creative ways that are fulfilling and beneficial. Have a plan and go forward.

Enjoy the journey in business and in life!

Marcia Niles, is the Editor and Publisher of Entrepreneurial Women's Digest, a website that celebrates passion and creativity among enterprising women. She also publishes A Walk in the Garden Devotionals, and Island Living Digest.

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Startup Spark: You created your business this year, but now, looking back, you wonder if it’s all been a waste of time. Here are just some of the reasons your business maybe failing - and best of all they’re easily corrected!

And although these hints are for online businesses, if you own a brick & mortar place of business, many of these apply to you too.

1. You don’t offer free original content. People use this to understand you and get to know you as an expert they can trust,

2. You don’t use a signature file on your e-mails. It’s a selling opportunity that’s often missed.

3. You don’t have your own domain name. Even in this day and age using a domain that isn’t yours (such as tripod) is just bad and makes you look less serious about your business.

4. You don’t test and improve your ad copy. Testing is the key to finding out what works.

10 reasons why your business may be failing [Startup Spark]

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Startup Hints: Many of us in the nine to five business world dream of setting up shop and striking out on our own. Being free from the rigors of corporate life certainly does have its charms, but it is important for any would be entrepreneur to understand just how important a solid business plan is to their success.

Without a good business plan, it will be next to impossible for your new business to raise the startup capital it needs, attract experienced and qualified business partners, or find the money needed to expand.

It is also important to remember that some types of professions lend themselves for easily to the entrepreneurial lifestyle. One profession that definitely has this potential is that of accounting, and there have been many successful businesses started to offer accounting services to willing clients.

The Importance Of A Solid Accountant Business Plan [Startup Hints]

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Startup Students: A lot of people have a Great Idea. It might be a new invention or a local service business. Unfortunately for consumers, many would be entrepreneurs are waiting for “the right time” to start their Real Business. They have plenty of reasons (excuses) for the delays. From lack of time to lack of experience, our minds have creative ways of rationalizing our fears.

Here are 7 common excuses for not starting a Real Business, along with strategies for overcoming internal fear, uncertainty and doubt (”Internal FUD”).

1. I’m too busy right now. I’ll start when I have more time.
2. After I get an MBA, I’ll be ready to start up.
3. I hate sales.
4. I’ll do some research after South Park.
5. I don’t know anything about business.
6. I don’t have startup capital.
7. Before doing anything else, I need to write a business plan.

7 Lies That Prevent Your Great Idea from becoming a Real Business [Startup Students]

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Once you decided to start your own business, and after you have considered the Things to Consider before Starting a Business, the necessary next step is to write a business plan.

Why Should I Write a Business Plan?

Quite simple: you plan to dedicate a significant amount of your life time (and probably of your money) to this idea. Better make sure that you have a solid base for doing this.

I'm not saying that a business plan is a guarantee for success. I've seen too many brilliant business plans which turned out to be a business failure. But without a business plan, chances for failure are much higher. And there is just less at stake modeling a pricing strategy in Excel than trying it out in real life...

But that's only one aspect. Another one which can't be rated high enough is communication. Especially if you plan to start a business as a team, a written business plan is essential. Written means: in plain, complete sentences, as text document. While a presentation is great to get the main points across, you will be surprised about the discussions taking place when trying to convert a presentation into a full document. All of a sudden, it turns out that bullets points are interpreted differently between team members or that everybody has a different mental model of the future company.

- Write down the details.

- Write down what you know about the market, your potential customers, your competitors, your revenue streams.

This helps you to identify blind spots, and get everybody in your team aligned.

Do I Need to Do the Numbers?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Of course.

Why? Because you need to understand whether you can make a profit on your business model or not. To come to such a conclusion, it's not sufficient (in my opinion) just to have a top line with revenue estimates, a bunch of monthly expense items and at the bottom line, you calculate the assumed profit or loss. What's wrong with it? It's hiding the business drivers which can make or break your business.

I highly recommend to go through the exercise and try to model your business, at least for main business drivers. Try to identify the relevant parameters, and build them as parameters to play with into your spreadsheet:

Just to give you an example: Assume you plan to sell your product to business customers. What do you think is the average deal size you can strike with a customer? What is the sales cycle (some industries have sales cycles well over a year, while other products you can sell at the very first contact). Do you need to visit your customer? How many visits do you think are required to close a deal? How many customers can you handle within a month? How many can a sales rep handle? Do you need to pay sales commissions? etc.

If your revenue estimation sound like "I plan to acquire one new customers a month with a sales cycle of three months, requiring 20% of my time during the acquisitin period. Additionally, I assume that every second customer becomes a repeat customer with a sales cycle of just one month, requiring 10% of my time in this period. My travel costs are about 300$ per visit, and the avarage deal is 20k", then you are moving in the right direction.

This is just a small part of the questions you should ask yourself. Play with the parameters to judge the impact on your business model. Increasing the sales cycle (and therefore cash in) from two month to six month could kill your company if you do not have enough working capital, for example. Two additional on-site visits can severely affect your margins. Perhaps you need to reconsider your pricing? Or your sales strategy?

Get Feedback

Use your written plan to get feedback. Hand it over to people you trust, give them time to read it, and ask for feedback. Do this often. Chances are that you get a lot of questions like "Ok, you plan to do marketing. What exactly do you plan to do?" Use it to ensure that you have no blind spots in your business plan.

When Should I Present My Business Plan to Investors?

Whenever you are ready to bet your own money on it. Remember, you do not write a business plan for investors. You write it for yourself, to get a business off the ground.

Klaus Wiedemann is Founder and Managing Director of Daisho Blacksmith GmbH, a product and consulting company dedicated to support todays professional with software and methodology to sharpen their competitive edge. He blogs regularly at Not For Slaves, focusing on the working environment of the 21st century and its implications and opportunities for the individual.

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Starting a business is fun. Planning a business is not as fun. So how do you take your fresh idea and turn it into a viable business without sacrificing your enthusiasm in the process? Here are some ways to get started now.

Plan well, but plan quickly.

You know you need a business plan. (You do know that, don’t you?) You also know that business plans are long, scary, and mind-numbingly boring. They tend to take a lot of time, time which you might not have.

The most important part of your business plan is your SWOT analysis. This is where you identify your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The SWOT analysis is your new best friend. Run one on your business, on yourself, on your business partners, and on your competition. Figure out what’s helping you and what’s hurting you. Do not fall into the trap of shoving your head into the sand and thinking you have no weaknesses. Think about this. Write it down.

Since this is for your own use and doesn’t have to be prettied up for a banker’s benefit, there’s no reason this should take more than a day.

Identify your Unique Selling Proposition.

Once you know your own strengths and your competitors’ weaknesses, you can figure out what makes you different from them. This is your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. It will be the driving force behind your marketing campaign.

What makes you unique does not have to be something earth-shattering. You don’t need to redesign the wheel. It could be as simple as actually listing your prices on your website, or offering 24 hour a day phone support. The only requirement is that it has to be something your customers actually care about. Pretty packaging on your plumbing parts is not a USP. Same-day delivery might be.

How are you going to market this thing?

You’ve identified your USP. Now you’re going to have to let people know about it. Sounds obvious? Apparently it isn’t. How many times have you been actively trying to spend your hard-earned money on a product or service, and all the companies looked the same? These companies are lazy marketers. They are telling you about all the fancy gizmos that every other competitor has, too.

You need to take your USP and beat your potential customers over the head with it. They should know why you’re different than The Other Guy before hiring you even crosses their minds. Do not make them think. Make your USP the most readily available piece of information to your customers. If you do that, the details of your marketing plan don’t matter as much. Since the thing that makes you better than your competition is now wildly obvious, whether you advertise in Text Link Ads or AdSense is just not a big deal.

Figure out your funding.

Unless your competition is Coca-Cola, the amount of money you have to start with is actually pretty unimportant. What is important is that you know how much you have, and that you allocate it wisely. Whether you have $500 or $5 million to start with, spend the most you can get away with on marketing. You need to get people to buy your product or service. Once they do, you can spend all the money you want on a new fax machine or 30-inch monitor or thicker stationery.

Start sooner rather than later.

There is a point, generally a lot earlier than most people think, when you have to stop thinking and start doing. It’s easy to sit back and ruminate on the absolute perfect way to launch your business. What’s hard is understanding that a not-bad business launched in a not-bad way makes a lot more money than an amazing business not launched at all because circumstances are not perfect. Make your service good, make it easy to buy from you, hang your shingle and prepare for a crazy ride.

Naomi Dunford writes for IttyBiz, a blog for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and other work-from-home types. Come by for marketing tips, small business advice, and the occasional very bad joke.

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BusinessKnowHow: Thousands of new home businesses start in North America every day, many of which never see their fifth anniversary.

With a 90 percent failure rate in the first five years, most hopeful entrepreneurs wind up feeling discouraged and beaten, thinking they don't have what it takes to make their dream of home business come true.

One of the biggest reasons home businesses fail is because the new entrepreneur not only lacks the required marketing and sales skills, but chooses a business with a tremendous learning curve.

The energy, time and financial commitment required is significant because everything is new and undeveloped. Overwhelm and confusion set in, mistakes accumulate, frustration grows and finances dwindle as you work your way through the steep learning process.

If you are new to or considering a home business, you can flatten the learning curve and start generating income immediately by beginning with something you are already good to great at.

How to Turn Your Start-Up into an Instant Cash Cow [BusinessKnowHow]

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Quite often, when I talk to potential founders, I hear them say: "I have an idea. I guess, now I need a business plan." Yes, right.

But before jumping straight into such an exercise (which most people by far underestimate in terms of time and effort required), there are a couple of completely non-business questions to be answered. Whenever you have trouble answer them, make sure to get them resolved before continuing, as they have a huge impact on any business plan:

Why do I want to do this at all?

A lot of aspiring founders are stumbling on that one already. To make a living? To get rich? To improve the world? To become famous? Just out of curiosity to see whether it would work? To earn some money on the side?

This question alone has some implications for your business plan: the aggressiveness of the plan, or the underlying business model (it's not that difficult to make a living out of a one-person consulting business, but probably it will not make you extremely rich).

What price I am willing to pay?

Everything in life comes attached with a price tag, although not necessarily a monetary one. The price one has to pay while founding a business can be high. Reduced spare time, long working hours even on weekends, reduced time available for friends and family, financial uncertainty. The higher the price you are willing to pay, the better your chances are for succeeding.

What do my family and friends think about it?

This question has two aspects:

- What do they think about the business idea?

This gives you a first feedback from the market, at least on a high level (at least if you plan to have some kind of consumer business in mind). If all your friends and family tell you "Founding a travel agency selling trips to Mars is stupid" - you should at least evaluate their feedback. If they just don't understand your business because it is some highly advanced biotech concept, you should seek feedback from people more familiar with the particular area you plan to start your business.

- What do they think about the fact that I want to start a business?

This is an important fact as you will need at least their understanding or - even better- their support in the upcoming months or years. It can be quite annoying when you hear every time you meet friends things like "Did I tell you already the story of the guy who went bankrupt when trying to start a business?"

Honest feedback is important, but it is much better to receive it with a "You can do it" rather with a "You are doomed" attitude.

How much risk can I bear?

This highly depends on your current circumstances and your financial resources. If you are single, just out of university and little monthly running cost, you probably can take a higher risk than somebody who has to earn money to support a family of five. But if the later has already made a fortune, the situation might be just the other way around...

Can I do it alone or not?

In general, I highly recommend to not start a business alone (unless you plan just a one-person consulting business). But whenever your idea gets more complex and goes beyond freelancing, sharing the burden with enhances the chances for a successfully start. If - you partner with the right person:

Do I partner with the right people?

I always say that starting a business with one (or more) partners is like marriage without a separation of property: You stick together for a major part of your time, a "divorce" is not easy and is usually painful. So, make sure you team with the right people.

Some criterias are:

- Although tempting at the beginning, partnering with friends is not always the best idea. Friendship can make you blind for some important aspects to consider.

- Diversity of skills: Does your team has all the necessary skills you require? Business, marketing, technical skill, whatever is required. Chances are that your friends have similar skills if you know them from studying or former work.

- Same level of risk tolerance and same motivation: Make sure the people you partner with share both your willingness and ability to share risk( e.g. live of from savings for some time) and the same motivation. If one of you wants to build the next Google, while the other juts wants to do something next to his regular job, a major clash is just a question of time.

What are my No-Go criteria?

My last (and probably most important) advice is to clearly define No-Go criteria even before you start, and make sure that everybody on the team subscribes to them. This could be a deadline for a agreed business plan, for getting funding, for a technical proof of concept. Not every idea is as bright as it seems at the beginning. More often than not, founders find out during business planning that their concept does not support a company, has too little room for growth or faces high technical risks. Have the courage to pull the plug early on. When you willing to do that, based on clear criteria, you can be sure you continue building your business on a good foundation.

Klaus Wiedemann is Founder and Managing Director of Daisho Blacksmith GmbH, a product and consulting company dedicated to support todays professional with software and methodology to sharpen their competitive edge. He blogs regularly at Not For Slaves, focusing on the working environment of the 21st century and its implications and opportunities for the individual.

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Bplans Blog: Think of it as the heart of the business, like the heart of the artichoke: it's a group of three core concepts that can't be separated. Market, identity, and focus. Don't pull them apart. It's the interrelationship between them that drives your business.

I've been working on this in the context of business planning, particularly the "just enough" planning I've been writing about lately, which I've also called the "not so big" business plan. Somebody I know and respect suggested that the heart of a business plan is the marketing plan, and that led me to thinking about the heart of the artichoke.

Like the leaves of the artichoke, the rest of the plan is vital and it surrounds the heart. The rest of the plan is a matter of metrics, milestones, assumptions, responsibility and accountability, dates, deadlines, budgets, and of course financial projections to support cash flow. The heart of it, however, is that trio.

And I realize that it goes beyond business planning. The heart of the planning is the heart of the business itself. The trio at the core is what drives the business.

Heart of a Plan: Market, Identity, Focus [Bplans Blog]

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AllBusiness.com: Owning a business is the dream of many Americans... starting that business converts your dreams into reality. However, there is a gap between dreams and reality. Your dreams can only be achieved with careful planning. As an entrepreneur, you will need a plan to avoid pitfalls, to achieve your goals, and to build a profitable business.

This checklist is designed to help you get started. It has seven key components:

1. Identify Your Reasons
2. Self Analysis
3. Personal Skills and Experience
4. Finding a Niche
5. Market Analysis
6. Planning Your Startup; and
7. Finances

Each component is comprehensive and is designed to prepare you for self employment. In addition, each component includes an analysis of you responses as well as a menu of supporting resources.

Checklist for Starting a Business [AllBusiness.com]

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Entrepreneur.com: It's fascinating to hear other people's success stories. One of the most interesting parts is learning how successful entrepreneurs got their start and how they overcame challenges and adversity. Did an idea flash in their minds like a lightning bolt? Or was it something that percolated over the years? How did timing play into their launch? Did experience or desperation drive their plan forward?

The common ground all these entrepreneurs shared was financial success and the gratification of creating something larger than themselves. Here are a few excerpts of their experiences:

Rachel Ashwell, founder of Shabby Chic
Ashwell left school at age 16. She separated from her husband in her mid-twenties--with two babies under the age of 2 to support. These circumstances drove Ashwell to take a chance and start a retail business--Shabby Chic.

Julie Clark, founder of The Baby Einstein Company and The Safe Side
Money was never the motivating factor for Clark. A teacher, she founded her first company, Baby Einstein, to provide educational videos for her own babies. Clark grew Baby Einstein into a cultural phenomenon and sold it to The Walt Disney Company for $50 million, using some of the proceeds to launch her newest venture, The Safe Side.

Tomima Edmark, inventor of TopsyTail and founder of HerRoom.com and HisRoom.com
Edmark was working a corporate job in the late 1980s when she felt she'd hit the glass ceiling. She knew this wasn't what she wanted to do for the rest of her life so she wrote a book on kissing, sold it to a publisher, and used the proceeds to launch TopsyTail, which became an overnight success and garnered more than $100 million in sales.

What Inspires People to Startup? [Entrepreneur.com]

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Entrepreneurs-Journey.com: A common small business start-up formula today is to offer a product or service and sell it online. If you are reading this blog chances are that describes your situation now. Perhaps you are a freelancer with skills to sell, or you decided to have a go at selling a product online, maybe through eBay or directly from a website. Maybe you quit your job or downgraded to part time work to have time to start your business, or you even attempted to do both at once - work a job and start a business at the same time.

Whatever the scenario, we all start at the same place - the beginning - and it’s at this point that we begin to take action to drum up business. Once you have something to offer, you brainstorm ideas for how to market what you do and then, finally, you go out there and “get in the face” of your target market.

During the early days you tend to do a lot of work yourself, and until you actually make sales, you are very pro-active (or at least you should be!) at chasing up more work and more sales. Generally, because the pressure to establish cashflow is so great, this stage of your business involves rapid action and you do a lot of activities that move you forward. I call this swimming.

Are You Drowning, Treading Water or Swimming? [Entrepreneurs-Journey.com]

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Sitepoint.com: Executives at large corporations and entrepreneurs in emerging companies struggle with the same question: "How do I write a strategic plan that actually gets implemented?"

A solid strategic plan delivers the following benefits:

1. You focus your time and energy on activities that are most likely to achieve your goals.

2. You know how to allocate resources.

3. You put a solid strategy in place to set your business apart from the competition.

4. You can communicate your plan to employees, and hold them accountable for results.

5. You can track the results of your efforts and make mid-course corrections to get back on track if you need to.

6. You can adapt your plan to create a second business plan to raise investment capital or get a business loan.

The process of writing the plan is often more valuable than the plan itself. That's because the process focuses your thinking, and challenges you to answer some fundamental questions about your business.

Start writing today. You can write the plan on your own, but it's better to work with other people to test your ideas. If you have a management team, you can work with them to write your plan. I know many entrepreneurs who spend a weekend with a colleague, and they work together on each other's plans, like a strategic retreat. Or, you can hire a consultant/coach to walk you through the process.

Remember that quote from Alice in Wonderland. Too many of us are like Alice at the fork in the road, not sure where we want to go or how we will get there. Stay out of the rabbit hole and write your plan today.

Write a Business Plan that Works [Sitepoint.com]

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BusinessWeek: You've worked hard, you've invested well, and now you have the financial means to exit early. While others might be perplexed by the unscheduled blocks of time in retirement, you know exactly what you want to do. For years you squeezed it into the spare hours of your workweek or daydreamed about it at your desk. Now you'd like to turn that hobby or passion into your life's work.

What can go wrong? Just about anything that hampers a startup. Launching a business is never easy: Around half close within four years, according to the Small Business Administration. But it can be especially difficult for early retirees who allow emotions to trump smart decision-making.

Unlike younger entrepreneurs, retirees don't have a long time to recover from a failed business. A money-losing enterprise can eat up savings, force you into debt, and even send you back into the workforce. But intelligent planning can make all the difference between success and stress.

Here are stories of three people who looked at the numbers, planned their exits, and made the transition with ease. Look at THE WINEMAKER, THE BONSAI GROWER, THE BOOKSELLER, THE NOVELIST.

And Now For That Dream Job [BusinessWeek]

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Businessweek: Your public launch of a product or service should be designed to raise the profile of your company. Think of it as a marketing event—a kickoff party of sorts. What you need for a launch is a compelling product or service, plus a handful of early customers providing gushing testimonials.

Don't spend money on a flashy launch party when you have no accomplishments to show off. Spend your marketing budget on making the press and blogging community aware of your product and the companies that are using it, as well as the problems your product is solving and the specific benefits that have resulted from its use.

You should prepare for your launch by answering the following four questions. Which companies are using your product/service? What specific problems are being solved? What associated "pain" is your product/service removing? What have the tangible and quantifiable benefits been to your clients?

Preparing for a Successful Launch [Businessweek]

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StartupNation: Competition is as inevitable in business as death and taxes are in human existence. Even if your startup business has stolen a march on the rest of the world with your product, service, execution, distribution or customer service, somebody else will inevitably try to chase you down and beat you at your own game.

Most entrepreneurs become concerned about competition early on and never quite shake their fears. In fact, besides tax issues and the matter of health care coverage for their employees, a recent survey reveals competition is the biggest concern of small business owners. And most of them are far more worried about the guy down the street than they are about being stomped by some Fortune 500 corporation.

But there’s one fail-safe way to avoid a preoccupation with your rivals – and that is to focus always on making your startup business the best that it can be. Whether your edge on the competition lies mainly in unique product selection, supreme customer service or cutting-edge marketing, you’ve got to maintain or increase that lead – and then look around for some other way to best your competitors as well.

5 Startup Tips for Beating your Business Competitors [StartupNation]

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