Did You Start Your Own Business?

Yes, we started our own business about 6 yrs ago.

We started slow with a lot of preplanning and forecasting. We have good legal and tax counsel. Our company is LLC. You have to have W9,Federal Tax ID, State Tax license, etc.

We have funded our company personally and did not take a paycheck for the first year. The bank would love to help BUT when the bank is involved... you are required to meet with them when they say, you are expected to follow any plan they suggest, bottom line... they own you. We did not want that and will not go that route.

We are in raw materials (plastics) which is booming. My husband had been in this industry over 20 yrs so he has the knowledge, customer base, etc. I do all of the financials with Quick Books Pro 2013 (I LOVE this program). I run the payroll, prepare the quarterly tax reports, pay the monthly payroll taxes, etc. QB pretty much walks you through it but I do have a "tutor" who helps me when I have specific questions. She works from home and has her own bookkeeping company and is a qualified QB consultant.

We do work from home but we have warehousing in Dallas and Houston. We deal with trucking companies for deliveries as well.

Business is up over 25% from last year and last year was a record for us. We expect to hit sales around 6 Million this year. June was an all time record month of $450,000. As for employees, it is just hubby, myself and daughter. Our daughter just graduated high school and in into entrepreneurship so she shadows me often to get a gist of what has to happen when you do run your own business. She plans to study entrepreneurship at SMU.

We are both degreed, Hubby with MBA. It takes a LOT of planning and forecasting. We take advantage of deals from companies. In the beginning, we had no credit since we were just starting out and it was tough because we were on cash in advance with our companies and relying on our customers to pay us. We offered incentives to customers such as 1% discount if paid in 10 days, net 30 days the bill was due. We've only had 1 bad experience with a customer who didn't pay and fortunately it was not too damaging financially. That customer is now bankrupt. We now have a strong, great credit with several companies and no issues with credit because we have always paid in full before due dates. If we are offered any type of discount to pay in advance or within 10 days we take that discount.

It is very rewarding to be your own boss and it also can be tough because you do work 24/7. We do provide medical insurance and we have 401K's setup as well through the company.

Best wishes to you if you take the leap to own your own company.

I started my business in an hour. I made the proposal, it was accepted, I made up the name, ran to get a DBA, signed up with the state for a tax number.. It was easier for me , because all of the state offices are here in town. And I drove directly to them..

I ordered a square so I could accept credit cards. I already owned my iPad..

It depends on what your business is. Mine is out of my house. I do not have full time employees..

Make a business plan, realize if there is overhead, depending on if you have the money, you may not recoup it for a few years.if you have investors, make sure you have a good attorney and accountant.

My business had no overhead, except my car. But I can write that off.

Before you start investing in attorney's, brand name development, websites, etc.

Make sure you have a purpose. And do you have a successful track record with your business already?

I have a small spa / handmade beauty product business. The business exec's and MBA's love to see business plans and numbers. And although that is an important part of your book keeping and vision, the vision still has to be you and something you are excited about. Otherwise, it won't work.

I've been making products for over 15 years now, and had to change both name and packaging recently. That process is still not complete.

It's important to have a web presence in today's market. So I recommend you use the website 'Wanabee' or similar.

Purchase a domain name through GoDaddy.com or similar.

Use "Weebly" or similar to set up hosting and design your own web page.

And yes, I spent a lot of time a couple of years ago writing up a business plan. and it has provided nothing in return to date. Except that the MBA's like it in our meetings.

And in the States, it's important to look into setting you business up as an LLC, or similar, for your personal protection.

#1 thing is to have a specific purpose that you fully support.

My husband recently started his own business. His first steps were to talk to an accountant, decide on a company name and make sure it was not already in use, get a business license and open a company bank account.

i guess i was lucky in that my business was small (only me) and prior to the computer age. i just picked a name, researched to make sure it wasn't already in use, ordered business cards and opened a business checking account.
khairete
S.

While I did not start my own business, I was in the startup phase for a company I worked at.

Depending on the type of business, it will determine what you steps you need to take. If you add that in, you may get better answers.

A good resource is the insuracne company, don't forget insurance! Underwriting will ask for a ton of stuff when they write the policy, ask the broker for a list and use that as a double check.

Ask your bank for a business loan application and see what questions they ask...even if you don't get a loan, it will be another resource. It should ask questions like...what state are you incoporated in (that means you have to register with the state)...what is your NAICS/SIC code (look up what type of business category you fall under).

Good Luck!

If you're talking Melaleuca as in your previous question, then...."no"....you really don't need to. Just keep thorough records & copies of all transactions, expenses, etc.

If you're talking something like my inhome daycare, then "no" again. I simply use my SS# & my tax lady handles the rest. No upfront prep, just a few questions/answers during our tax prep.

If you're talking about an independent business....such as consultant.... then...."yes"....speak with an attorney &/or tax specialist.