Furthermore you could be a baby boomer coming up for retirement having lost your 401k or maybe you are already a retiree and wish to start a small business to boost your retirement fund. You could even be a stay at home mom who is on maternity leave and you are seeking alternatives to returning to work. Are you a work from home dad looking to start a small business independently? Are you a franchise owner who is drained by heavy overhead and other expenses? Would you like to know how to start a small business in five steps?

1: Business Ideas: have you considered what business you would like to start up? Many people have a desire to be a business owner or an entrepreneur but have no idea what business they wish to start. Perhaps you are seeking a small franchise business opportunity or you have your eye on an existing small business you are considering purchasing or investing in. Once you have brainstormed some business ideas and know what business you wish to start up, now it is time for the real work to begin.

2: Business Plan: once you have your business idea down on paper you need to begin building a business plan. This is essential because it is how you and others will evaluate your business potential. If you are considering financing, lenders or investors will want to see a definitive business plan before they will consider funding you. Even if you are financing the business yourself you will still need a written business plan to develop business strategies and financial projections. Essential to the business plan is the marketing strategy that will be implemented to advertise and promote your products and services. Setting goals in your business plan will enable you to analyse future business success and outlines the capital required to ensure progressive peak profitability.

3: Financing: now that you have your business plan you need to consider financing. Many small businesses have three key areas where capital can be raised in addition to or an alternative to a possible personal savings fund: family and or friends, investors, bank loans. Each of these options has various considerations key to the business. Family, friends and investors will want to have ownership and control over their portion of the business. Bank loans can burden the business with high interest rates through loan repayment and this can have a detrimental effect on your small business profits.

4: Getting Started: you now have the idea, the plan and the money to start your small business. In addition to this you will need the right mindset to drive your focus forward so that you can begin getting results. However another key element to starting your small business is essential to the mix. The legal structure of your small business is imperative to the legitimate small business owner. First you will need to decide if you are going to be a Sole Proprietor, be in a Partnership or operate as a Corporation. Financing options will be dependent on which legal structure you choose. Once this has been decided you can file with the state (US) to incorporate and obtain a federal identification number.

5: Open The Business Doors: now it is time to start making money. In order to make money you need to spend money. Where will your business be located? Will you run a home based office or do you need to rent a commercial space to provide your product and service to your customers? Will you need to hire employees to help you run your small business? Or would you need to outsource some of your marketing to specialists or experts? What about hiring an accountant or bookkeeper? Then of course you need to consider taxes. What taxes do you have to pay and collect?

Once you have established how to start your small business venture and where you will be located you will also need to consider the issues involved in managing your business. Do not hesitate to see if you have what it takes to start your own small business by checking out this business link here.

Zurieka and husband James, live in London, England with their two four legged friends. They choosing to work from home with flexible hours and frequent holidays abroad. They help a thriving team of online entrepreneurs to implement the same techniques and strategies that enabled them to quit the rat race and enjoy self-employment. Zurieka and Business.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Zurieka_Model

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: financing a small business

Tags: financing a small business

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 7:08 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.