So you have a great idea for a business in your head and it just won’t go away. Starting a business from nothing is – by most standards – considered a startup. This is the path most people think about when deciding if they should become an entrepreneur. A now legendary example of a startup is Apple Computer – proof positive that not all things formed on April Fools Day are foolish. The company was born on the first of April in 1976 by three young men named Ronald Wayne, Steve Wozniak and of course Steve Jobs. The company was formed to sell a personal computer kit Wozniak and Jobs had created called the Apple I. Ronald would later go on to sell his share in the company for a whopping $800 – which goes to show you that the future is not always clear! As Steve Jobs was only 16 years old at the time the company was formed – the obvious location to start their business from was his parents now legendary garage.
See the garage in which Apple Computer was born.
There are of course other choices you can make when deciding to go out and work for yourself. Perhaps you are considering the purchase of a pre-existing business (called a buyout), entering into a franchise agreement or joining a business that is already up and running, such as a family owned and operated one. Whether you want to build a giant widget factory, buy a Starbucks franchise or take over the family run pizza parlor – its always good to have some good advice first to guide you toward making the right steps. There may be some things you just don’t know yet and believe it or not, there are experts out there that are ready and willing to help you. Best of all, the advice is free! Before I get into that, however, I am going to give you a heads up on what they might expect from you before you visit them or even call them. This will show them you are prepared and have done a little research into exactly what you would like to do and that you actually are capable and have a viable (or.., perhaps not that viable) plan in mind.
If you are like most people, you have probably always worked for someone else and the closest you ever came to having your own business was selling lemonade on the side of the road or having a newspaper route. There are many things to consider before you start a business, and many people will tell you that having a good business plan is a great place to start. To help illustrate this, I will use the lemonade stand as a sample business to help illustrate what you might want to consider. While this can certainly help you, I feel a good one or two page executive summary of your business and a 1 to 5 year cash flow showing all of your estimated income and expenses would be the first place to start.
*** THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS *** MORE TO COME!
