Entrepreneurs: Starting or Buying a Business

Before you start your own business or buy an existing business, you should do some initial planning. This article lists factors to consider when starting your own business, buying an existing business or buying a franchise.

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Coping with the Loss of a Job

Coping with unemployment means breaking away from the past and facing your future. It means dealing with the emotional, financial, and professional challenges unemployment can bring. Although this process can be painful, facing unemployment with a plan will help make coping with it easier.

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Getting Promoted

While an employer is weighing what you can bring to their company, as the chief financial officer of your own wealth, you need to consider what a new company or position can provide you

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-Employment

You've grown tired of commuting to a job where you sit in a cubicle and do someone else's bidding. You've got a better idea, you can build a better mousetrap, you know you have the knack for being in the right place at the right time, and so you're thinking of self-employment. But how do you determine if this is a pipe dream or an idea worth pursuing?

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Working from the Home

Imagine rolling out of bed on a cold winter day, and with your hair still disheveled, slipping on your slippers. You get a cup of steaming hot chocolate loaded with marshmallows and stroll into your office, which is located next to your bedroom. Sounds enticing--doesn't it? Well, for many people this is work. And this is one of its advantages.

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The Business Plan

Essentially, a business plan is the management and financial blueprint of your company. It is meant to serve as both your business guide and as a tool with which you will, hopefully, attract investors. The plan must be comprehensive yet concise. It should explain the characteristics of your business, as well as discuss how the business will be financed and managed and how the business will function in its target market.

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Choosing a Name for Your Business or Product

Naming your business or product is an important marketing decision. The name you choose will position your business or product in people's minds, affect the image you project, and have a major impact on your success.

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Choosing an Entity for Your Business

Basically, three separate categories of entities exist: partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies. Each category has its own advantages, disadvantages, and special rules. It is also possible to operate your business as a sole proprietorship without organizing as a separate business entity.Now that you've decided to start a new business or buy an existing one, you need to consider the form of business entity that's right for you.

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Maximizing Deductions for Start-Up Costs

What are start-up costs? Start-up costs are costs for setting up an active trade or business or investigating the possibility of starting or acquiring an active trade or business. These expenses may include costs such as:

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Tax Planning for the Self-Employed

According to the IRS, you are self-employed if you carry on a trade or business as a sole proprietor, as an independent contractor, as a member of a partnership, or if you are otherwise in business for yourself. You can be a full-time employee and still have self-employment income from a side job. To determine whether particular income is self-employment income (rather than employee wages, for example), you should look at the source of your income and the extent of your involvement in the activity.

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Record Keeping for Your Own Business

Keeping good business records will not only help you stay in business but may also help you increase profits. Your business records let you analyze where your business is and where it's going. They point out potential trouble spots and serve as a guide to where you want your business to be.

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Properly Insuring Your Business

No matter how careful you are in running your business, accidents happen. And no matter how big or small your business, you'll have to plan for these and other risks if you want your business to thrive. One way to do this is with insurance.

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Insuring Your Home Business

If you have recently started your own business and work out of your home, you'll probably need to upgrade your insurance program. At-home business owners often make the mistake of assuming that their homeowners policy covers their business equipment. In fact, your homeowners policy may include little or no coverage for your business property and business liability exposure. You also should consider the need for business interruption insurance, workers' compensation coverage, and business automobile coverage. Finally, you should examine your need for life, health, and disability insurance.

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Benefit Plans for Small Businesses

If you own a small business, you may be finding it increasingly necessary to implement a benefit program to attract and maintain employees. For small businesses, benefit plans generally consist of some of the major insurance benefits, discussed here, as well as employer-sponsored retirement plans.

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Hiring Your First Employee

As a sole proprietor, you handle all business matters--from producing and marketing your goods or services to fixing paper jams in the copier. Your business has grown and now you're stretched too thin. Business is being lost because you just can't do it all yourself. It's time to consider hiring your first employee.

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Funding a Business

Aside from using your own funds and borrowing from friends and family, there are numerous routes that you can take, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the major options available for funding your small business, and some of the pitfalls to avoid. You've got your business plan written. You're excited about your business idea, and now it's time to get started. One problem: You don't have the financing to fully realize your idea. What are your options?

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Buying an Existing Business

Unlike a new business, an existing business will likely have a product or service that is familiar to consumers, suppliers, lenders, and employees.

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Buying a Franchise

If you would like to work for yourself but would rather not start your own business, then purchasing a franchise might be a solution. Though far from simple, franchising permits you, the franchisee, to own a business with both a proven method of operation and a familiar name and trademark. That is, broadly, the definition of a franchise. The following discussion explores the advantages and disadvantages of franchise ownership, the preselection process, and the method by which you might select the franchise that's right for you.

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Should I Incorporate My Business?

Operating as a sole proprietor is often the simplest and least expensive way to organize your business. Even so, many business owners choose to incorporate their businesses. But taking that step has both advantages and drawbacks.

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How Can I Raise Capital for My Business?

The two general categories of financing available for businesses are debt and equity. Debt requires repayment of a loan. Equity involves raising capital by selling parts of the business to investors.

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