Not sure of a clever title, so went with this one?

JLW0504

So, a friend of mine approached me last week about wanting to do a start up company. I'm not sure if I could be totally on board with this.

I think the idea of it is fun but, I don't know if she realizes all that would go into a venture like this. We're thinking of lifestyle organization.

She's a SAHM and I work full time. She has one kid and I'll have 2. For those who have started something on your own, how hard was it? Did you take any business courses? Were you afforded more time with your LOs? Was the initial cost manageable or through the roof?

I'm just not entirely sold on this.

oliarnmom1517

I'm an independent beauty consultant with Mary Kay but honestly it's completely different.. I'm doing Mary Kay full time once my baby gets here and I can work around my schedule to make my business work.. But I'm not sure how doing a bigger company will go about... Sorry I don't have any advice

TacoSarah

I started up a food truck in Toronto with a chef friend of mine, I sold my share when I moved back to the UK but it's still in business. I have a masters degree in business and I'm a fellow of the CIPD.

Starting up your own business is hard. It takes a lot of time and commitment, and you need to do your research and preparation. You need a business plan and a financial forecast.

kfry22

I'm from the October board. My his husband owns and operates his own business building fence. My biggest suggestion would be sitting down and creating a business plan. From there you would need to decide if you want to do a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation. For us an llc made the most sense as it allowed the business to have its own accounts and be completely separate from our own finances. It can fail miserably and it won't hurt us.

After that I would contact a lawyer and have stuff made legal. For us getting the llc finalized gave us tax numbers and allowed us to have accounts at the bank. From their we can have a line of credit at the bank and he is able to be tax exempt on some stuff. An accountant is also helpful as you have a lot more to keep track of especially come tax season. For us, we have employees who require 1099 forms, certain things are tax write offs, we have to worry about depreciation on equipment and our building, and then actually file the taxes.

We have done a very moderate amount of advertising. Word of mouth has worked great for him but that might not be the case for you. Easy things would be a Facebook page, registering with the better business bureau (don't pay to be part of it just register and you go on the website), pens, hats, shirts, license plates, and business cards. We also try to support a few local 4H clubs. Maybe look for a way to give back to your community after you are established.

There are times it isn't easy or fun. Then there are times when I realize this is exactly what my hubby is supposed to be doing. It has allowed him more flexibility and freedom in his schedule and he is his own boss. We have met a lot of wonderful people that have hired him to do their fence for them. The scariest thing is worrying if he will stay busy and have enough work but that hasn't been a problem yet. Good luck to you!!!

ash413

Aso far as the cost, it depends on what you business is. I helped my dad start his commercial HVAC company, the only initial start up cost was just the insurance and cost of setting up the llc and things of that nature. He doesn't have to put any money out he has a confirmed client ect.
It was nice for my dad since he could make his on schedule. If I was not helping with the administration side he would have been working 10 to 12 hour days.

With us both working other full time jobs it took at least 6 month to get things set up ans off the ground.

JLW0504

@kassyfry thank you for the information. I'm glad your DH is doing well with his business. There is definitely a lot to take in. I've got a lot of reading ahead of me

ETA: I should take a typing class, just to be safe...

JLW0504

@ash43   Thank you for the time frame. I was thinking it would be like a 1 year+ before anything got off the ground. As far as initial costs, since I haven't really looked into anything, I didn't know if there were licensing fees, advertising (always a cost there), lawyer fees and any other hidden fees I haven't read about yet.

dogsombrero

DH and I own an auto repair shop. Brick and mortar stores require a lot of time and energy vs home based businesses. We both put in 60 hours on the regular and done things still slip through the cracks (we grossed $250,000 just the two of us though so we are crazy busy) the net is about 20% profit .

I'd recommend a free meeting with a SCORE advisor for help thinking through your plan, they also offer entrepreneurial classes which will help immensely. Also a great accountant and lawyer but to be honest we mostly use our accountant.

JLW0504

dogsombrero said:

DH and I own an auto repair shop. Brick and mortar stores require a lot of time and energy vs home based businesses. We both put in 60 hours on the regular and done things still slip through the cracks (we grossed $250,000 just the two of us though so we are crazy busy) the net is about 20% profit .

I'd recommend a free meeting with a SCORE advisor for help thinking through your plan, they also offer entrepreneurial classes which will help immensely. Also a great accountant and lawyer but to be honest we mostly use our accountant.

Thank you for this. I don't know what a SCORE advisor is but it's on my ever growing list of things to research. Luckily, I have a lawyer in the family. He just sold his share of a partnership and has ventured out in his own. I am sure he can recommend a great accountant. (Well, I hope anyway.)

thegingeravenger

My SO is part owner now in a small business that is owned by his best friend. He's only "officially" been involved for a year, but has been involved behind the scenes since the business began in 2008. I have zero advice on the business aspect of it, but it does take over your life. It's more my SO's best friend's baby, but it is also my SO's baby to a lesser extent. There is no real time off from the business - it's almost an obsession. The business is my SO's child, his wife, and his mistress all rolled into one. It's manageable, but I couldn't imagine being apart of this from the start if I'm honest. My SO's best friend had his son in 2011 and wasn't able to be as involved as he probably would have liked, but now he does have a LOT more time with him. 

Just as a note, this business is construction with a focus on beautification and remodeling. Also, my SO now LOVES what he does as the business manager of it. He's deliriously happy 80% of the time after work. The big thing I'd recommend is sitting down and discussing the ends and outs of the friendship side of things if you two decide to go through with this. 

dogsombrero

JLW0504 said:

dogsombrero said:

DH and I own an auto repair shop. Brick and mortar stores require a lot of time and energy vs home based businesses. We both put in 60 hours on the regular and done things still slip through the cracks (we grossed $250,000 just the two of us though so we are crazy busy) the net is about 20% profit .

I'd recommend a free meeting with a SCORE advisor for help thinking through your plan, they also offer entrepreneurial classes which will help immensely. Also a great accountant and lawyer but to be honest we mostly use our accountant.

Thank you for this. I don't know what a SCORE advisor is but it's on my ever growing list of things to research. Luckily, I have a lawyer in the family. He just sold his share of a partnership and has ventured out in his own. I am sure he can recommend a great accountant. (Well, I hope anyway.)

SCORE is a resource of retired professionals who give free advice to entrepreneurs. We actually won an award for best up and coming business last year through ours. They can help you revise business plans and talk through potential obstacles. Ours works in partnership with the local SBA office as well. If you google SCORE you should be able to find an office and advisor. I highly recommend using them.