Starting a Small Business - Startup Guide for Entrepreneurs

In this lesson, I will go over some of the negative aspects, or the downsides of running your own business.  Of course, there are plenty of advantages of running a successful business, but these are the negative aspects that you should consider before you embark on your journey.

There are a couple of schools of thought whether or not you need a business plan as a startup company.  I will give you my thoughts and discuss the seven main components of a typical business plan if you decide to do one, or if you are required to do one.

In this lesson I will go over some considerations when coming up with a name for your business and a website you can use to see if a name is already trademarked.

You may want to consider purchasing a franchise instead of starting from ground zero.  In this video I will discuss the basic concepts of franchise ownership.

For some people, purchasing an existing business makes a lot of sense.  But where do you find them?  In this lesson I will give you some ideas on where you can find existing businesses for sale.  I will also look at the due diligence process involved if you decide to purchase one.

There are a few nice advantages when owning an online business.  I will discuss the advantages in this lesson and I will also go over a couple places where you can purchase one along with the due diligence required.

Choosing the proper form or legal entity for your business will have many ramifications for you legally and from a tax perspective.  In this lesson I will go over the 3 basic forms of doing business in the United States and the advantages and disadvantages to each one.

In this lesson I will go over some general guidelines regarding the registration of your name or whether you need to register a fictitious name or sometimes referred to as a DBA, doing business as.

Many businesses are required to have the appropriate license at the city, county and state level.  In this lesson I will go over some of those considerations.

There are a few businesses in the United States that require approval at the federal level.  In this lesson I will go over some examples of these businesses.

In this lesson I will go over the various considerations in choosing a business location.  Most of the times leasing a location will be the proper way to go, but you may also consider purchasing a location as well.

Here are some considerations that you may not be aware of if you are thinking of starting a home based business.

In this lesson I will discuss the main advantages and disadvantages of having a home based business. 

In this lesson I will discuss the three main ways of getting funds for your startup (savings, debt or equity).  And within each method, there are various other creative ways to get financing.

Setting up a financial plan will be crucial in your business venture. In this lesson I will go over the importance of tracking your numbers, the difference in fixed costs versus variable costs along with the three main financial statements that are used by every business in operation. 

In this example I go through an example of a financial plan and my thinking process involved as I go through a hypothetical example.

Merchant accounts are used mostly by brick and mortar locations for when you want to accept credit card or ACH payments.  There are also other alternatives that I will discuss in this lesson.

Having a good accounting system in place will make your life a lot easier for tax reporting and will also give you valuable insights about your business.  In this lesson we will look at a few popular accounting software options and what type of activity you need to be concerned with as a business owner.

Having the proper insurance in place for your business will help you minimize any risks that can potentially ruin your business.  This lesson lists out the main types of insurance that a business should consider.  In the subsequent lessons we will go more in depth for each type.

This will be the most important type of insurance you should have and I will explain why in the video.

This type of insurance protects your employees if they are injured on the job.  For many employers, it will be required.

Cyber insurance is becoming more and more important for some businesses because of the increased activity we are now seeing with identity theft.  Find our more about this insurance and if you will need it for your business.

In some scenarios, a key person insurance policy will make sense if you have others relying on the business income.  It could be employees or vendors.  This insurance can serve as a temporary bridge in the untimely death of a key person of the organization.  Find out more by watching the video.

In this lesson we look at product liability and service liability, sometimes referred to as errors and omissions (E&O).

This quiz will go over the various concepts learned in the section on insurance considerations.

In this lesson I will go over the difference between independent contractors and employees from a hiring standpoint.  I list out a few sites where you can find independent contractors, freelance talent or virtual assistants.  I also discuss some good hiring practices.

In this lesson I will go over the various payroll taxes that you will be responsible for as a business owner. I will also discuss the impact of using independent contractors.

This lesson will go over the reasons why you should utilize a payroll service company to handle your payroll needs. I will also give you four companies that offer this service.  I have personally used all four of their services, but there is one that I like in particular for small businesses.

In this lesson I will explain my thoughts on domain names, how to choose a good one, where to buy them, what to avoid, how to check the history, etc.

If you have a website then it is imperative to install Google Analytics to give you statistical information about your site.  It is a free program.  In this lesson I will discuss Google Analytics and a couple of other alternatives.

in this lesson we will look at a basic introduction to SEO or search engine optimization.

In this lesson we will look at the differences between two types of search engine optimization.  The first type is known as on page and the second type is known as off page.  I will discuss what you need to be focusing on as a business owner such as how often should you post items to your website.

In this lesson I go over my thoughts about social media.  Contrary to what some other people may think, I think in some circumstances you don't even need to worry about it.  Find out more by viewing the video.

This may not be a consideration for you at this moment, but eventually you may have plans to sell your business, either to start another one, or to retire off into the sunset. In this lesson, I will go over some considerations when it comes to selling your business.

There are many considerations that can come into play when you price a business for sale.  In this lesson, we will look at some of the most important ones that factor into how much you can ask for your business.