Some women starting a business have never worked outside the home and need to start from the beginning, while some men may be starting a business after working in the workforce for many years. I had worked in the workforce for over 10 years before I decided to start my business and had some experience but still ran into problems. This is why I want to share these tips with you, so you can avoid problems I ran into and get your business started sooner and with less headaches!
If you are currently working at a job and thinking about starting your business, the first thing you should do is KEEP YOUR JOB! Don’t quit your job before you have a plan in place. While you have your job, you should be doing some things that will help you once you leave your job to work full time for yourself.
1. Write a business plan.
2. Write a marketing plan.
3. Write a credit policy.
These are three of the most important things you will do for your business. People are normally frightened away by these three things but don’t be! I have examples of all three of these items in my books and you can feel free to use them as they are or customize them for yourself. You can look online for examples of these types of plans and create your own. If you have these three items BEFORE you go to a bank for financing, you are guaranteed to have a better chance at getting approved than someone who does not have these items. If you go to the bank or approach the SBA without any of these items they will tell you to come back when you have them. So be smart and be ready.
Many small businesses are launched by the personal resources of their owners. But they can quickly reach the stage where the owner must look to the credit market for financial help in expanding operations. Some things you can do to improve your financial standing when starting a business are:
1. Get copies of your credit reports – you can do this free once a year.
2. Pay off any credit cards or bills you have as quickly as possible.
3. Start out small, buy more equipment or expand as your business grows rather than trying to start out “big”.
4. Share office space with a business that compliments your business.
5. Share big equipment such as copiers, fax machines, postage meters or printers.
6. Join networking groups and attend meetings, you will meet other business owners you may be able to barter with, saving you a lot of money.
7. Stick to your marketing plan, and do one thing each day to market your business. This will eventually lead to more publicity, which means more sales and more money for you.
8. Try to use electronic means of reaching customers. Email is much cheaper than printing and postage costs.
9. Buy used office equipment; I am still using a desk I bought at a second hand shop for $100!
10. Determine how much money you REALLY need to start your business, it normally takes more than you imagine. Try to have at least double what you think you need, you will be glad you did. (Keep your day job!)
11. Try to do as much as you can yourself before hiring employees or outsourcing jobs.
12. Pay yourself ONLY AFTER any employees and bills are paid.
You will see Michelle Dunn quoted and interviewed in Forbes.com, The Wall Street Journal, Ladies Home Journal, PC World, Home Business Magazine, Home Business Journal, Entrepreneur, Professional Collector, Credit & Collections Risk, The NH Business Review and in many books including Home Based Business for Dummies and 365 Foolish Mistakes Smart Managers Make. Michelle has been a featured guest on (NPR) National Public Radio and has been in many newspapers and magazines worldwide as well as on the CBS Early Show. Visit her websites at www.michelledunn.com and www.credit-and-collections.com
Bill Dueease on August 28th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Chuck, you have listed excellent action steps for women, or any prospective business owners to consider before and during the start up of their businesses. May I add one other valuable step for women entrepreneurs to seriously complete to greatly improve their chances of success, and to reduce the time and effort to reach success? Find someone you can count on and trust to become your partner in some form or another so you are not alone. You want this partner to be focused on your success, your way. An actual business partner, or a business coach would prove to be priceless. That way you will reduce or eliminate your false, error prone starts, and you will create the best business for you.
Gerri Bryce on September 6th, 2007 at 12:35 am
This is true but would-be entrepreneurs should customize the tips according to their business endeavors. For example, if they intend to pursue a business that they consider high risk, they must look towards a future where processing credit cards securely or dealing with chargebacks is not gonna cause a big headache. Many women dare enter into the business of online pharmacy, for example, selling and promoting weight loss pills and herbals online. This is when a bank’s merchant account services become handy.
Jennifer Sims on January 21st, 2008 at 5:52 pm
If your new business venture involves any sort of selling, you are going to have to eventually sign up for merchant account services. Potential business owners should compare several different providers of credit card processing services before settling on one. The fees associated with credit card processing vary greatly from one merchant account service to the next so finding the one with the lowest fees can really help out your bottom line.