Liability coverage

Liability policies provide coverage for several types of business liabilities. When evaluating a liability policy, verify that the policy covers accidents that may occur as a result of product deficiencies, customers falling on the property and in some cases, damage to customers property that occurs at the business location. Liability coverage can help protect a business owner from costly lawsuits.

Property coverage

Generally speaking, property coverage will help protect the business owner from loss of property due to fire, flood or other natural disasters. In addition, some property coverage riders also offer business owners content insurance which can cover the cost of replacing stock, furnishings and fixtures as a result of fire, theft or other losses. While some business owners may feel this type of coverage is not necessary, the cost of replacing the property and the contents should be evaluated before deciding the coverage is excessive.

Worker’s compensation coverage

While all business owners do what is needed to prevent their employees from being injured on the job, accidents happen. Workers coverage can help protect employers from being sued for injuries sustained on the job. Business owners should have this type of coverage regardless of the number of employees they hire or intend to hire.

The right insurance coverage can help protect your business from liability. It is important to note that as a company grows, it is a good idea to have insurance policies reevaluated to make sure coverage is adequate. Visit BusinessInsurance.org for additional information and a free quote.

A Solid Business Plan
Venture capitalists want more than anything to see a solid business plan. Make sure you take the time needed to create a solid plan. This plan should include your company’s mission statement, business purpose, start-up expenses and operating expenses, market analysis, marketing plan as well as your projected potential for profit or loss.

Excellent Management Team
The management team is a very important part of your business. Venture capitalists will look at their backgrounds, education as well as their past successes or failures. They want to know what their strengths, as well as their weaknesses are. They are looking for experienced individuals who know how to run a business and have had success in the past doing so. They are also looking for people with a passion for what they are doing. They need to know that you have the determination to do what is necessary to be successful in the venture.

A Need for the Product or Service
Before anyone will make an investment in a company, they will make sure that the product or service is needed. There is no reason to invest in a product or service that there isn’t a market for. You need to be ready to show why your product or service is desired and what your target market will be. It is also helpful to show your competition and what makes you stand out from them. They will also want to see how you plan on marketing the product.

Potential for growth
Venture capitalists want to see that there is a good potential for growth with the company. Have a detailed plan of what you expect your growth to be and how you will meet that growth. Detail a plan for the next several years showing your potential for growth. Investors are looking for long term growth with their investment.

A Potential for a High Return
Of course they will be looking for a big potential for a high return on their investment. Your profit/loss statements will be a very important piece of the pie. Be prepared to show the amount of time before a return can be expected, and be prepared to show what that expected return should be. Your financial reports and statements need to be accurate and precise.

By taking the time to thoroughly prepare yourself before presenting your business idea to venture capitalists, you stand a much greater chance at success. Do your research, and if necessary hire professionals to assist you. And be prepared to provide what venture capitalists look for.

Pros

Of course the first thing is you’re your own boss! You get to make all the decisions. You create your own work schedule, if you need the day off, take it. No more graveling to get the time off you need. You get to decide how much you make, or don’t make. You can even decide where you are going to work from. Whether you get an office or work out of your home, it’s all up to you. You’re the boss!
As a freelancer, you and you alone get to decide on the policies and goals of your business. You get to make the rules, and set the standards for which you do business. You create your own mission statement. You don’t have to follow somebody else’s.

No more playing office politics. No more worrying about dress codes, you can work in your pajamas if you want. No more listening to office gossip or wondering if your company downsizing is the end of your job. Freedom, you can now have it.
Cons

Of course the first thing is you’re your own boss! There isn’t anyone to blame now but yourself. The buck stops with you. If there is work to be done, you are the one who has to do it. There isn’t anybody for you to push the work off to if you are heading for vacation, or sick in bed with the flu.

Probably one of the biggest reasons more people don’t leave their jobs and start a solo career is the loss of benefits. Health insurance can be very expensive to purchase on your own. Without employer contributions, you may not be able to afford the insurance. Other benefits you stand to lose are employer contribution to a 401K, life insurance, paid holidays and paid vacation days.

With a solo career, all the decisions are up to you. You need to be the one to worry if the client is happy. You are now the one worrying if you are bringing in enough money to pay the bills. Every decision is yours to make, and then worry if it’s the right one or not.

Deciding on a solo career can be one of the most important decisions you will make. Make sure you weigh the pros and cons before you make that decision. You will need to list the pros and cons of the specific solo career you are planning to embark on. So before you make that final decision, grab a sheet of paper and start listing the pros and cons of a solo career.

Mission Statement/Purpose of Business
This is a short statement of the purpose of your business and what your business will provide. An example if you are a printing company could be; our mission is to provide complete quality printing services at affordable prices. Be short, but specific at what you plan to do for your target market.

Business Summary
This is a description of what exactly you will provide. Using the printing example, you can list the different types of printing services that you will be offering. Describe these services in detail. Include who will be providing these services and exactly how they will do it.

Define Your Market
A market analysis will show who you will be providing these services for and explain the need for the services you plan to offer. You should also include any competition you may have and why you will be the better choice for your market. Include what you offer that your competition does not.

Marketing Strategies
Outline how you will market your business. What types of advertising you will use, and how you will attract clients or customers to your business. Be specific, detailing your plan, and who will carry out the plan, if you will use an outside agency, then include which agency you will use and their past accomplishments.

Projected Profit/Loss
This is the projection of how much you expect your expenses are going to be for the time period of your business plan and what your income is expected to be. If you are already in business, you will use your past figures. You will need to do a lot of research for this part, and will probably have a lot of adjustments to make as you go. Once the figures are complete, you will be able to figure out when you can expect to see a profit.

Start-Up Expenses
Indicate the exact amount you will need to open your doors. Include the cost of equipment, building expenses, utilities, salaries, marketing, product inventory, and any professional services such as tax experts or legal professionals.

Operating Expenses
Indicate the costs of operating your business. This figure should include payroll, building expenses, utilities, supplies, etc. If you are already in business, then you will use your past operating expenses.

Management
List the names, job titles and the responsibilities of yourself and your management team. It is helpful if you outline their past experiences and what particular skills each of them will bring to the team. Include education, and business and personal references.

Future Growth Outlook
This is where you will indicate where and how you plan to grow your business. If you plan to open up other locations, indicate the location and time frame you hope to accomplish this. Your plan should include several years’ worth of growth you plan to achieve. Break the plan down year by year.

Once you have successfully written your business plan, you can now set your plan in motion.

A typical business plan can consist of many parts, they can include your title page, mission statement, business summary, financial statements, market analysis and marketing plans just to name a few. But you and your business are unique, so you want your business plan to be just as unique. You may be starting a home based business, so your plan will be different from someone opening up a franchise.

Your business plan should reflect your personality and character. Let your enthusiasm and passion show through your plan. Your mission statement is a great place to start tailoring your plan. If you are opening a home daycare, your mission statement can be “It is my mission to care for children with as much tender loving care as a teddy bear”. Of course, if you are opening a marketing consultant firm, your mission statement will be much more professional, especially if you are looking for funding from investors. The point is to tailor your statement to fit your business.

Financial statements and profit/loss projections are necessary in a business plan if you are seeking investors. You need to research your potential for profit or loss and be able to show potential investors the projected rate of return on their investment. Your financial reports will play a big part in seeking funding, so a lot will depend on these numbers being accurate and you may need to seek professional help. If you are not seeking funding from investors, then there isn’t as much riding on these numbers. Yes, you will still want to add these reports to a business plan, but tailor it to fit your needs. You only need to show yourself your potential for profit.

Whatever your target market, you will need to create a market analysis tailored to your needs. If you are looking at opening a home daycare, then you will need to research other home daycares and public daycare facilities to see what your competition is and what they are charging. It is also a good idea to see how business is going for them. Now, if you are planning on opening a fast food franchise, then you may want to research how successful others have been, as well as look at the local market and survey whether there is enough interest to support opening one.

The business plan for a pet walking service will look completely different from the business plan of an accounting firm. The point is to be sure that your business plan is tailored to your specific needs. Make it unique to your business and be true to yourself.

Making certain your business starts with all the proper safety rules and regulations in place isn’t just a good idea for your business, but also for the people who will be around it. That’s where the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, come in.

OSHA is the organization that is part of the US Department of Labor that is responsible for the safety of all businesses in the United States. On OSHA’s website you can get all the information you need on making sure your new business opens up in full safely compliance. Depending on what type of business you will open, you may have only a few things to tend to or a lot of things to tend to.

By utilizing the OSHA website you will be certain that everything you need to do in order to open your business up safely will be done properly. The website features easy always to search out what you are looking for according to your type of business and you can always contact them if you need additional assistance.

Ignoring safety regulations when opening any business is a bad idea. First of all, you could be endangering others who might work with you or even those who are simply visiting your business; like customers. Additionally, should you ignore safety regulations and then get caught, OSHA can impose fines and penalties and your business may be shut down temporarily or permanently.

Opening up your business in a safety compliant way is really much easier than you may think. Besides, ignoring safety is like playing with fire. It might be okay to do at first, but eventually you, or someone else, will probably get burned.

Generally, the only time that you want to use a fiscal year is if you are in a business where it will benefit your tax reporting to do so. For example, a seasonal business like a restaurant many choose to use a fiscal year as it will likely give a better measure of the actual business.

There are some limitations with using a fiscal year. If you are planning on opening your business up as a sole proprietorship then you will likely have to go with a calendar year. This is due to the fact that you are probably already filing your taxes on a calendar year basis and therefore your business will have to do so as well.

S-corporations and personal service corporations usually have to stick to calendar year as well. The most leeway is given to those starting up a new C-corporation.

One important note is that whether you choose calendar or fiscal for your new business, you will be all but stuck with your decision. It is possible to change, but that will require you convincing the IRS that the business is one that warrants such a change. This will represent a lot of time and hassle, so choose wisely.

The IRS is nothing to mess with so really choosing a calendar of fiscal year should not be something that is taken lightly. In fact, it is probably in your best interest to talk with your accountant about which choice will the right choice for your upcoming business.

These start-up costs are typically covered either with personal money or with money that gets loaned from a bank or other financial institution. However, there is another way in which some people have turned in order to start up a business; credit cards.

Starting a home business with credit cards can be great and can be a risky proposition. On one hand, it is sort of like getting a loan from the bank. After all, either way, the money is really a loan and has to be paid back with interest.

On the other hand, the interest that many credit cards charge can far exceed what a bank would charge. This usually means higher payments and a lot more money paid in interest when it is all said and done.

If this is the route you decide to go when funding your business, consider using credit cards with low balances. But, before you charge it even one time, call the credit card company. Ask them to give you a lower interest rate and see what they say. Quite often they will extend to you a very low interest rate for three to six months as they hope to entice you to make your low balance high. This can give you the money you need at a low interest, at least for a little while.

Sometimes starting a business is all about taking a risk. If you want to start a business and you need to turn to credit cards in order to do so, just be sure you look at all your options before you go ahead and start running your credit card balances sky high. In other words, make sure the risk is worth it.

Starting a business online versus offline comes with many advantages. First of all you don’t have to worry about much overhead. Because you will be working out of your home there will be no high rents to pay or leases to sign for office space.

You can also save on inventory costs. While an offline business may require you to have a warehouse filled with what you sell, many online businesses can be started with little to no inventory.

In fact, you can even start a business where you sell items that are drop shipped and sent out for you by the company that makes the products once sold. This type of business will not only save you in inventory costs, but also in packing material cost as well. This is not to mention all the time you can save.

Offline businesses also require you to travel to get to and from your place of business. With a home based online business the only traveling you have to do is from your bedroom to wherever your computer is.

Some still prefer to be set up in a more traditional sense as having an offline business does make it easier to set up meetings in a more professional environment, especially if you rent out office space. Just keep in mind that with a rented office space extra costs follow, so the convenience is hardly worth it.

Today’s high tech world allows for almost anyone to be able to open up a successful online business from the comfort of their own home. This is provided they are willing to work hard, but the fact remains it is no longer a business world dominated by brick and mortar as the online game is quickly gaining momentum.

Many self made business men and women have taken to their personal lives in order to find the idea of a lifetime. This idea usually comes in the way of solving a problem which can then lead to a business start-up.

For example, the person who invented the travel mug was likely one who was frustrated with their coffee being spilled while they were on the go. If not for that person’s desire to solve that problem, there might not be travel mugs today. Quite likely, that person also started a lucrative business venture that set them on their way to financial success.

This is an important point as many would-be entrepreneurs will fail at launching a business as they simply have no idea of the type of business they should open. Meanwhile, the answer is typically in their everyday life in the form of a problem that needs to desperately be solved.

So it is important that you too listen to your inner entrepreneurial spirit and maybe to look at some problems that plague you in your own life. Perhaps instead of complaining about the problems, you can come up with a viable solution for them and start a thriving business as a result.

Being an entrepreneur is more than just being someone who can come up with the funds to start a business. It also means being someone who can innovate and inspire. This is something that any entrepreneur can do successfully when they take an everyday problem and come up with a simple solution for all.