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Do you want to start a business? Great! Entrepreneurship is an amazing journey, and it is one of my great passions. I’ve actually designed an entire training course to support people on the journey from Employee to Entrepreneur, click here for more info. I am a third generation entrepreneur and I’ve owned 3 small businesses of my own. Small business offers rewarding hard work, a connection to what you love, and (if it is done right) financial abundance. Here are a few action steps you can take to get you started on your journey.  Define your mission. Gain absolute clarity on what you want to offer, who you want to serve, how you are going to serve them, and what you are going to charge for those services. I’ve created a worksheet (click here) to help you if you’re still fuzzy on some of these details. Crunch your numbers. This should be done in-depth as part of your business plan, but my experience is that a large percentage of people start (and run) their businesses without ever having a business plan. However, you must at least crunch some basic numbers to see if your plan is feasible. I’ve seen a plethora of businesses fail just because there was a lack of awareness on this subject. First, find out what your overhead is by adding up all your expenses. Then, figure out how much of your product or services you’d need to sell to cover that expense. For example, if your overhead is $3,000/mo and you are selling popcorn for $15/bag, you’d have to sell 200 bags of popcorn a month just to cover your expenses (not to make a profit). You can dig deeper into this (including your personal budget and how that relates to a beginning entrepreneur) in my employee to entrepreneur course.  Decide on your business name. Your business name should be something that resonates with you and will be easy to brand. Many people just use their name, some people use a cute play on words, and others choose a word that has deep meaning for them. Research and make sure no one else is currently using this name. You can do this by typing your desired name into your favorite search engine and seeing if any other businesses come up. If that passes, go to the second stage, and check the US Trademark Office by typing in your desired business name. Finally, check with your Secretary of State to see if there are any businesses registered in your state with the name you want to use. For Oregon, you can find that information here. For other states, a quick Google search will find you the website you need.  Secure your URL URL stands for Universal Resource Locator, but really it just means your website address. You can see if the URL you want is available by going to www.godaddy.com. Remember that your URL should be something short and easy for people to remember and type into a search engine. For example the business “Deschutes Resolution Center” is www.deschutedrc.com. Also, make sure that your name doesn’t accidentally say something that you don’t want it to. For example, the company “Who Represents” unintentionally becomes www.whorepresents.com. For more URL fails, click here. Decide if you want a logo or image to represent your business. You don’t have to have one, but it can help people recognize your business and it can evoke a powerful feeling in your prospective clients. It’s also helpful to use in marketing and branding. You can make this yourself, have a friend help, hire a professional branding company, or use an online service. If you are going to design the logo yourself, make sure that you don’t use images from the internet unless you purchase them with rights to use them. If you are going to hire a local company, you can Google to find ones in your area. In my area of Bend, Oregon, I recommend Adelle Dittman or Kate Miller. If you are going to select an online service, I suggest one of these: Tailor Brands, or Fiverr.  Research Business Structures Next, you need to establish your business as Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, Limited Liability Company or S-Corporation. You can read more about these business types here. The easiest and cheapest to start is the Sole proprietorship. Barbara Weltman, a tax and business attorney and author of such books as J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes says. "As long as you are the only owner, you automatically become a sole proprietorship by conducting business," However, you still might have state and city laws to comply with. Register your business in your City Establish your business in the city where you live and work. You can Google to find out how. Usually, there is a small free $25-$100. For Bend, Oregon, you can register your business here. Register your business with your State Establish your business at the State level. You can Google to find the specific website in your state, for Oregon, you can click here. Usually, there is a slightly larger fee ($100-$150). Register your business with the IRS Depending on how you establish your business, check with the IRS about any paperwork you need to file. If you will have employees, you will need to do further work with the IRS (like getting an EIN #). If you are just opening a Sole Proprietorship (recommended for any small or home-based business), you can just use your social security number and to your personal and business taxes together.  Purchase Business Insurance Even Sole Proprietors need general liability insurance because they are personally liable for all debts and obligations of the business. Different types of businesses need different types of insurance, so talking to an insurance professional is advised. When I first started my business, I just added my business insurance onto my Geico plan with my auto insurance. It’s really simpler than you think. Get a Business Email There is a plethora of ways to do this. Some people choose to just get a free Google email like yourbusinessname@gmail.com. You can also usually get and @yourbusinessname email hosted with your website. GoDaddy, recommended above, does that for a very reasonable rate.  Open a Business Bank Account Choose a Bank or Credit Union to establish your business at. I’d suggest calling around or researching online to find our what requirement various banks have and the services they offer. After you’ve made a selection, make sure to ask them what paperwork you’ll need to bring into open your account. Most banks will need a copy of your business license, or something similar. Secure a Location for your business If you are going to start a home based business, then you need to set up a space where you can work, purchases a file cabinet where you can keep all your documents and create a system where you can stay organized with your business tasks. I’ve met many business owners who skipped this step and ended up missing out on opportunities because of it. For example, keeping (and documenting) all your recipes for business purchases will help you write off those expenses at tax time. If you are going to rent an office or a retail location, there is an entire other list of steps (not included here, but visit my blog for more information).  Establish a Business Phone Number If you are going to have a business-only phone, now is the time to sign up for new service. Most business owners I know these days just use their cell phone. In this case, make sure to change the outgoing message on your phone to reflect your business, and make it sound professional. Build a Website Any business in this day and age MUST have a website. You can hire someone to build your website, or you can build your own using one of the many applications available online. I personally like Weebly (www.weebly.com). I find it easy to use, and I love being able to update it whenever I want to without having to go through a third party or a website designer. You can direct your website to any url(s) you buy (above). Make sure that you fill in the back SEO part of each page on your website. For clients coaching with me or taking my employee to entrepreneur course, we can build your website together using Zoom during our session time. List your Business with Search Engines · Google: https://www.google.com/business/ · Yahoo: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN26672.html · Bing: https://www.bingplaces.com/ List your Business on Referring Sites This helps drive more traffic to your site. Make sure that you have a solid bio rich with key words and that all your information (address, phone, etc) is accurate and matches on each of the referring sites.  Create your Social Media Profiles
· YouTube · Google+ Create printed materials At the very least, you will need business cards. Depending on your business you might also want to create posters or brochures. Vista Print is an inexpensive easy way to get started. Communicate Locally This is where you are going to go out and sale yourself. Many entrepreneurs find this to be the most difficult task. In order to sell yourself, you have to believe in yourself. You have to be confident, clear and comfortable with your products, or services and what you charge for them. People can feel your energy, and it is important that you are aligned (thoughts, emotions, and actions). If this is an area where you struggle, you can work through your blocks in my employee to entrepreneur course. Once you are aligned, you can confidently and gracefully communicate with people who need your services. Tell your family and friends about what you are doing. Offer free courses or workshops relating to your business, identify people and businesses that could use your services and go talk with them. Drop of brochures and put up flyers. Go out and shine! Business is an expansive and exciting subject, and this blog has just begun to discuss the tip of the figurative iceberg. For a more in-depth exploration, read more of my blogs or join my employee to entrepreneur course.
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Mindy Amita Aisling
ICF Life Coach, NFPT Fitness Trainer, OMA Certified Mediator Mindy Aisling is a certified life and business coach in Bend, OR, exceeding all of the educational requirements & training set forth by the ICF. She has worked with such organizations as St. Charles Hospital, Soroptimists, The Dispute Resolution Center, Olympic Medical Center, Americorps, and Juvenile and Family Services. She has been featured in the New York Times, The Seattle Times, The Bend Bulletin, The Peninsula Daily News, KOMO 4 TV, The Oregonian and many more. You can learn more about Mindy here. Mindy offers professional, affordable online coaching to clients around the world, and local coaching to clients in Bend, Oregon. Est. 2010 ICF Certified Licensed and Insured 
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