iMark Interactive

This is a guest post by Neil Jones. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

It is not everyone’s cup of tea to work in an organization or company as one of the hundreds employed, with superiors to take instructions from, and having to take responsibility for actions of erring subordinates. Setting up your own business where you are your own boss and have the right to make all the decisions is a great temptation. This dream can become a reality if besides the determination a number of other conditions are fulfilled. So before this becomes a serious proposition, a few preliminary checks would help to find out the viability of starting a business of your own.

Before Getting Started

• Sufficient Funds- The first thing to be checked before thinking of starting even a home based business, is whether you have sufficient funds to start and also sustain yourself before your investment yields returns. The old saying that you need money to make money is very true. Money is needed for buying the basics needed for an office, like computers, fax machines and printers etc. The first few months are all expense driven and it is important to have some savings to keep up the expenses both for the business and for the family. It can take a few months even a year or two before the business can sustain itself and reap returns in the form of profits.
• Self motivation- Everyone cannot become a businessman. You have to be highly self motivated, a go-getter and achiever who can get things done by taking quick decisions and pitching in, wherever needed. A person with a laid back attitude who sets limits to what he is supposed to do, and accustomed to taking orders rather than initiatives cannot become a businessman, since he is better off as an employee. To be a businessman, look inside to see whether you have the level of motivation needed.
• Business has no fixed timings- A business can become an all consuming full day job, with no fixed timings. Many people like their regular routine of working from 9am to 5pm, and then packing up to go home, so that there is time to spend with the family. But getting into business will mean giving up this comfort of switching off at 5pm, thinking of spending time at home, and there may be no time to spend with the family, no matter how much you may want to. There may be no fixed timings for rest and closing down either, and before you step into the entrepreneurial world, be prepared.
• Family support- It is easy to believe that the business will be one man show. It cannot be, since no one can start a business without the support, sacrifice and encouragement of the family. The family has to be willing to make do with less till the business picks up, pitch in with help when needed, not expect you to switch off when there is work to be done just to be with them, and provide moral and emotional support needed to keep going despite the struggle and impediments.
• Selecting a field that excites you- Besides all the other factors, a business can become a success only if you are passionate about the field you have chosen, and not just any business because you like the idea of being a businessman. The activity selected must be inspiring, interest you and you should also have knowledge about it. That will make the business enjoyable and fun, and keep you motivated.

While business offers freedom to decide, choose and implement, it comes with its share of risks, hurdles and demands on time, resources and patience. Working as an employee may not appeal to such people, but jobs always offer security, a steady income, shared and not complete burden of responsibility, less time and many other benefits. The choice is ultimately according to your personality and ambitions.

This is a guest post by Neil Jones, head of marketing for eMobileScan a leading providers of bar code scanner and barcode printers, including the Zebra GK420D

Related Posts:

• Small Business Checklist Summary
• Small Business Checklist Item # 10 – Social Media
• Small Business Checklist Item # 9 – Employees
• Small Business Checklist Item # 8 – Proper Profit Margins

We have a list of 10 checklist items that every Small Business needs to think about.  While we did create a more detailed version of each, we are going to put them all in this post for easy access and readability.  This is for anyone looking to start a business in the new year or for anyone that has just started a business and wants more information on how to keep it going.  Below is our Small Business Checklist.  Click each item for the full article.

Small Business Checklist Item #1 – Business Name

Choose a business name that suits what you want to do and plan to do in the future.  Many entrepreneurs try to pick a name that they like, but sometimes it does not encompass what your company is going to do.  A word of advice that many people do not think about is that you should not have a company name that has your name in it.  The main reason for this is because if you ever have a chance to sell the business, there is less likelyhood that someone will purchase your business because of the name.  Business Investors and purchasers want a name that can keep people interested and is memorable.  Using your name is an easy way to create a company name, but not the most effective in the long run.

Small Business Checklist Item #2 – Research

We need to expand a little further on the Business name from yesterday. Please make sure that after you pick a business name, make sure you have the right to use it in your state. You can usually check this out with your Secretary of State website. Once you verify that you can get it, go to the register of deeds and fill out a DBA form to secure the name and then do it with the Secretary of State (depending on your business form, which we will discuss a little later)

Small Business Checklist Item #3 – Business Structure

Ok, so you have done your research and realize that your business idea is a viable one.  Now you need to look into how you want to structure your business.  There are 4 basic structures to choose from with variations within each structure.  The main thing that you need to think about are covered with the following points.

Small Business Checklist Item #4 – Business Plan

This is a step that many small businesses forget to do.  While a business plan is not really required to run your business, it is a very helpful tool.  If you do not know what a business plan is, it is simply a written format of how you want to run the business and what the business stands for, as well as the mission of the company.  These can take time to create, but they will help you in the future to keep your company on track with your original goals.

Small Business Checklist Item #5 – Proper Forms and IDs

We know that it can be exciting to start up a new company and get selling or have your ideas become reality.  The one thing that we ask is that you make sure that you have all the proper forms and certificates in order to sell properly.  Each state require a certain set of forms in order to be a legal business, most require business license and sales tax ID’s.

Small Business Checklist Item #6 – Take Inventory or Dropship

We are asked about this more times than we can count.  Please note that this tip is really only dealing with companies that sell online, not really traditional retailers with brick and mortar stores.  This is an important discussion because it lays the foundation to how success you can be either online.  We will go through some quick pros and cons of each, so you can make a little more informed decision.

Small Business Checklist Item #7 – Insurance

To insure or Not to Insure?  This is a good question, but the answer is simple……Get insurance!  There are many of you out there that have not taken the time to look into good business insurance for whatever company you run.  This is a very important part of business to protect your investment.  We will not go into detail about all the insurance types out there for businesses, but we will show you some points to think about.

Small Business Checklist Item #8 – Calculate Profit Margins

This is a simple task to accomplish, but we have spoken to many people that have started a business that never really looked into creating prices for their products or services that gave them a positive net margin.  We are sure that many of you have probably done this as your started your business, so this tip is really for those thinking about starting one or just starting one.  Please take the time to properly calculate your profit margins on your products or services.

Small Business Checklist Item #9 – Employees

If your company is at the stage where it needs to hire employees, you better take this stage very seriously.  You are going to be trusting people with the company that you build from the ground up, so you need to make sure that you take the proper steps in hiring the right individuals.

Small Business Checklist Item #10 – Social Media

As the internet ages and online marketing gets harder, companies need to now think about using social media as a marketing medium.  If your company is not using social media as a way to attract new customers, then you really need to think about starting.  Social Media outlets include blogs, twitter, facebook, you tube, and more.  These are great venues to build your brand online.

Related Posts:

• Small Business Checklist Item # 10 – Social Media
• Small Business Checklist Item # 6 – Take Inventory or Dropship
• Small Business Checklist Item # 5 – Proper Forms and IDs
• Small Business Checklist Item # 4 – Business Plan

As the internet ages and online marketing gets harder, companies need to now think about using social media as a marketing medium.  If your company is not using social media as a way to attract new customers, then you really need to think about starting.  Social Media outlets include blogs, twitter, facebook, you tube, and more.  These are great venues to build your brand online.

One of the most important things about online marketing is building your brand and keeping your brand awareness with your customers.  The easiest way to do so is with social media.  Not only good to build brand awareness, but you can also use it to solve any customer service issues or any negative feedback that you might find online.  It makes it easy to stop negative feedback when it starts, so it gives you a better reason to fight negative comments.

Twitter is an easy way to tell your customers what you are doing right when you are doing it along with giving your followers deals that no one else can get.  You can also use twitter to answer customer questions and provide information about your business and products.

Facebook is also a good way to build your brand and keep your customers up to date with what you are doing and what products/services you are now carrying.  It is easy to setup an account and build your own company page.

Not every business can use You Tube, but if you sell products and you can provide video reviews of these products, then youtube is a great venue to be at.  Anyone can sign up and post videos, so provide your customers a great way to see who you are and what information you can give them.

Creating your own company blog is a great way to voice your opinion about your industry and to let customers know what you are doing in your company.  They are easy to setup and can be a very good asset when trying to convince customers to do business with you.  Most hosting platforms include wordpress, which is one or the most popular blogging platforms.

No matter which social media outlet you choose, or all of them (this is preferred), you can keep your brand well protected and keep your customers happy as well.  Many companies are creating positions in their marketing teams that is for people to runt their twitter, youtube, facebook, etc accounts to make sure that they are looking good in the eyes of their customers.  Social media is not going away anytime soon, so make sure your company is utilizing it.

Related Posts:

• Small Business Checklist Summary
• Small Business Checklist Item # 9 – Employees
• Small Business Checklist Item # 8 – Proper Profit Margins
• Small Business Checklist Item # 7 – Insurance

If your company is at the stage where it needs to hire employees, you better take this stage very seriously.  You are going to be trusting people with the company that you build from the ground up, so you need to make sure that you take the proper steps in hiring the right individuals.

First, you should probably think to see if you actually will need full time employees or just part time.  If you only need part time, then think about a staffing agency as they already do the background checks on individuals and they have a pretty extensive talent pool to look at.  You can also skip the hiring of employees and just outsource the work that needs to be done to freelancers.  There are sites like Elance.com and GetaFreelancer.com that can help you choose someone or another company to do work for you when you need it.  This is a very popular method to use because you can choose where you want to your freelancer to be from and what skills they possess along with what you pay them.  If gives you all the options and the power to choose the right freelancer to meet your needs.

If you are going to hire a full time employee, then you need to make sure that you have all the proper forms and documentation that enables you to hire individuals.  You want to make sure that if you have a technology or service that you make sure your employee signs something that doesn’t allow them to copy or compete with you once they leave your company for x amount of time.  This is a standard practice because the employee will know the inner workings of your company when they leave.  There have been many companies burned out there that did not provide this documentation to the new employee.  You have to think about benefits, pay, insurance, time off, sick leave, and all the things that go into hiring a full time employee.

We suggest that if you do not need a full time employee, but just need someone to pick up that slack, that you just hire a free lancer, or maybe even get an intern from a local college.  A lot of times, they get college credit and you don’t have to pay them, so it is good all around for you and the intern.  Please make your choices wisely because this can affect your company in many ways.

Related Posts:

• Small Business Checklist Summary
• Small Business Checklist Item # 10 – Social Media
• Small Business Checklist Item # 8 – Proper Profit Margins
• Small Business Checklist Item # 7 – Insurance

This is a simple task to accomplish, but we have spoken to many people that have started a business that never really looked into creating prices for their products or services that gave them a positive net margin.  We are sure that many of you have probably done this as your started your business, so this tip is really for those thinking about starting one or just starting one.  Please take the time to properly calculate your profit margins on your products or services.

You have to take in account everything that goes into the sale of the product or service.  How much did it cost to produce, how long did it take you to drive to the location to provide a service, so forth and so on.  Everything needs to be taken into account in order to create a proper profit margin.  You want to cover your costs and make sure that you can still make a profit to continue your business into the future.  If you take the time to do this simple task, then it pay off in the end, really it will actually pay off in the end.

Related Posts:

• Small Business Checklist Summary
• Small Business Checklist Item # 10 – Social Media
• Small Business Checklist Item # 9 – Employees
• Small Business Checklist Item # 7 – Insurance