ohiobeekeepers | Small Business Ideas

Archive for February, 2012

Are you wondering what it would be like owning your own business? Have you been preoccupied with these thoughts over the years? Have you worked year after year for someone else, but feel like entrepreneurship is within you, but just haven’t made that commitment to step out? Here are 5 of the top reasons people step out toward owning their own business.

1. One of the most popular reasons for owning your own business is people want to find a balance between their work life and personal life. Too often, people spend so much time in their jobs, their family life suffers. Owning your own business, maybe even one that allows families to work together on the business venture, can bring families closer together. That is, provided all share in that passion. It can also teach children entrepreneurship.

2. People want to control their work environment. They get fed up with having to put up with co-workers who are always negative, slack off in their work responsibilities or don’t even show up to work half the time. People with zero work ethics.

3. People want to call the shots. They know how things will work more harmoniously and owning their own business allows them to make those decisions. It can be very rewarding.

4. People can develop a business around their passions and strengths.

5. People want greater control over their financial future. Many do not like the insecurity of the economy, manager or company politics that could land them on the street without a job at anytime.

What Type Of Business Should You Own?

Whatever the reason, if you are thinking it is time to make that committed step out into entrepreneurship, here are a few things to consider. Of course, the biggest thing is what? What type of business should you start? There are many possible answers for this. Here are a few questions to get you started.

1. What is your passion? What do you really enjoy doing? Start with that. Don’t worry about training or education yet. Just answer the question. If you are going to truly be committed to making your own business work, then you have to love going to work each day. The trick is to love it enough that it just doesn’t seem like work.

2. Write your passion (s) down, put a circle around it, then brainstorm potential ways to make money from your passion. Let this flow from you. Don’t reason things out as you are doing this. Just let your ideas flow freely. As you are doing this, draw a line from your circled passion, with a circle on the other end of the line with your idea in it. This exercise will get the creative part of your brain flowing more freely. Do this for at least 5 minutes, longer if ideas are still flowing.

3. Now, what is the main thing that has brought you satisfaction in your work life. Maybe it is fulfilling the needs of your client, maybe it is figuring things out with solutions that help things run more efficiently, maybe it is keeping things organized or maybe it is helping others you work with… Try to come up with at least 5 things that have consistently brought you satisfaction in your work. Whatever the work was or is doesn’t really matter. This is about you, not the work. If you are having trouble with this, you could write down “what brings me satisfaction at (write down where ever you are working now)” and draw a circle around it. Like the exercise above, let things just flow out from that without trying to think too much. Read the rest of this entry »

I often hear reports on the news about scams and cons perpetrated via the Internet. Someone somewhere has been hurt by some untraceable, unscrupulous scum that does not want to put the energy into a legitimate enterprise.

Almost every business has been scared by this negative information. The sad part is the reports are true. However, you can overcome the damage done to you quickly and effectively.

Almost 20 years ago when I started doing traditional business consulting I knew what the first step was to start up a business. And I knew the reasons for it. Besides being the law everywhere, this builds credibility. It makes your business a legal entity. You can also think of it as creating an abstract being. You register with the state you will be doing business in.

How does registering with a state relate to online business. An online business is everywhere. Why should I get the state involved? The answer is credibility. You need credibility. By registering in your state you are demonstrating that you are not one of the con men/women over in Africa or somewhere. You are publicly announcing who you are and what you do.

Getting registered is the first, best, most effective and most important way to overcome the damage done by online scams.

Okay what is registering? It is when a small businesses creates an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp. Most companies become LLC’s. LLC means limited liability corporation. Another way is to register as a partnership or sole proprietorship. The LLC is to help protect your personal assets. This can be important if you have a lot of assets.

Okay so you are registered. You are now: Busy Business LLC. What is next. Prominently and proudly state the fact on your website. If possible state it in the site heading as part of the title. Example: Busy Business LLC Vendor Of Delicious Cookies. We are registered in “Our State.”

A large number of brick and mortar companies market products online. Most of them are registered in their home state. However, they don’t state this on their website. It is a good idea for them to state that they are registered.

There are some other advantages to being registered. You can open a business bank account using your company name. You will be able to get paid other ways besides PayPal if you choose. In time you can build a line of credit.