Anybody here own a buisness?
Re: Anybody here own a buisness?
Have you tried asking your current employer if they need assistance? hahaha...You never know
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gradualmeltdown
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Re: Anybody here own a buisness?
What you really need to focus on is a specific demographic that will get you return business. Whether that is a school, local offices, or someone who has many computers that need support. The door to door computer repair business could work but that is SOOO much work. Big repeat business is the way to systematically grow your talent and create a consistent easy to support product or in your case service.
My advice in a small town. Show up at there door with a business card and a hand shake. Really that works anywhere if you put on the right face.
My advice in a small town. Show up at there door with a business card and a hand shake. Really that works anywhere if you put on the right face.
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Re: Anybody here own a buisness?
For real. Know, too, that most businesses don't start to turn a profit for about two years.
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bobbynewmarkiii
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Re: Anybody here own a buisness?
I don't own my own business, but at the moment I am acting as Liquidator for 4 Private Limited Companies...
Advertising seems very local and industry specific - work out who you want to appeal to and how to get to the largest possible body of them for the least amount per capita and you should be good. Think about how you would find this service if you were looking for it, and then think how your mum, dad, sister, gran, uncle, best friend's weird cousin and neighbours dog would go about trying to find your services if they needed them, and see if you can afford it. Off the top of my head, if I was a computer repair person in a small town, as I understand to be the case, I'd want some presence on the High Street and in the local newspaper. Presumably a high street store front would be to expensive. Is there an internet cafe in your town, or maybe just a good local cafe with a good turnover? It might be worth getting to know the owners and get posters up advertising your services, same with cornershops and other community spaces - think the library, swimming pool, post office, anywhere with a lot of footfall. If there's a computer store, or some place where people go for electronics, get posters there. Hairdressers as well do a lot of talking, so if you want to get word of mouth going about your business, try getting in with a few of these, and again, see of they will put up your poster...
I did want to mention the importance of turning a profit, right from the start - Whilst Mr Funk.E states that most businesses do not turn a profit within the first two years, and he is correct, it is also a fact (in the UK at least) that most small businesses fail within the first two years, and this is no co-incidence. If you want to take anything more than a basic minimum wage then you need to turn a profit.
$450 in a week sounds fine for a 2 person firm, although I'm sure you'll want to do better than this - if you do the sums you should be able to work out how much you can make when up to speed - if this is good enough then that's great, if not you might want to think about additional revenue streams; as a computer type who will be building a client base of the semi-computer-literate, you may be able to charge good money for web-hosting for other businesses.
You also need to consider your overheads - these are the expenses that you incur through everyday trade (e.g. stationary, electric, rent, rates) and also tax. You should treat your business as separate from your personal finances even if you are acting as a sole trader, but especially of you are operating a partnership with your buddy (you may be doing this even without realising it if you are taking on contracts as the two of you as one business, which does have some implications to your personal responsibilities, which will be joint and several with your partner), or as a 'Corporation' (we know this as a 'Limited Liability Company' in the UK). There are (in the UK, and should be in the US...) legal responsibilities and also tax benefits to operating your business separate to your personal finances - if your business can afford it, make sure you charge it rent for use of your personal space - this way you can declare lower profits and pay less tax, although you will only be able to do this by trading through a corporation. The paperwork and accounting work involved in incorporation will be more expensive for the smallest of firms, but once you have a turnover equivalent to a reasonable wage for each partner, it should be economical to incorporate your business.
I must admit that the advice given is on the basis of my knowledge of UK companies, and as such if you wish to consider these matters you should seek your own advice from someone with knowledge of US company and business law - on this note, make sure you don't get shafted. A good accountant will be someone you can trust, not necessarily the person with the most elaborate tax scams...
I see you have some bookkeeping knowledge, and apologise if I'm teaching you to 'suck eggs' - I just see a lot of businesses fail in my line of work, and unfortunately most failures could be avoided if people knew what they were getting themselves into - in the UK, we pay tax to the Crown - I guess you guys pay your taxes to the State - but either way; if you don't pay the taxman you're going down... just don't feel you have to pay them above the odds...
Advertising seems very local and industry specific - work out who you want to appeal to and how to get to the largest possible body of them for the least amount per capita and you should be good. Think about how you would find this service if you were looking for it, and then think how your mum, dad, sister, gran, uncle, best friend's weird cousin and neighbours dog would go about trying to find your services if they needed them, and see if you can afford it. Off the top of my head, if I was a computer repair person in a small town, as I understand to be the case, I'd want some presence on the High Street and in the local newspaper. Presumably a high street store front would be to expensive. Is there an internet cafe in your town, or maybe just a good local cafe with a good turnover? It might be worth getting to know the owners and get posters up advertising your services, same with cornershops and other community spaces - think the library, swimming pool, post office, anywhere with a lot of footfall. If there's a computer store, or some place where people go for electronics, get posters there. Hairdressers as well do a lot of talking, so if you want to get word of mouth going about your business, try getting in with a few of these, and again, see of they will put up your poster...
I did want to mention the importance of turning a profit, right from the start - Whilst Mr Funk.E states that most businesses do not turn a profit within the first two years, and he is correct, it is also a fact (in the UK at least) that most small businesses fail within the first two years, and this is no co-incidence. If you want to take anything more than a basic minimum wage then you need to turn a profit.
$450 in a week sounds fine for a 2 person firm, although I'm sure you'll want to do better than this - if you do the sums you should be able to work out how much you can make when up to speed - if this is good enough then that's great, if not you might want to think about additional revenue streams; as a computer type who will be building a client base of the semi-computer-literate, you may be able to charge good money for web-hosting for other businesses.
You also need to consider your overheads - these are the expenses that you incur through everyday trade (e.g. stationary, electric, rent, rates) and also tax. You should treat your business as separate from your personal finances even if you are acting as a sole trader, but especially of you are operating a partnership with your buddy (you may be doing this even without realising it if you are taking on contracts as the two of you as one business, which does have some implications to your personal responsibilities, which will be joint and several with your partner), or as a 'Corporation' (we know this as a 'Limited Liability Company' in the UK). There are (in the UK, and should be in the US...) legal responsibilities and also tax benefits to operating your business separate to your personal finances - if your business can afford it, make sure you charge it rent for use of your personal space - this way you can declare lower profits and pay less tax, although you will only be able to do this by trading through a corporation. The paperwork and accounting work involved in incorporation will be more expensive for the smallest of firms, but once you have a turnover equivalent to a reasonable wage for each partner, it should be economical to incorporate your business.
I must admit that the advice given is on the basis of my knowledge of UK companies, and as such if you wish to consider these matters you should seek your own advice from someone with knowledge of US company and business law - on this note, make sure you don't get shafted. A good accountant will be someone you can trust, not necessarily the person with the most elaborate tax scams...
I see you have some bookkeeping knowledge, and apologise if I'm teaching you to 'suck eggs' - I just see a lot of businesses fail in my line of work, and unfortunately most failures could be avoided if people knew what they were getting themselves into - in the UK, we pay tax to the Crown - I guess you guys pay your taxes to the State - but either way; if you don't pay the taxman you're going down... just don't feel you have to pay them above the odds...
Re: Anybody here own a buisness?
avoid flyers and postcards. trust me on this one. i used to have an advertising budget of 750k per year and over 10 million emails per year. the return on them was less than 10%. word of mouth, a good website, a good location with a professional looking shop, and surprisingly, billboards. i would spend all of my money on a great website. in a small town, theres no reason you shouldnt be the #1 search result.