Yes, giving up the security of a steady paycheck and benefits that usually come from working for someone else is scary. But this book will show you how to make the transition from a conventional “job” to owning your own business without losing a step. Most people feel that starting their own business is a risky endeavor. They are correct. However, by planting the proper seeds while still employed, you can make sure that when you do leave your present job, you won’t go hungry.

^ The road to success as an entrepreneur can be frustrating, tedious and exciting at the same time. The journey down that road requires your understanding of every facet of your new business and the competition. It also requires full responsibility for your business; you will be entirely responsible for its success or lack thereof. Still, executives of worldwide companies sometimes leave their plush, corporate lifestyles for shoestring startup operations. Why? Because being an entrepreneur is potentially much more rewarding, both personally and financially. These execs realize that although they are rewarded for their hard work, they can only gain a finite amount by working for someone else. And if your business meets with success, you stand to be rewarded not only financially for the responsibility you have assumed, but emotionally, with the satisfaction that comes only with creation and ownership. And what’s more, you establish your own timetables, rules, and goals.

What it means to be an entrepreneur

There are many different definitions of the word “entrepreneur.” In fact, years ago the word “entrepreneur” had a negative connotation (sort of like “snake oil salesman”). Times have changed and millions of people all over the world are starting their own business, and are treated with a mix of respect, envy, and in some cases, awe. The dictionary defines an entrepreneur as “a person who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit.” Although this definition is accurate in the general sense, there are many other aspects to being an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship is about people. If real estate is “location, location, location,” then entrepreneurship is “people, people, people.” Your partners, employees, investors, customers, and everyone else you come into contact with must have confidence and trust in you and your business. This trust is what will win you repeat customers, loyal employees, willing investors, and success as an entrepreneur.

While by definition, an entrepreneur is one who ventures into the world of self-employment, entrepreneurial thinking does not mean that you have to start your own business. Entrepreneurial thinking means working creatively to improve your performance in every aspect of your life. If you are currently working for someone else, it can mean thinking about new products or more efficient processes for your company. Thinking this way, everyday, is how an entrepreneur gets her start.

Source: nytimes.vault.com

1. Think strategically. Your Web site should be a part of your overall marketing plan.

2. Choose a Web site address (URL) that’s intuitive and easy to remember. Your company’s name (if it’s short) or the name of your main product might work well.

3. Put your Web address on all your printed material, including business cards, letterhead, press releases and invoices. Include it in all your advertising.

4. Don’t forget offline media and traditional publicity techniques. Send news releases promoting your site to newspapers, broadcasters, and magazines.

5. Speak at conferences and trade shows, and write informative articles for trade publications. When you do, mention your Web address.

Brought to you by SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business.”

Source: SCORE

1. Advertising is expensive, so know why you are advertising and what you want to accomplish. Evaluate your advertising carefully and measure its effectiveness.

2. Develop appropriate sales promotion tools such as flyers, brochures and signs. Carefully review each item for its effectiveness and evaluate what these tools say about your business.

3. Signage should be a major part of your marketing strategy. Signs are a vital part of small businesses and can be the most efficient, effective and consistent device for generating revenue.

4. Every small business should be listed under the appropriate heading in the Yellow Pages, but not every business needs to buy expensive display ads. Be judicious.

5. Get involved in your community. Join the chamber of commerce, business organizations, service clubs, and charities. Network yourself and keep your antennae up.

Brought to you by SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business.”

Source: SCORE

Many of us have dreamed most of our lives of starting a business of our own. Of course, those dreams don’t always include the blood, sweat, and tears, which are part of the process. The fact remains that owning your own business and watching it grow is one of the most rewarding gifts you can give yourself-next to your children of course.

If you are one of the many people dreaming of starting a business of your own, what exactly is keeping you from it? It is a lack of knowledge, a fear of the unknown, no time, no money, or no patience?

Why are you not following through on your dreams for you and your family?

There are many resources available both online and off-line that can provide you with direction and guidance through the start up process for your home business.

What You Must Know Before Starting a Business

Before you can make a sale or provide a service, you must find out what licenses or permits you need to run your business. This is especially true for retail businesses. How much will your licenses cost? How long it will take to get them? Do you need to apply for certain permits and licenses before you can get others? This can be a lengthy process so don’t quit your day job yet.

Next develop a business plan. You cannot have a successful business without having a solid plan for finances and to grow. Know what you are making, providing and selling. Understand the profits that similar businesses make.

Where are their markets? Who are their primary customers? Compare why people will choose your service or product over your competitors.

Will you be offering something new and different? What are your plans for advertising, growth, and expansion?

How long do you think it will be before you are breaking even? Turning a profit?

Starting a business is much more involved than hanging out a shingle somewhere but the rewards are so satisfying that this is often the best possible goal a person can have.

These are just a few questions you will need to ask before starting a business of your own. Yes, it will involve work, even more work than you see mentioned here. Make sure you find a wonderful mentor to help you get through the process. Choose wisely as this person will help you identify many pitfalls associated with starting a new business.

Source: Starting A Business

And for those who do, the good news is that four out of five make it beyond five years. With that information in mind, it is best to tread the entreprenuerial waters carefully. At the recently held Mayberry Investments Limited (MIL) Forum, the executives and their invited guests spoke on the topic near and dear to many of their clients - how to successfully manage and finance a SME. Gary Peart, chief executive officer of MIL, noted that there are several factors that speak to sustainability.

.Stability of buyer and seller relationship
.Value-added offerings
.Upgrading of equipment
.Employment of new skills
.Ability to access financing
.Moving business from downstream to more
sophisticated capabilities
.Development of products and services for
priority/target growth markets.

So just who amoung us are the entreprenuerial type? Marcus James, managing director of Access Finance, shared, his findings on the SME demographic with the Mayberry audience. “Majority of our business loan customers fall within the 36-45 age group. And 77 per cent of business loans clients are female with the majority of clients residing in St Catherine. Nearly half of our clients own their own home with 68 per cent of clients involved in trading, plus 94 per cent of loans provided businesses with working capital support. And finally, 60 per cent of borrowers had been in business for excess of three years.”

Harold Davis, executive director of the Jamaica Business Development Centre, outlined the steps needed to have a launch and maintain a SME.

Step 1: Examine your motivation for business ownership
.Your Personal Objectives
Have you defined your personal needs and your financial objectives? Are you mainly interested in money, power, or flexibility?

.Your Talents
Do you have special skills or education in a particular industry? How will these talents help you in the development and operation of your own business?
.Your Personality Traits

Are you an authoritarian or a team player? Can you handle the stress of time deadlines from customers? Can you live with yourself if you have to fire an employee?
Step 2: Evaluate the feasibility of your chosen business
. Do you have enough money to start your business without going into debt?

. If you need to borrow money, do you have some cash and own other legible assets?
. Have you researched market demand or have you just assumed that people need or want your product or service?

Step 3: Consider start-up requirements and common pitfalls
. You should not expect or depend upon others to write a business plan. This is your business, not theirs.
. Thinking it will cost less and take less time to get into business than it actually will. It will cost more and take longer than you imagine.

Step 4: Create a business plan as a tool to:
. ensure that you have considered options and anticipated potential difficulties.
. evaluate progress against your business goals.
. use in the development of financing proposals.

Step 5: Develop your financing request and obtain initial capital
Most businesses are started with money from personal savings, family, or friends.
. Only about 20% of new business owners start their business with money borrowed from commercial lenders.
. As a rule of thumb, you will need to provide a minimum of 25-30% of personal investment toward the total start-up costs of your business.
. As a general rule of thumb, you will need $1.50 in quality collateral for every $1 you want to borrow.
. Be realistic. Lenders are in the business of making money, not buying ideas.

Source: Jamaica Observer

Increased sales, endless marketing capabilities and 24/7 services are just a few reasons you should build a web site.

It’s a no-brainer that the Internet can help you increase your sales and profitability, which in turn can increase the value of your business. According to Forrester Research, e-commerce sales hit more than $75 billion last year.

You should also know that of the more than 300 million people worldwide online today, more than 85 million are in the United States. There are more than 1 billion Web pages in existence. These facts mean you could tap into an amazing opportunity.

Following are some ways the Internet can help you increase your business’ potential:

Increase Sales
A web site can be a very effective means of reaching new and existing customers and expanding your geographic presence. Breaking down geographic barriers is a good thing for any business owner.

A web site provides company exposure that customers can access at any time. Hence, a professional web site is an important first step in tapping the power of the Web. You may wish to hire a consultant to help you with the marketing of your web site. Simple tactics such as utilizing search engine optimization tools - making sure your web site appears toward the top of a list when someone conducts a search - can significantly increase the hit rate on your site. Many larger firms initially gauge the credibility of smaller firms as a business partner by the professionalism of the smaller firm’s web site. Additionally, a web site offers the ability to capture the information of existing and potential customers, which bolsters the efforts of your sales team.

Increase Customer Retention
The Internet provides small businesses with another outlet for customer contact and support. Some businesses give customers access to the status of a job via the Internet. This type of partnership approach with customers builds brand trust and loyalty. Email allows for an expeditious exchange of files or specs, and communication such as job updates, new product additions and other news can be inexpensively distributed to your clients through e-mail campaigns containing links to your site.

Increase Productivity
The Internet also allows you to increase productivity and streamline automation in your business. Consider the ease of being able to order equipment replacement parts online. Larger U.S. manufacturing companies with international organizations now use the Internet to track their supply chain, work flow and available capacity at overseas plants. In some cases, crowded U.S. manufacturers can e-mail the exact job specifications to another plant across the world to keep a job on schedule. In addition, basic site features, such as the capability to accept online orders, can increase sales by allowing for order acceptance at any hour - in a more convenient form than a facsimile. Lastly, a web site can reduce expenses associated with the production of brochures and other collateral materials.

Overall, a web site is essentially another form of advertising for your business, and should be utilized in conjunction with traditional methods to maximize its presence and profitability.

Source: Yahoo Small Business

Technorati : customer, domain, sales, websites

Save up as much money as possible before starting.

All too often, people go into business without any savings, exclusively using loan money from friends, banks, or the SBA. They except to be able to start paying the loans back right away with their profits. What these business owners don’t realize is that it can take months or years to make a profit. And once a lender discovers a business isn’t as profitable as expected, the lender is likely to call in the loan or refuse to renew it for another year. Often new business owners then have to take out home equity loans or use credit cards to pay off their loans (which puts their home and credit rating at risk). For more information, see Business Financing FAQ.

A better plan is to save up as much of the needed investment money as possible, including your living expenses for the first year, or even two. Odds are that your business won’t be profitable for one to two years. Even if you get plenty of business coming your way — and your customers pay you on time, which isn’t always a sure thing — you’ll want to be able to invest most of that money back in the business for space, equipment, advertising, and insurance needs.

Start on a shoestring.

Think small. Don’t rent premises if you can work somewhere else, and don’t hire employees until you can keep them busy. (You can hire independent contractors or temps in the meantime.)

People who start their small business on the cheap, often in a garage, den, or some other scavenged space, and create their first goods or services with more sweat than cash, have the luxury of making their inevitable rookie mistakes on a small scale. And precisely because their early screw-ups don’t bury them in debt, they are usually able to learn and recover from them.

Protect your personal assets.

When you go into business for yourself, you are usually personally liable for all judgments and debts that the business incurs. This includes business loans, taxes, money owed to suppliers and landlords, and any judgments against the business as a result of a lawsuit. If you don’t protect yourself, a creditor can go after your personal assets, such as your car and your house, to pay for these debts.

While you can protect yourself against lawsuits by buying business liability insurance, this won’t help you with business debts. If you will be running up big debts, consider forming a corporation or limited liability company (LLC). Just one person can form either of these types of businesses.

Understand how — and if — you will make a profit.

You should be able to state in just a few sentences how your business plans to make a substantial profit. For starters, you need to know your costs: how much you’ll spend purchasing inventory, paying the rent, compensating any employees, and covering what is likely to be a surprisingly long list of other costs. Then you can figure out exactly how much you need to sell each month, for how many dollars, to cover those expenses and have an adequate profit besides. These numbers are all you need to create a “break-even analysis.”

Make a business plan, no matter how short.

Understanding your profit numbers and creating a break-even analysis is the first step in making a business plan. For most small companies, the key portions of a business plan are the break-even analysis, a profit-and-loss forecast, and a cash flow projection. (Projecting your cash flow is key and will make or break your company: Even if your business is getting plenty of work or selling its products, if you’re not getting paid for 90-180 days, you’re not going to survive unless you’ve planned for it.) With a cash flow spreadsheet in place, as well as a profit-and-loss forecast, you can tinker with your business idea and improve it before you start — and continue to use them after you start.

Creating a business plan also allows you to determine what your projected start-up costs are (how much money you’ll need to save) and what you marketing strategies are (how you’ll reach customers to make sales). If you can’t make the numbers work on paper, you won’t be able to make them work in real life.

Get and keep a competitive edge.

Building a competitive edge into the fabric of your business is crucially important to long-term success. Some ways to get this edge are by knowing more than your competitors, making a product that is hard or impossible to imitate, being able to produce or distribute your product more efficiently, having a better location, or offering superior customer service.

One way to hold on to your competitive edge is to protect your trade secrets — confidential information that gives you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Examples of trade secrets include customer lists, survey methods, marketing strategies, and manufacturing techniques. To protect your trade secrets under the law, you need to take steps to keep the information confidential. This includes marking documents “Confidential,” using passwords to protect computer information, using nondisclosure and/or noncompete agreements, and limiting access to employees with a reasonable need to know the trade secrets.

Another way to keep your competitive edge is to react quickly to bad news. Once you see that your business faces some kind of adversity, you need to come up with a plan to deal with it immediately. This may involve moving your offices, introducing a new product or service, or developing a better way to reach customers.

Put all agreements in writing.

The laws of your state require you to put some contracts and agreements in writing:

• Contracts that will last longer than a year.
• Contracts that involve the sale of goods worth $500 or more.
• Contracts that transfer the ownership of copyrights or real estate.

Even if not legally required, it’s wise to put almost everything in writing, because oral agreements can be difficult or impossible to prove. This includes leases or rental agreements, storage agreements, contracts for services (such as consulting or electrical work), purchase orders or contracts for goods worth more than a couple hundred dollars, offer letters of employment, and employment policies. Get in the habit of getting and giving receipts for all goods, services, and deposits, regardless of how much.

Hire and keep good people.

Your goal should be to hire and retain truly excellent employees — not just reasonably competent ones. A highly competent and truly enthusiastic employee is at least two and sometimes even three times as valuable as a person of average skills.

To create a stable and happy workforce, it’s essential not only that your employees (and independent contractors) believe they are being fairly treated, but that your business is worthy of respect. Employees and contractors who like their work will represent you well on and off the job. And customers will more likely be loyal to an upbeat business — and are more likely to recommend it to their friends.

Pay attention to the legal status of your workers.

When you hire workers as independent contractors, make sure they shouldn’t really be taxed as employees. The IRS can impose substantial penalties against you for not withholding taxes and paying taxes for a worker who is really an employee. The IRS and other agencies are likely to think that a worker is an employee rather than an independent contractor under any of these conditions:

• The worker works full-time or nearly full-time for you.
• The worker doesn’t work for anyone else.
• The worker provides services that are an integral part of your operations.
• You control how the worker does the job and provide detailed instructions and training for the worker.

One way to help avoid trouble is to have the worker sign a written service contract, or independent contractor agreement.

Most employees you hire will be “at-will” employees — subject to being fired at any time and for any reason (except for illegal motives such as discrimination). It’s important to preserve your at-will rights because they protect you from having to prove that you have a valid business-related reason to terminate an employee. Don’t make any promises to prospective or current employees that you are offering a permanent job or that they will lose their job only if they perform poorly, because this will limit your ability to terminate the employee for other reasons, such as personality conflicts or finances.

When hiring an at-will employee, have the employee sign an offer letter that makes it clear that the employment relationship is at will. Except for high-level executives, you shouldn’t have employees sign an employment contract — this can limit your ability to alter the terms of employment as your business needs change and subjects you to higher legal standards.

Pay your bills early and your taxes on time.

In the real world, where a reputation for keeping one’s word is a hugely important asset, a good strategy is either to pay your bills up front or pay them early. You gain trust, build a positive credit profile, and have a built-in safety net if things go badly. These benefits outweigh any interest you might earn by holding onto your money until the last possible minute.

Most importantly, pay your payroll taxes on time, especially the portion that you withhold from your employees’ paychecks. The IRS and state tax authorities can hold you personally liable for these taxes, plus stiff penalties, if they’re not paid. This is true even if you operate your business as a corporation or LLC or if your business goes bankrupt — you will still be personally and legally on the hook to pay back payroll taxes.

Source: Yahoo Small Business

Technorati : LLC, assets, bills, business, money

This article deals with the later type of flea market vendor. The atmosphere of flea market sales usually means that you must have enticing products that can be sold cheap. Flea markets, after all, are not boutique shops that attract big spenders. Finding fast selling wholesale items will ensure big profits at the flea market.

Finding the Right Product for Your Flea Market

As mentioned above, flea market products should be inexpensive and lead to impulse buys. However, the actual product can vary greatly based on the flea market that you attend. Investigating a particular market is always a great idea before you decide what to sell there. The perfect, fast-selling products will coincide with the price range of a particular market’s offerings, but it should not have much competition.

Researching Wholesale Companies

One of the most important aspects of deciding what to sell at the flea market is finding a low-cost wholesale company that sells that product. If you decide on sunglasses, for example, you have to be sure to get a reputable supplier who will be able to fill orders quickly. You also want to find a wholesale product supplier that can give you the potential for the largest profit.

Impulse Buy Items

Whatever product line you decide to sell at the flea market, it is always a good idea to offer a few impulse buy items as well. These impulse products are those that draw crowds: either by being very unusual, very trendy, or be advertised for a very low price. “Diamonds! $1.00!” will draw a crowd faster than anything. Of course, you should never lie at the flea market.

Impulse buy products can be weather related items like umbrellas, shade hats or parasols, personal fans, or even bottled water where allowed. They can also be products marketed specifically to children. If you sell costume jewelry, you might want to offer a “Husband Box” with hand tools for him to peruse while his wife shops for earrings.

Finding wholesale products that sell quickly is the goal of almost all flea market vendors. Selling these items to the large crowds of people that visitor the thousands of flea markets across the country is the best way to make a big profit. Flea market vendors sell all types of merchandise. The one thing they all must know, however, is how to find fast selling wholesale flea market items.

Source: Associated Content

Technorati : Flea Markets, sunglasses, wholesale companies, wholesale sunglasses

Before committing to setting up a new business, carry out as much research as possible. Contact representatives and professional bodies in the same feild, for their input and advice. In addition, it is important to note local market conditions. Unless you have a unique selling point, it can be very difficult to succeed where a local market is saturated with established competitors. Also, it is always advisable to buy a few pertinent general business books, as most will encapsulate the basics of creating a successful business.

Most entrepreneurs are positive, but ironically such optimism can often be their worst enemy. Always leave a sufficient financial safety blanket, such as a reserve fund. Many new business people overspend on hardware, expensive computers, printing and so on. If your business does not require people physically coming to a shop or office, there is no point in spending money on office rental or employing a secretary. A serviced or virtual office will create the right impression at a fraction of the cost of having your own office.

Seek out expert advice. Many government bodies and banks offer free business start up advice. In general such advice may not be all encompassing, and may have certain vested interests, but by seeking such advice from a number of different suppliers you should end up with a fairly good understanding of how to develop your new business. Also, a franchise might be something to consider. The risks of establishing your own business are considerably reduced by buying a well known and established franchise. In most cases, the franchisor can often help with finance, computer software and business methodology. However, the downside of being involved with a franchise is that, while you’ll earn a comfortable, stable income, you most likely won’t be able to reach the income potential that you could as the owner of your company.

Source: Associated Content

Technorati : Starting a small business, entrepreneurs, small business

Do you have what it takes to join those thousands of people who start their own businesses every year? Do you have the determination, persistence and thorough research? If you can answer the following questions-or when you can answer them-you’ll know you have the right stuff to run your own company. Welcome to Entrepreneur Boot Camp!

1. Have you spent enough time researching your new business and its market?
Many new businesses fail because the business owner (that’s you) didn’t do enough research. Make sure that your business idea can work. Investigate the market carefully to see who the primary players are and how your new company fits in.

2. Do you have enough money to get your company up and running?
Don’t underestimate how much it will cost to get your company through its start-up phase. If you didn’t do enough research or were too optimistic about your product, you could find yourself under-funded. Don’t believe even your own projections and make sure that you have money stashed away for unforeseen events.

3. Are you wasting money on facilities?
While it might be nice to have your own office with a fancy desk in a nice, new building, such comforts can eat into your start-up budget. Begin as simply and as cheaply as you can. Start the business in your garage if you have to, and don’t spend too much on offices until you’ve actually sold some products or services.

4. Do you have a back-up plan?
Murphy’s Law states that if anything can go wrong, it will. Believe it. Nothing ever goes according to plan, and for that reason, you must always develop a back-up plan. Even if your research was perfect, something or someone will certainly throw a wrench-even if just a small one-in the works. But if you have done your homework and created a back-up plan, you’ll be able to stop, make adjustments and move forward more efficiently.

5. Do you have partners you don’t need?
Before you take on a partner, think the decision over carefully. Have you chosen someone who will work as hard as you do? Partners should earn the privilege of owning a portion of the business. If they bring money to your operation, that’s a convincing reason to keep them. If you’re just lonely and want to have a friend to keep you company, though, re-think the partnership decision.

6. Are you hiring the right people?
When you hire people, you want to choose those with the right skills and the right attitude to help your business grow. Especially with a small business, you can’t afford to employ someone who won’t be a good fit.

As a general rule, don’t bring friends or family into the business-unless, maybe, your nephew just graduated with an MBA from Stanford, your niece is a graduate of Harvard Law and both of them are at the top of their respective classes. Of course, if it’s a family business, exceptions to the rule can be made.

7. Can you see the big picture?
Too often new business owners get caught up in the day-to-day running of the business and don’t look at the big picture. You need to have both long- and short-term goals and you should review them every month to make sure that you and your company are on track. No matter what stage your business is in, you must have an idea of where you and the company are going.

8. Do you take “no” for an answer?
Successful entrepreneurs don’t take no for an answer. When others tell them that “it can’t be done” or “nobody’s ever tried it that way before,” entrepreneurs set out to prove those people wrong. As an enterprising business person, you must achieve a comfortable balance between stubbornly sticking to your ideas no matter what and accepting limitations that others would like to put on you. That is, if people declare that “it’s not possible,” don’t accept their word for it. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. After all, it’s your company.

9. Are you looking for validation or are you looking for the truth?
Even wildly successful business owners can occasionally be uncertain about what to do next. In those cases, the ones who continue down the path of success aren’t interested in simply having their ideas validated by people they turn to. They want the truth. So if you are going to run your own business and go it alone, find an impartial third party-an executive coach, a mentor or a trust advisor-to talk to about your concerns and your plans. Family members, employees and even your spouse may only tell you what they think you want to hear.

10. Do you know what you want out of the business?
Why are you starting a business in the first place and what do you want out of it? You have to know these answers before you can do long- and short-term planning. What is your exit strategy? It may seem an odd question to ask at the beginning of your start-up process, but you need to know how you are going to want to get out of the business. Do want to sell it and retire to the Greek Islands? Do you want to spin your first business off into another one?

Whether you want to work fewer hours, create a family legacy or do what you love to do, you need to know what you want out of the business before you can create goals and track them to fruition.

If you honestly-and thoroughly-answered all 10 questions, you should know now if you’ve got what it takes to start your own small business. But if you’re still in an introspective, questioning mode, ponder these statements. Do they describe you?

• I am persistent.
• When I’m interested in a project, I need less sleep.
• When there’s something I want, I keep that goal clearly in mind.
• I examine mistakes and I learn from them.
• I keep New Year’s resolutions.
• I have a strong personal need to succeed.
• I have new and different ideas.
• I am adaptable.
• I am curious.
• I am intuitive.
• If something can’t be done, I find a way.
• I see problems as challenges.
• I take chances.
• I’ll gamble on a good idea even if it isn’t a sure thing.
• I like to learn something new and to explore unfamiliar subjects.
• I can recover from emotional setbacks.
• I feel sure of myself.
• I’m a positive person.
• I experiment with new ways to do things.
• I’m willing to undergo sacrifices for potential long-term rewards.
• I usually do things my own way.
• I tend to rebel against authority.
• I often enjoy being alone.
• I like to be in control.
• I have a reputation for being stubborn.

If you answered, “yes, that describes me” to most of the questions, chances are good you’ve got the makings of a successful entrepreneur. (The Small Business Administration provides an interactive version of this quiz.) If you answered “maybe” or “no” to any of the questions, those may be areas of weakness that you can work on.

But remember, these kinds of questions cannot truly divine who will succeed in starting a business and who will not. That determination is in your hands and in your control.

Article provided by Socrates. Socrates is the leading source of do-it-yourself books, kits, forms and software that help small business and real estate property owners take care of legal and related matters themselves. Each Socrates solution is relevant, compliant, comprehensive and a lower cost alternative to traditional legal and professional services.

Source: Gaebler

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Technorati : Small Business Administration, back-up plan, business, partnership