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In bad or horrific economic times, for those who are thinking a different route than the weekly or bi-weekly paycheck, than starting a business may be for you. This does not mean that you have to quickly place your two-week notice on the bosses desk, what would need to be done is start a business in phases. The phases are like outlines and what you want to do is treat it as such. This writer who did have his own business in the mid-1990s until the early part of the new century had a plan and these are some ideas on what to do when you are starting a business.

First, what you want to do is sit down somewhere with no distractions. Either have your desktop or laptop ready where you can begin to take notes. What you want to do is have a blank piece of paper and write two words at the top: PRO and CON. This means that you want to write down the pros and the cons of starting a business. Then, if the pros outweigh the cons, then you are ready to go onto the next phase. This is the pre-planning stage. How much money are you willing to lay out in cash to begin your business venture? Then write down what kind of paperwork you are going to need to get the business registered in the state that you live in. Will you need an attorney to handle your pre-business planning is an essential question to ask yourself. The next question to ask is whether or not you want to have a partner, or are you going to build the business first and then seek others to join you. These are only a few questions to ask yourself and to write down.

Once you have your answers to the questions above, then you want to decide if you are going to be a sole proprietorship, a partnership (general or limited), a corporation or a limited liability corporation? Then depending upon what kind of business you have chosen, will you be able to keep overhead down by running it from your home or will you need an office with furniture and other items? How many employees, if any, will you need to help make the business successful.

If you have financial capital to begin with or if you have applied and received a small business loan and/or a grant, then you will need to probably establish a bank account with your banking establishment. This should only be done once you have decided what kind of business entity you are going to be. If you are going to have employees, then you might want to establish a separate payroll account.

When it comes to your particular state, you will want to talk with the Secretary of State, especially if you are going to be an incorporation, because you will need the Articles of Incorporation drawn up and sent into the Secretary of State's office. They can provide such paperwork on their website.

You will also need a business license. You need one whether you are working out of the home or have an office or store front. This is required by most states. If you are going to be selling a particular item and charging sales tax, then you will also need to get in touch with your State Business Revenue Office. You will need a Sales Tax ID Number issued to you before you can buy from suppliers.

Finally, you will need to work with vendors, if you are providing either a service or even selling items. You just might need to purchase items from them. If you are starting a new business, some vendors will require you to pay for your items with cash or check before you are able to get on payment terms with them. So, this is something that is important to decide.

These steps are not all-inclusive, yet, this writer has tried to cover some of the important steps without getting too technical or too winded. Again, this is a prime time to start a business as we are in uncertain times when it comes to working for others.

Learn more about this author, David Brown.
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