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Starting Up Your Own Business
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| Nautilus |
This one is for those entrepreneur TAs.
Ok, so you're sick and tired of working for an assho!e boss, for a fixed hourly wage or salary and you decided to take a different route. You opened up your own business, you make your own hours because you're your own boss, and that determines how much money you make.
This affords you great perks, but it's not sunshine everyday. Tell me what were some of the most difficult problems you faced the first year you opened up. Where they avoidable or just part of the game? In retrospect, what steps could you have taken to eliminate or at least minimize the effects of those road blocks?
Specifically, I'm looking for responses as they concern to the capital needed to commence operations. Did you borrow, put up your own cash, or use a combination of the two? Did you wish you could have started differently?
Advertising. How did you get the word out about your business in its infancy? What avenues or marketing did you feel have the greatest impact? Which didn't?
Operations/Managing. Did you focus on one aspect of the business and hire others to do the other work or did you undertake everything yourself? If you did everything yourself (which is what I'm going to have to do at the beginning) what resources did you find useful in becoming an expert, or at least knowledgeable, in all the angles of business?
Whatever advice you can give this TA would be greatly appreciated. I'm under a mountain of duress and very apprenhensive, but I have confidence in my abilities and resourcefulness. Projected start date for me is April 1st. |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
The only problems I ever had were when the bitches would complain about how business was slow or when one of them caught an STD. In which case, I would just smack 'em real hard and tell em to work harder! :whip:
[/vivid] |
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| töbias |
I've had much experience in this field.
What sort of business are you looking at starting?
How much money do you need to get up and running?
What experience do you have in this field?
I will ignore the start date, and answer this seriously if it is a serious question. |
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| dieselbambino69 |
| i borrowed and used my own money. Your business will fail if u ask urself the wrong questions. |
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| Nautilus |
| quote: | Originally posted by töbias
I've had much experience in this field.
What sort of business are you looking at starting?
How much money do you need to get up and running?
What experience do you have in this field?
I will ignore the start date, and answer this seriously if it is a serious question. |
What sort of business are you looking at starting?
Insurance Agent. I'd be a captive agent for Farmers selling life, home, auto, comm/bus, & iras.
How much money do you need to get up and running?
I've seen figures as low as 5,000, but I've estimated I personally need 8,000 to handle initial expenses and enough to cover monthly expenses for the first 6 months as a reserve agent. Beyond that point, I plan to have already met the requirements of the company within 6 months and be a career agent receiving a monthly subsidy of 1,500 plus my commissions.
What experience do you have in this field?
This is my first job out of college; I graduated last year from UCLA with a degree in Economics. My best friend's father is the district manager, in the region I work in, who helped me find a job with one of his agents. I have a little under a year working for this agent as his customer representative/agency producer. Since working with him, a salesperson of 17 years, I have not only learn sales tactics, but have develped a very good understanding of the not only the company and its products, but the industry as a whole.
When I'm prepared to break off and start my own agency I will have my friend's dad, who has been with the company for 25 years, as my personal mentor. I'm very young, unmarried, without children, so I have few reponsibilities at this point, which should make taking such a risk manageable. While 8,000 doesn't seem like peanuts to me yet, it is still a small enough amount of cash that I will be able to finance this endeavor by myself. |
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| töbias |
| quote: | Originally posted by Nautilus
What sort of business are you looking at starting?
Insurance Agent. I'd be a captive agent for Farmers selling life, home, auto, comm/bus, & iras.
How much money do you need to get up and running?
I've seen figures as low as 5,000, but I've estimated I personally need 8,000 to handle initial expenses and enough to cover monthly expenses for the first 6 months as a reserve agent. Beyond that point, I plan to have already met the requirements of the company within 6 months and be a career agent receiving a monthly subsidy of 1,500 plus my commissions.
What experience do you have in this field?
This is my first job out of college; I graduated last year from UCLA with a degree in Economics. My best friend's father is the district manager, in the region I work in, who helped me find a job with one of his agents. I have a little under a year working for this agent as his customer representative/agency producer. Since working with him, a salesperson of 17 years, I have not only learn sales tactics, but have develped a very good understanding of the not only the company and its products, but the industry as a whole.
When I'm prepared to break off and start my own agency I will have my friend's dad, who has been with the company for 25 years, as my personal mentor. I'm very young, unmarried, without children, so I have few reponsibilities at this point, which should make taking such a risk manageable. While 8,000 doesn't seem like peanuts to me yet, it is still a small enough amount of cash that I will be able to finance this endeavor by myself. |
Ok, seems like a decent start.
What sort of market research have you completed?
Who will be your target customers?
Have you already got a captive client case on which to get regular business from? |
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| Nautilus |
| quote: | Originally posted by töbias
Ok, seems like a decent start.
What sort of market research have you completed?
Who will be your target customers?
Have you already got a captive client case on which to get regular business from? |
What sort of market research have you completed?
Minimal as of this point. This is one area I am in need of advice and consultation. However, I have noted ways of marketing that seem to work for the other agents and those methods that don't as well.
Who will be your target customers?
Well, I live in Southern California and I'm hispanic, so a majority of efforts will be directed at serving this traditionally underserved community, especially when it concerns financial matters. English is my primary language, but I am fluent in Spanish and I've actually bought some college textbooks to help improve my Spanish in order to sound more educated. Being bilingual is a major advantage over the other agents as they are shut off from this other foreign speaking market. Time after time, other agents in the district have asked me to help to communicate with Spanish speaking clients due to their inability to do so. It's ridiculous how few agents in not only my company, but in the industry don't speak Spanish well enough or not at all, especially given the area region they operate in.
I will be based in the Temecula Valley, which is currently one of the hottest housing markets in Southern California due to its proximity to Los Angeles and San Diego (within an hour of SD and 2 of LA) and its cheap land and housing prices, relative to the rest of Southern California. This area still has stretches of undeveloped land, which means future clientel is guaranteed, as opposed to the already developed and overcrowded LA, Orange County, and SD neighboring regions.
Have you already got a captive client case on which to get regular business from?
While I have already produced clients for my current employer, I would not be taking any of those clients with me, except for my own business and those of my family. I have, however, built up relationships with a couple of real estate agents who do feed me new home buyers from time to time. |
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| igottaknow |
Since it sounds like you don't have the cash there are two ways that you could finance the business.
1. Ask your dad to co-sign a bank loan.
2. Incorporate your business, get a couple of credit cards and charge all your expenses. If the business fails you can file chapter 13 bankruptcy. Your credit rating will be ruined for a number of years but you will free yourself from any debt and your personal assets can't be touched.
Of course if you decide option #2 consult with an attorney to know your rights and rules of bankruptcy law in your state. |
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| DarkFall01 |
| quote: | Originally posted by igottaknow
2. Incorporate your business, get a couple of credit cards and charge all your expenses. If the business fails you can file chapter 13 bankruptcy. Your credit rating will be ruined for a number of years but you will free yourself from any debt and your personal assets can't be touched.
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Last time I read, I think it was 10 years.
I really don't recommend this option, unless you're desperate for the money.
Try getting loans, or asking family members/friends to invest in your company, etc |
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| igottaknow |
| quote: | Originally posted by DarkFall01
Last time I read, I think it was 10 years.
I really don't recommend this option, unless you're desperate for the money.
Try getting loans, or asking family members/friends to invest in your company, etc |
only problem with family/friends option is if you default on the loan guess who they're coming after to collect? Not exactly the nicest position to put ur mom or dad in unless they're rich. As a financier they'll have plenty of suggestions on how you should run your business. |
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| töbias |
| quote: | Originally posted by Nautilus
What sort of market research have you completed?
Minimal as of this point. This is one area I am in need of advice and consultation. However, I have noted ways of marketing that seem to work for the other agents and those methods that don't as well.
Who will be your target customers?
Well, I live in Southern California and I'm hispanic, so a majority of efforts will be directed at serving this traditionally underserved community, especially when it concerns financial matters. English is my primary language, but I am fluent in Spanish and I've actually bought some college textbooks to help improve my Spanish in order to sound more educated. Being bilingual is a major advantage over the other agents as they are shut off from this other foreign speaking market. Time after time, other agents in the district have asked me to help to communicate with Spanish speaking clients due to their inability to do so. It's ridiculous how few agents in not only my company, but in the industry don't speak Spanish well enough or not at all, especially given the area region they operate in.
I will be based in the Temecula Valley, which is currently one of the hottest housing markets in Southern California due to its proximity to Los Angeles and San Diego (within an hour of SD and 2 of LA) and its cheap land and housing prices, relative to the rest of Southern California. This area still has stretches of undeveloped land, which means future clientel is guaranteed, as opposed to the already developed and overcrowded LA, Orange County, and SD neighboring regions.
Have you already got a captive client case on which to get regular business from?
While I have already produced clients for my current employer, I would not be taking any of those clients with me, except for my own business and those of my family. I have, however, built up relationships with a couple of real estate agents who do feed me new home buyers from time to time. |
You really need to formulate a business plan, with a decent set of budgets before you do anything. I don't mind having a look at a draft.
There will be a fair amount of cold calling I would suggest and for this to be successful you really need to choose your target markets well. I notice you have given thought to the people you will look at approaching first, and given your background and language skills you have thought about what your competitive advantage will be.
Do you intend to work from an office?
What sort of start-up costs do you expect in the first 3 months?
How much business do you plan to write in the fist 3 to 6 months? (Be realistic)
Will you require back-up staff?
You really want to have enough money to overcome the worst possible scenarios in the first 3 - 6 months, including patches where you write no business.
I would suggest an equity partner could be a good idea, perhaps a family member that would support you and chip in a few dollars, and you can then incorporate a company and issue that person some shares for their investment. At least then you are managing some of the risk and being responsible to a shareholder or two can be further motivation to work hard at what appears to be a job where you need to be both energetic and a go getter.
As for a little marketing advice. Well, try and segment your market a little better, break it right down. Think about which area you wish to target, how many houses you can visit per day, what type of people you want to look after, what sort of income bracket these people fall into, what type of customers will give you the best meeting/sales ratio. |
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| Nautilus |
| quote: | Originally posted by töbias
You really need to formulate a business plan, with a decent set of budgets before you do anything. I don't mind having a look at a draft.
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You seem very educated in the process. I'll PM you can we can continue this conversation in further detail. I didn't think I'd get much help from a trance music forum, but day after day I don't get surprised very much anymore. Thanks. |
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