Advice on starting a business

**sweeps** · 12-11-2007, 07:42 AM

Do you personally know of someone local who has started his (or her) own business? Getting in touch with him probably would be a good idea. In addition to advice, he may have contacts for you and probably would be a much better resource for local laws, local business groups, etc.

As far as web sites are concerned... are you on LinkedIn? That can be a good way to make and find business contacts.

Another suggestion is to find local enterpreneur meetups. Meetup.com is a good site for this.

(If you can't tell I'm a big believer in building and maintaining your personal network.

I'd love to make some contacts here on savingadvice.com, but unfortunately it's probably best to maintain anonymity.)

**bjl584** · 12-11-2007, 07:56 AM

Thanks for the info. My next door neighbor actually used to own his own construction company. He has since sold the business and retired, but he is a good source of information. I will check out the websites that you recommended and see if I can come up with anything. Thanks again.

**sweeps** · 12-11-2007, 08:51 AM

I'm not sure what kind of business you plan on starting, but Web Worker Daily is a very good site too. It's primary audience is freelancers and telecommuters who develop web sites and applications, but it has very good articles about running your own business. You can subscribe to the RSS feed.

Example article: Creating Your First Invoice

**Scanner** · 12-11-2007, 09:26 AM

Well, if you could narrow your question a bit, I think I could help.

But here is some general thoughts:

1. Own your real estate vs. rent.

Often at the end of the life of your business, the only thing left of any worth is the building you own. Because of this, if you are planning on being in business for 20+ years and need space, seek to own. Ray Kroc said, "I'm in the real esate business." If you look at every major McDonald's you can see that he was right.

2. The purpose of a business is to sell it

Related to #1, always be thinking of what your business is worth, the market who would buy it, and never be ashamed of thinking of selling it. Truth is you should probablys sell it before you want to sell it. Most people cash out their chips after it's too late.

3. Your main job will be marketing and sales, unless delegated

There are so many good businesses that make it off the ground because of improper marketing.

Good luck.

**bjl584** · 12-11-2007, 10:16 AM

Here is my situation. I am currently looking at a piece of commercial real estate. The upstairs of the building has two apartments that are currently rented, and the downstairs is vacant, but at one time was a pizza parlor. I am thinking of converting the downstairs into a take out style specialty sandwich and sub shop. (Restaurant Business). This would be a longterm investment, so I will be buying. As I said, this is all in the planning stages, so I need to do my homework on the local market and see what kind of feasibility my idea would have after I look into the competition, local economy, and some sales and marketing aspects. But, basically that is my situation.

**simpleyme** · 12-11-2007, 10:43 AM

check and find out what the insurance costs will be on the property

multi-use property can be difficult to insure, we have found insurance in our area does not look kindly on rentals hooked to business

**sweeps** · 12-11-2007, 12:02 PM

A couple more suggestions based on your update. You may want to contact someone in planning and zoning at the city hall/village office. You'll need to find out things like whether your shop will meet zoning requirements and what kind of permits you'll need for renovation and operation.

Also you may want to chat up someone at the local chamber of commerce. They will be happy to hear you're thinking about opening a new business. They should be able to give some guidance or at least put you in touch with people who can.

Keep us updated!

Advice on starting a business