Maybe you are considering starting a new business but not sure? Do you have a good idea? What records do you need to maintain? What about marketing? What type of taxes will you owe? What identity should you be – a sole proprietorship, a LLC or a corporation? The list of questions can be endless when you are considering opening your own business. Where can you turn for good, knowledgeable advice?
A very good place to start can be SCORE. SCORE is a nationwide group of individuals who counsel small businesses. It is made up of individuals who currently or have owned their own business or worked in areas of business that gave them a good knowledge of how businesses work. There is no cost to their counseling. You can use the services if you are just looking to start a business or if you are an existing business with a problem you do not know how to resolve.
SCORE can help you with determining if an idea is viable – is it something that you can make money at? It is another set of eyes to determine if you are thinking of everything. For example – marketing, accounting, business plans, financing, employee issues, taxes, legal ramifications and insurance requirements are some areas they counsel in. They look at businesses from the one person home based business to those that will be international businesses.
SCORE can assist you in looking at marketing options and determining a marketing strategy. Maybe you are stuck for marketing ideas. Maybe you just want someone to give you an opinion of a new brochure or website you are creating. Maybe you want someone to look at marketing campaign that you are considering.
They can help you create a business plan. You will find on the SCORE website (www.SCORE.org) a template for creating business plans. Creating a business plan will help focus you. It leads you through determining what your mission is, looking at your creates financials for you to assist in pricing your product and making sure that you are considering everything when determining if you can be profitable or not.
SCORE can assist you in where you might find funding – from helping you get a proposal ready for the local bank to looking at the possibility of grants that might be available in your local area. SCORE does not provide funding for small businesses.
SCORE can discuss tax requirements – from hiring your first employee to what you need to be concerned with if you are hiring subcontractors. Counselors can assist you in record keeping requirements. They can discuss sales tax requirements. And the all important income tax requirements.
If there is something that you need to know about small business SCORE counselors can be an invaluable resource. Check out their website to see if you have a chapter in your area. If there is a chapter in your area, you can have a face-to-face meeting with someone. If there is no chapter in your area, there is online counseling that is available.
Statistics show that two in five businesses fail within the first year. Four in five have failed within the first five years. Do not be one of those that fail! SCORE may suggest that your business is not viable – saving you hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. They may see ways to make a business more profitable that you are not seeing.
This is a free, valuable resource; consider using it if you are going to start your own small business. It could mean the difference between failure and success!
