Starting my own small business , any tips ?

[CasualGuy227Participant 170]

Hey Fellas hope you all been well and sorry it has been a while since I even visited the forms and posted some stuff.

Well MY life has taken a little bit of a detour ( not in a bad way) and I am taking a gap year or two from full time education to try and work on a side project of part time personal business in the way of fitness services e.g training, excersice support, client advice, fitness classes, fitness programmedesigns and so forth.

Right now the business is in its idea/infancy stage and I am working on getting base funding the now through taking some extra hours from my current retail job and getting it quite quickly since i don’t go out clubbing much and have no overpriced bills or debt to pay. So in that case one hand feeds the other.

That being said i’m just looking for any good sources of personal experience tips form guys here on the form perhaps related to money or self employment tips and experience you guys might wisely share with me if possible.

Thanks in advance

– Casual Guy

[chirParticipant]

Protect Thine Ass With A LLC incorporation.
https://www.incorporate.com/package_selection.html

This will help you protect your personal assets from your business. Most favorable state to incorporate in is Delaware.

Also since you said you would be doing training you will need to have Professional and General Liability insurance. This way if someone twists an ankle while training you have protection if they lawyer up and try to milk you of money.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, it is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning; it is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

[Anonymous 42]

Try “personal trainer” for the more affluent crowd, advertise and go out on site, no “location” to get sued at, no taxes, insurance, nothing, just advertisements, appointments, time and gasoline. People without financial restraint will gladly pay others for their company and motivation, especially a professional athlete!

If I had to work on the mountain for a living, my first choice would be ski-school all ages.

I think in any event you’ll enjoy it because you’re helping others to gain knowledge and ground.

Follow your dreams!

[Anonymous 25]

look for free government grants. there’s plenty for women but there may still be some you can claim. there’s places that give free legal advice too if you need it

[TuneoutParticipant]

I started mine after getting out of the service, deciding to go with maintenance and renovations.

I’d say first is make a business plan then get some advice on how to make it work,market analysis,strategy.

Is your business going to be mobile with your home as the office?

Consider how you’re going to finance it.

Like Chir said,incorporate it

Lifes a bitch,but you don't have to marry one!

[GoneFishin’Participant 189]

Spend a great deal of time on your business plan, especially if you plan on approaching any banks for loans. Do a web search for “business plan template”, download one, and work off that; adding anything you need.

Budget EVERYTHING, and do your best to stick to the budget. Time, equipment, rent, utilities, travel time, travel expense, merchandise, materials, advertising, etc, etc, etc

Tendency, when starting out, at least for me, was to short change myself to get business; however, business for the sake of being busy is no good. It must be profitable as well.
My personal experience was to start the business (construction) on the side, while maintaining regular job; then transitioned more hours away from job into business as the business grew. That’s pretty common, I believe, unless you have a high $$$ backer of some sort.

[CasualGuy227Participant 170]

Thanks for the advice so far guys.

As for some responses:

It will begin in a local gym under personal training but it can be mobile as well after getting stuff sorted out with car.

I will be insured closer to the time and will not have to worry too much about loans and debt due to using current job feeding the base foundations for the business set up right now.

[NomadParticipant 0]

Focus on marketing – the acquisition of leads/traffic above all, it is the lifeblood your business. Your service/product means nothing if you can’t get people interested in purchasing it.

From there you use the initial money you earn to improve your business how you see fit. Most people do the opposite, build something then try find product/service-market fit, and fail because they spent all this money on something no one wants.

Fitness is certainly simpler, since there is plenty of gyms around, still having more leads means more options for clientele.

[Silverstone the SecondParticipant]

It’s great to hear you’re starting your own business, man. I’d like to point out some pitfalls. Most new businesses fail within a year, and those that don’t, fail in the second year. So, have a backup plan incase s~~~ goes wrong.

Feminism is a movement where opinions are presented as facts and emotions are presented as evidence.

[~BSParticipant 3266]

My .02

Starting small and scaling upwards is good. Not all businesses allow you to do this. This way, if it fails, it won’t cost you nearly as much as if you opened a restaurant or something and that failed.

Depending on how small is your definition of small, you may want to pony up for the advice/paperwork from a good attorney and accountant. It’ll cost up front, but may save you big time at the back end if you avoid an unforeseen pitfall.

Depending on the type of business, make sure you’re aware of all degrees, licenses, insurances, tax filings, etc required for the business. There are self help books by state that tells you what you need to do to get off the ground in your state and with the federal govt.

TALK to someone else who started a similar business if possible to try to learn of any pitfalls you might not be foreseeing. Dont jump into it without A LOT of planning.

If you’re offering a services with low overhead cost, you shouldn’t lose too much money if it fails. Your main investment will be your time.

If you don’t know how already, learn general book keeping skills and keep your books up to date and well documented. Make sure you know what you’re doing and retain a good tax accountant. If you’re going to be claiming a lot of auto deductions, make sure you know those rules as well. Also, if you’re not aware, the income tax rate can be a lot higher than if the income was through an employer because of the 15.3% self employment tax. Screwing up on self employment taxes can ream your asshole wider than your exwife and her king kong strap on.

"He didn't marry until now, so he won't ever do it. Think about it, why would a man like him ever marry? It's too late to catch him. " ~some cunt

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