Tripping On The Ladder

 By Jen the Catalyst
 (c) March 19, 2010

Today we bring you the first installment of a new article series, “Diary of a New Entrepreneur,” which chronicles the journey of our newest contributor, Jen the Catalyst (known in real life as Jen Woods Antila), as she leaves behind her corporate life to embark on the road toward self-employment—and self-discovery. You can read her latest adventures here every Friday on Tripping on the Ladder and visit her blog at  jenthecatalyst.wordpress.com.

Hi!

My name is Jen (Woods) Antila, and I’m so excited to begin sharing my journey with you!

How did I come to Tripping on the Ladder (and to be tripping on my own career ladder)?  Well, it’s a long story: 39 years of learning, 18 years of career, and now here I am, trying something new.  I am going to start my own business.

I’ll be writing a weekly column for this site, sharing my experiences as I start my business.  Some days it’s a labor of love, other days it’s learning something new, most days it’s a gift.  If you’re thinking about jumping off the corporate ladder, or you already have, or some days you wish you would… this column is for you.

I have already learned that each person has a unique path in life and in career, and as a result, the way I establish my new company is a variation on a theme.  My purpose in this column isn’t to share how to set up a new business, but to give inspiration that it can be done, and to provide some food for thought.

My hope is that you’ll read this column each week and leave with affirmation that you can do what you set your mind to.  I’ll share the resources, books and tools that have propelled me; the way I set up my days; and my milestones along the way. 

I’d love to establish a dialog with you!  I need inspiration and advice, too.  So, please engage in the conversation and be a part of my journey!  From time to time, I’ll ask questions and solicit opinions from you.  Please participate–I’d love to hear your points of view.

 By Dan d’Man
 (c) January 15, 2010

When I told friends and co-workers that I was starting my own business as a writer and communications consultant, I received all sorts of advice and insights.

Much of it was great and saved me a lot of headaches. Still, there were a few things I wish I would’ve known before taking the leap.  Things like…

Doing books “by hand” just doesn’t add up
When I started my business, I didn’t take the time to set up an electronic accounting/invoicing system — something like Quicken. I remember thinking, “My business isn’t big enough to warrant something like that.”  

Well, not long after, my business became too big to do my bookkeeping “by hand.” But then, I was too busy with work to take the time to set up an electronic system.

Do yourself a favor and take the time to set up your bookkeeping/invoicing system before you start your business.

You should treat your business like … a business
Successful businesspeople from all professions stress the importance of investing in your business. They recommend setting aside a certain percentage of your profits (10 percent is a frequent recommendation) for this purpose.

 Whether it’s updating your Web site, attending educational conferences, refreshing your marketing materials — it is important to sharpen your skills and add tools to your business resources.

On paper, it’s an easy concept to grasp. In practice, it can sometimes be difficult to actually write out those checks.

I recommend setting up a separate bank account in which you can regularly deposit a percentage of your business income. Having it already set aside can make it a little easer — psychologically — to spend it for its intended purpose. (Note: I also recommend this model for your quarterly business taxes.)

Freedom is a relative term
When you’re a one-person company it’s rare that you ever feel totally free from work. 

When I’m on vacation, I long for my corporate-employee days. It was so nice to be able to leave an out-of-office voicemail directing any immediate needs to another person in my department. That allowed me to truly unplug and enjoy my time away.

As the owner of a one-person business, I have no one I can direct calls to. It’s difficult to totally detach myself from “What if” scenarios. “What if my biggest client calls and has an urgent need? What if that company finally calls back and wants to bring me in on a project?”

And because nothing gets done while you’re gone, you do at least two weeks’ worth of work to prepare for a one-week absence. I have a real hard time telling my clients, “You know that really important project of yours? Yeah, just hang on and I’ll get right back on it when I return from Cabo.”

Running your own business isn’t impossible
Knowing — or at least assuming — this from the first day I started my business  would’ve saved me a lot of stress and lost sleep.

 I worried about getting clients, keeping clients, servicing clients, billing clients, bookkeeping, doing taxes, having enough work, having too little work, staying motivated and staying sane. You name it, I worried about it. While that’s my nature, it was magnified significantly when I started my business.

But then, slowly but surely, I realized that owning a business isn’t brain surgery. In fact, if you just work hard and follow your instincts, it’s really quite easy. It’s so easy, in fact, that I’m now writing an article about how to do it. (I gotta say, I didn’t see that coming.)

It’s also been the best business decision I’ve ever made. I’ve grown immensely as a person and as a professional and I shudder to think that I almost didn’t take the leap and give it a try.

Now that I’ve helped you avoid these four possible missteps, there’s really no excuse for you to not take the leap as well. If you’re relatively good at whatever it is you do and, most importantly, passionate about it, you can take any interest or skill and turn it into a business. 

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 Dan d’Man (a.k.a. Dan Deuel) is principal of Deuel Communications, a writing and communications consulting firm. He is a frequent contributor to Tripping on the Ladder. He lives in Minneapolis/St. Paul with his wife and two young daughters.

 By Jenaissance
 (c) January 14, 2010

Starting a new business is an exciting, thrilling opportunity—but, if you’re not careful, your new venture can easily drain your finances before you even earn a penny in profit.

In Tuesday’s issue of “The Daily Rung,” I shared with you a few tips for knowing what to spend your money on when forming a new small business. And now it’s time to consider a few places where you can save money.

Part II: Where You Should Save

Furniture
Unless you are expecting clients to visit your office, you really don’t need much in the way of office furniture—at least, not right away. If you’re working from home, you’ll probably need a desk with ample work space, a good ergonomically sound chair (since you’ll presumably be sitting in it much of the day) and a file cabinet, preferably one that locks and is fire proof.  

Be sure to set up some space that is dedicated solely to your work. In other words, your work desk shouldn’t double as the gift-wrapping table and the poker night table, and the keep the kids and the dog away from it, too. In a home office, it’s critical to keep your work space separate from your living space. Not only will this help keep you organized, but it’s also a requirement by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if you are planning to claim home office deductions on your annual income tax return.

If you need to equip a new office, Craigslist, office furniture resale stores and Target and other discount retailers offer low-budget solutions. And even if what you come up with is hardly a matched set, if aesthetic is important to you, never underestimate the power of a good can of spray paint to give all the pieces a cohesive look.

Phone Bills
Depending on your line of work, you may or may not need to have a dedicated telephone and/or telephone number. So much business these days is transacted via e-mail that, if you have to make a choice, it might make sense to invest in a high-speed Internet service first, rather than a phone line. If you plan to use a cell phone for business purposes, ask your wireless service provider to give you a special rate by bundling it with your current calling plan. If you use a land line, consider purchasing prepaid telephone cards to make long-distance phone calls rather than paying for costly long-distance service.

And, there are many great services available—Skype being one of them—that offer free web conference services so you can hold virtual meetings with colleagues and clients without spending a cent, and all from the comforts of “home.”

Advertising
As soon as you announce that you are open for business, you will likely be on the receiving end of endless solicitations to advertise your new business.  Whether it’s a representative from the Yellow Pages, the community “shopper” newspaper, or the latest fad in online advertising, the solicitations will come. These sales people have a job to do—and goodness knows it requires persistence on their part—but that doesn’t mean you should just hand over your wallet, either.

Before you consider any kind of advertising for your business, revisit your business plan. Who are the customers you are hoping will hire you? And where are they? If you are trying to appeal to a niche market, chances are good that your prospective customers won’t be looking for you in the Yellow Pages. Likewise, if your target customers aren’t Web users, then online advertising may not help you reach the right folks.

Advertising, when done carefully and selectively, can really help your business development efforts. Advertising, when done foolishly or without a plan, is like watching your money run straight out the door. Be selective—and, if you’re really unsure, there’s no harm in trying some other business generating activities first (phone calls, face-to-face meetings) before considering alternate forms of getting the word out.  

 By Jenaissance
 (c) January 12, 2010

Starting your own business is an exciting, exhilarating leap of faith—and a very empowering one, at that.

If you’re like most sole proprietors in the start-up phase, however, you will want to save every penny that comes in the door and choose your expenses carefully…at least until your revenue grows. That doesn’t mean you won’t one day have that shiny office with an expansive view of downtown and your name stenciled on the door in gilded paint. It does, however, mean you may need to make do with a less glamorous set-up until your business grows to a profitable and sustainable level.

In this two-part series, we explore where you should spend—and where you can save—when starting your new small business.

Part I: Where You Should Spend

It’s tempting—and generally wise—to cut corners when starting a small business and to choose your expenditures wisely, since it’s likely that you may not have a lot of seed money to start with and it may take awhile before revenue comes marching in the door.  Don’t make the mistake of cutting corners on absolutely everything, however. Here are the things—in my own humble opinion–that you should never scrimp on (even if you’re tempted):

Legal services.
Going to law school and, later, working as the communications director for two large law firms taught me a very important business lesson: Don’t make a big business move without first consulting with a business lawyer. It’s important to find someone you trust, who has demonstrated experience helping small businesses like yours, and whose fees are palatable to your pocketbook.  A good business lawyer will help you structure your new business in a way that makes the most sense for your business objectives, keep you on the right side of the law in your jurisdiction, and protect your business from unforeseen legal issues down the road.

This will probably be one of the biggest expenses you will incur during the start-up of your small business. Lawyers are expensive. (One reason is because, as my husband likes to say, “If the work was fun, people would do it for free.”) Just gulp now and accept it. But legal planning now will save you time, and perhaps costly problems and unforeseen “surprises,” down the road. It’s kind of like going to the doctor:  a full work-up now will keep you on the healthy path toward the future.

You may also need an intellectual property lawyer to help you file any trademarks or service marks that you are developing as part of your new business. You may want to do this as soon as possible after meeting with your business lawyer, since filing trademark applications takes time and is a fairly slow and tedious process—not to mention that you will want to protect your intellectual property from the very beginning of your business venture.

Accounting and tax services.
Uncle Sam is not always the friendliest guy. Not if you mess up your taxes, that is. Spare yourself the guess-work and hire a good certified public accountant (CPA) with small-business experience to guide you through the tax process. It pays to start building a relationship with a CPA you trust; as your business grows, your accounting and tax needs also will grow in scope and complexity and you will want to rely on someone who’s been with you from the beginning, who understands your business goals and who can help you navigate complex tax laws (which seem to be getting more complicated with each passing year).

In the same spirit, invest in a good accounting system for your business so you can be organized and effective in invoicing clients, paying your bills, and staying on top of your cash flow. QuickBooks offers several easy-to-use solutions, including a starter version that is free and can be upgraded as your client base—and your business needs—grow.  

Marketing basics.
It’s worth it to spend a little money on developing a brand for your new business, followed by a simple business card and Web site so that potential customers have a way to find you. My 10-plus years in the marketing and communications arena have given me a very strong bias, which I will share with you here: Hire an expert to help you. Don’t try to do this yourself if you don’t know what you’re doing. Being able to create circles in Microsoft Word does not make you a designer and plugging words together does not make you a writer—and, if done poorly or sloppily, it will make you look ridiculous. And, for pete’s sake, that handwriting font that looks like a little kid scribbled with a pencil should be outlawed. Just…don’t go there.

Hiring a graphic designer, a writer or a marketing/communications consultant can make all the difference between giving the impression of being a strong, successful, professional, contemporary business or a rinky-dink, unprofessional business that’s running out of someone’s back bedroom…and looks like it. And, frankly, if you are a client seeking to hire a sole proprietor, which company will you trust more with your business, based on first impression alone?

You need not hire a costly agency to help you. There are some outstanding freelance designers, writers and consultants (I like to think I am one of them) who have award-winning experience and who, because they are freelancers with low overhead, can offer you a better price than some of the flashy agencies and creative services firms. Some may even be willing to barter services with you as a cost-effective solution.

A post office box.
If your office is in your home, you will want to consider renting a post office box from the local post office or mailing-related store (such as Mailboxes, Etc., or The UPS Store). Since you will want to keep your personal mail separate from your business mail, this is one way to ensure that happens. And, if you work from home, you probably won’t want to broadcast your home address to strangers who visit your Web site. A p.o. box gives you a business presence, and a place to direct your mail, while protecting your privacy at home. Generally, post office boxes are available in a variety of sizes and the cost to rent a box is commensurate with the size.  

Stay tuned for Part 2 in Thursday’s issue of The Daily Rung, where we highlight some areas where you should save money in starting up your new business venture.