So You Want to Start a Business part 2

Hi ,

Let’s talk about how to get your name out there.
First by now you may sort of have an idea of what your new business has to offer people. I am sure you had to give it a thought or two. What is your service, what is your product and what will it do for people.

This stuff is key to getting your imagination going and I suggest writing it down, don’t do it in your head. What, where, when and why and who. The five W's! Answer your questions and you have a start to all sorts of things that you will be able to expand upon. You may discover the small details that may be the attraction to your product or service. But this brain storming is going to be how you create your business card, your flyer/brochure, web page, news letters, email series and possibly your presentation. Asking yourself and brainstorming your business and all the things you have to offer, via YOU, your product or service. Breaking up the four W's further and further down will create your copy, slogan, logo and your Authority as an expert.

Do not take this step lightly, it is the key and it could take a little time, even weeks to develop. But no matter what, these four W's will help you through the process of starting your business and the creation of your business plan.

Where did I learn this? In High School and in a College coarse called Writing 101. This will also be beneficial when you have to write something that you have no idea about. But by answering the W's you will soon be brainstorming the subject and creating the information you need to deliver it to your customer/prospects or clients.

The difference between a customer and a prospect is: A customer is someone that has purchased your service or product a prospect is someone you want to turn into a customer. And you market to both differently.

So there you go...to recap

You picked a Business name.
You registered it
You created a DBA
You got a business checking account
You brainstormed the Five W's
You have an answer for the W's

I do have a question for you. I want to make sure you understand that starting a business is a commitment. This is big because you have to have a dream, a goal and a vision. These are not all the same things either. Each has a purpose to your success. Your Vision is the big picture of where you truly want to be, you have to see it and vision yourself there, doing this often, and writing down to detail of what your vision is. A dream is good but not sustainable because it is just that, a dream. The difference between that dream and vision is your vision has sight and your dream is a dream. Goals are important and measurable. Once you reach a goal, another will need to be created to obtain your vision. Goals are long term and short term and always should have your objective in sight, which is your vision.

Starting a business is work, but before the work a plan has to be set and put into place. And the plan can change, and it should when there is growth in a business. A basic business plan is what we are working on so answer the w’s and write everything down as you are going to need it.

Are you sure you want to do this?

Do you have enough accountability, commitment and vision?

The humps and bumps everyone runs into can tell you if you do, but if you don’t have those three things a hump or bump may slow you down, take you off track or just get you to give up. So get that vision and take a chance.


Scott W Kelley Company
Owner/operator
5008 Rosada St
Petoskey, Mi 49722
231-347-8456
www.ScottwKelley.com/blog
info@ScottwKelley.com
http://twitter.com/scottwkelley

So You Want to Start a Business Part 1

Today is a new day!
You see there are things that I know. I know for a fact that you need certain tools to run a business.
I have been doing this stuff for 15 years and no matter what, you have to do certain things.

So what does it take to be in business?

First and for most a name!

You see, if you are by yourself, no one helping you in the cost and operations you are a sole proprietor.
If you have a partner, you are a partnership which is sticky matter in my eyes, but two heads are better
than one.

Next after picking your name of you business you have to register it with your County Clerk (in Michigan) as Doing Business As also known as a DBA. The charge is usually a nominal fee and will stay active for years, five in Michigan. I just renewed mine the other day for the third time. Scott W Kelley Company.

Most people do not want to be associated with them selves and there is good reason. For example: Let’s say you may want to sell your company later down the road. Well if you were in my shoes, that would not be a good idea because I would be selling my name. I planned along time ago that I would never sell my name and I branded myself 15 years ago. This has worked in my favor and against me. But in the long run people remember me! Not some name and they always know who they want to talk to when they call me, pretty simple, but it works. The negative has been competing with the Big Name I am associated with collecting a commission when I sell their product. Differentiating my self from them has been the hardest because when they make a change it effects my business. I am not hiding behind some name where I don't want anyone to remember who I am or even associate me with some other name. I want to keep my identity, that’s why I did it. I also felt that it gives a better presence for the smaller guy going against the bigger names of my competition. I believe it is a key to stand out and be a little different to attract customers and clients.

This is one of the first steps to starting a business. Getting a DBA is like getting a domain name, really they are the same, except a domain name is not a DBA. The DBA is a registered name and is your AKA (your domain name) doing business as “your business name". As long as you disclose that you are legal. For instance, I could create a new business called VisualContact.com DBA Scott W Kelley Company. I just disclosed who owns the business. That way you don’t have to get a new DBA for every business you create. Kind of like a sub file.

I see this done in the opposite way to where you can brand your name with a domain name and have your corporation as the DBA. I see this practiced more often and when you look at the bottom of a web page, or in the disclaimer, about us you may see how the business structure is set up for some ideas in this crucial area.

So why all the hassle if you are a sole proprietor and using your SSN. Well tax reasons. Let’s say you have a job and your business. Both are connected to you through your SSN. It will allow you to grow when the time comes. You may need an employee some day, you may need a bank account, you may need an attorney, and you may need a CPA. Setting yourself up the right way can save you thousands of dollars in taxes.

So let’s recap
Choose a name for your business
Register your name with the county/state
Go open a checking account with your business name

You are now official and legal to conduct business to business.
You are now legal to purchase products, sell a service.
So what about the product? Some states have a sales tax.
Well guess what you need a license to sell product so you can get the states money for them. This is a big issue in my book and no one really talks about it to much. And I know it has to be a hot topic when the state finds out you been selling something, even on eBay they are going to want their money and you don't want to mess around with an entity like the government who can seize your accounts and everything just because they can. You don't want to have that happen. So be legal as heck. Pay your taxes and be proud that you can.

There is no better time to start a business than today. If you can find a problem that people have (many problems are out there) and find the solution or a solution you will be a service to people and should make money.

My next subject, how to get your name out there cheap to start building your business.

If you are interested in conversation, via phone, I am always open for a good chat.
Give me a call!
231-347-8456








Scott W Kelley Company
Owner/operator
5008 Rosada St
Petoskey, Mi 49722
231-347-8456
www.ScottwKelley.com/blog
info@ScottwKelley.com
http://twitter.com/scottwkelley

Home Based Business Ideas: Best Business Concepts

Home Based Business Ideas: Best Business Concepts

Scott W Kelley Company
Owner/operator
5008 Rosada St
Petoskey, Mi 49722
231-347-8456
http://www.ScottwKelley.com/blog
info@ScottwKelley.com
http://twitter.com/scottwkelley

Best Business Concepts

Hello and welcome to my blog, my goal here is to provide practical business solutions for anyone who wants to start a Home Based Business and grow from there.


Wouldn't it be awesome to wake up naturally everyday from now on for the rest of your life, with the exception when you wanted to?


Wouldn't it be nice to be the exception to the rule?


Knowing that you earned immunity from the clock?


That you answer only to yourself and your chosen responsibilities?


I can tell you it isn't all that bad, in matter of fact, I like it!!


I have been in business since I was 32 years of age and I was kind of forced into it. As my career field was shrinking and fewer and fewer jobs were available in what I did where I live and if I took a job within my niche I was going to have to earn less. It was a wanted job and the employer was only going to pay the competitive wage for the area I live in. Now if I was living in another state where my niche was more in demand, I would make 5 times compared to the competitive wage of where I live right now.


I made choices then, my daughters where growing up, it was important to me for them to stay in the same school system, breath healthy air, drink good water and live among a wonderful community. The money was not important enough for me to rip my children’s' opportunities away from them.


You see, as a child I was transferred from one school to the next, it was a constant battle being accepted by kids that had grown up in their community for years and I was the new kid, and you know how new kids were accepted. It was tough and I swore that I would not ever do that to my kids. But when my family was young and I was in demand I had many opportunities and we could have traveled all over this beautiful planet. That would have been a great thing to do if I was single, but not with a family, the people I love, I put above myself.


I understood real quickly that if I wanted to live here I was going to have to do something. I looked at what I knew and went into consumer electronics. Oh, before that I was an electrical field engineer in robotics and before that I was trained as a Russian working on U.S. captured Russian radars to assist in training our Troops against hostiles. Very interesting jobs that were demanding of a young person those days.


I started repairing things like TV's, VCR's, CD Players, DVD Players, Stereo HiFi, Musical Equipment, Microwaves, and Car Stereo. You name it; I was willing to look at it! I was able to repair it, charge a fee for my time and parts, stand behind my repair and move onto the next. Business was good, real good, better than good it was outstanding.


Then something happened! People were not fixing anything. People would drop off a TV to get looked at cause a friend had told them about me. It would cost $35 to have it looked at. Today’s rates are at $100, I would look at the TV, diagnose it, call the customer with the quote to repair and I started to hear the same phrase from most people, "Well I can buy one for that!".


This attitude is what scared me because it was being accepted through our society system. "Price Transference". This is a term I became very familiar with and this is why. When the cost of a drum head for a VCR was close enough to what it cost to buy a New VCR New it did not make sense to repair it. Why fix it if you could get it for new at the same price. To the dump it went, to the landfill, never to be seen again.


My Business was ripped out from under my feet when the Fair Trade Agreement went through. Bottom line, what happened, somebody decided, lets change this, it will be better! Ha, it was! 20,000 TV repair shops went out of business, probably the best ones.


Hello Dish Network! At the time all this change was commencing I knew I had to do something again. Look deeper into my niche. Ah...satellites, home theater, custom installs, design concepts for the home. Instead of fixing them, install them and sell them. The next 8 years were wonderful again, business was good and there was nothing to worry about, or even think about.


But then something changed again, more businesses were going out of business in my area. The manufacturing for the motor industry was diminishing. Less and less people had a job and started going back to school to learn a profession with our new largest employer. Here comes the Hospital...Health Care...Becoming an RN.....a Nurse's Aid. The Hospital is the largest employer next to our Casino.....They got us coming and going and I don't care to visit either one.


Now is here! Again, another change. People are not building new houses, people are not moving here and the new customer is like a dinosaur. I am going to bring up "Price Transference" again, but this time I don't know or understand it, but I have a theory. We are in it and you need to identify that this time it is going to be a bit larger, more costly with more to loose, but an opportunity to change with it.


My Value has changed and what I do know that my next venture has a different value. I am a frog out of water as are many that I know. Some are still secure if their jobs are related to certain companies and others know that there is an end. When...I predict soon. The end to the Industrial age and into the Informational age/Awareness age/Science age/ Social Age. What ever it is, we are in it.


So what is it that I am doing now? Well I will not give up my past business fixing and installing things, but it does not ask much from me right now, but I will maintain it.


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To Your Success,

Scott W Kelley



Scott W Kelley Company
Owner/operator
5008 Rosada St
Petoskey, Mi 49722
231-347-8456
http://www.ScottwKelley.com/blog
info@ScottwKelley.com
http://twitter.com/scottwkelley