Becoming a Business Owner

Series Summary

Starting a business requires the utmost organization and planning. Beyond conceptualizing a business plan and getting the ball rolling, there are employees to compensate, books to keep and bills to pay. It is the small business owners' responsibility to monitor every detail that takes place in their business. It can be strenuous work to start a new business, but keeping organized and accurate is the foundation to a successful company. In this free video series on opening a new business, a certified public accountant discusses information for new business plans. Find out how to get financing for a new business, and get tips on marketing strategies. Discover the benefits of purchasing an existing business, and learn to draw up a business plan for consistent reference. Open a new business using this helpful guide.

Video Transcript

"Today's topic is how to become a business owner. First of all, whatever field you're interested in, do the appropriate research on how viable it is. Make sure it's not an industry that's about to become obsolete. Make sure that the market that you're serving or intend to serve has a need for your product or service, or projected product or service. Next, make sure you have the financial capacity to implement the plans that you have in mind. You will want to develop a business plan. A S.W.O.T. analysis, that stands for strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats. Identify not only what you're going to do, but what your competitor is already doing and will do in the face of you coming in to that market. Also, you need to know what your limits are in the areas of how much financing you're going to need, what your break even points are, what your projections are, and at what point, speaking of break even, that you will have to say 'This isn't working', and go to plan B. You need to be prepared before that day ever comes. Additionally, you need to have your exit plan just as soon as you have your entrance plan, because some day you will go out of that business, whether it's by force of nature or by retirement. But have that plan so it's not a surprise when that day comes."