Sable
Jun 12th, 2004, 06:28:31 PM
Anyone who currently or has in the past owned/operated their own business.
I'm in the very beginning stages of opening my own business. At the moment, I'm working on writing out a business plan. A co-worker and I had been talking for the past few months about our own businesses. The more she heard about what it is that I plan to open, the more excited she has become and has been a terrific moral supporter thus far. She's informed me of a free resource in the town that I live in that is run by retired successful businessmen. They help you every step of the way in opening/owning your own business. I do plan to take advantage of this resource and I do plan to participate in some of the workshops they offer. They do charge a small fee of roughly $20.00 to take part in these workshops, but I don't think that is a bad price. My co-worker has been working with these guys for the past three months as she works on getting her own studio open and she swears by them.
What I am hoping for in this thread is for some tips and advice, maybe a few words of encouragement because to be quite honest, I shake like a leaf whenever I think about the company I will open. I shake from fear, as well as excitement. I know it will be successful, so I have no fear of failure. I won't let it fail. However, this is a huge step for me and symbolizes much more than what most will realize, so it's a bit scary.
:) I already have the name for it, I'm working on getting its own domain and I have begun working on both the website and the Commerce site for it. The only obstacle I will truly have is financial. Though, there are many government grants available to me which I can apply for in starting up this venture, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed in that arena.
I have found a website that details what is necessary in a business plan, and I've printed out the pages so that I can refer to it often as I begin to write my own. (I may end up re-writing it several times as I am my own worst critic when it comes to reading anything I write).
I've also got a huge list of things to do in order to get it to the point of actually opening. So, any tips, advice, humor and tales of how much hard work (Yes, I do realize all of the hours and hard work I will be putting into this, but for me - its well worth it), success and failure stories are appreciated.
I'm in the very beginning stages of opening my own business. At the moment, I'm working on writing out a business plan. A co-worker and I had been talking for the past few months about our own businesses. The more she heard about what it is that I plan to open, the more excited she has become and has been a terrific moral supporter thus far. She's informed me of a free resource in the town that I live in that is run by retired successful businessmen. They help you every step of the way in opening/owning your own business. I do plan to take advantage of this resource and I do plan to participate in some of the workshops they offer. They do charge a small fee of roughly $20.00 to take part in these workshops, but I don't think that is a bad price. My co-worker has been working with these guys for the past three months as she works on getting her own studio open and she swears by them.
What I am hoping for in this thread is for some tips and advice, maybe a few words of encouragement because to be quite honest, I shake like a leaf whenever I think about the company I will open. I shake from fear, as well as excitement. I know it will be successful, so I have no fear of failure. I won't let it fail. However, this is a huge step for me and symbolizes much more than what most will realize, so it's a bit scary.
:) I already have the name for it, I'm working on getting its own domain and I have begun working on both the website and the Commerce site for it. The only obstacle I will truly have is financial. Though, there are many government grants available to me which I can apply for in starting up this venture, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed in that arena.
I have found a website that details what is necessary in a business plan, and I've printed out the pages so that I can refer to it often as I begin to write my own. (I may end up re-writing it several times as I am my own worst critic when it comes to reading anything I write).
I've also got a huge list of things to do in order to get it to the point of actually opening. So, any tips, advice, humor and tales of how much hard work (Yes, I do realize all of the hours and hard work I will be putting into this, but for me - its well worth it), success and failure stories are appreciated.