First Things Needed When Starting a Home Business

• When starting a home business, you may need a small business license from your local city hall. If you are selling only used goods obtained from garage sales or flea markets you may not need a business license.
  
• Obtain a sales tax resale number if you are going to purchase merchandise for resale from a wholesale company. Check with your Chamber of Commerce and they will tell you where to obtain a resale number, usually for just a small fee.
  
• Where will the money come from to finance your enterprise? Where is the best small business funding available? From my experience, the best and safest sources of funding is from your savings and from your present job. Another good source is from friends or relatives that you convince and who want to invest in your small business.
  
• If you can avoid it, credit cards and loans are, in my opinion, the worst source of money for most small business start-ups. That's because small business loans and credit cards encourage entrepreneurs to spend more, and overspending, especially for beginners, is a main reason for small business failure.
  
• You will need office working area and equipment. For office equipment, you will need a desk, a good arm chair, lamps, file cabinet, computer, combination fax/printer/scanner, and possibly a separate phone line (or cell phone), devoted just for your small business. Depending on your business selection, your office and working space can vary considerably, from under $1000 to $10,000 or much more.
  
• Depending on the type of small business you are starting, you almost certainly need a computer, at least for bookkeeping, research, and advertising. If your business is computer based, for example, a small business doing Web Sight Design, the computer will be your main piece of equipment. Computers range in price from about $500 to $2500, depending on your needs.
  
• If you are going to sell on the Internet, pictures are critical. You will need a digital camera, (many cell phone cameras work well enough too), to easily transfer pictures to your website or your listings on eBay, Craigslist, or other advertising website.
  You can purchase high quality digital or other photographic equipment on eBay at very reasonable prices. I recommend not buying a cheap digital camera, but invest in a good one. For my own use, I have a Canon that I paid $250 for, it works great, that I bought at a local camera shop.
  I also have a Droid 3 cell phone that takes incredibly good macro close-ups, plus it takes great videos. If you can afford the $400 or so price tag on a Droid 3, I highly recommend one. And if you have a Verizon Wireless subscription, you can get this cell phone for about $100 by signing one of their two year contracts. (By the way, I'm in no way affiliated with Verizon Wireless, I'm just suggesting this particular cell phone for your benefit and because it works very well for me).
  
• Home business advertising is a must. Without advertising, how will people know about your business? So somehow get the word out with business cards, brochures, flyers, and any way that you can. Craigslist.org and Upillar.com offer free classified ads for those starting a home business.

The Main Things to Include in Your Business Plan Are

• Executive Summary. A summary of the most important aspects of your business. It's usually one or two pages in length, but you can try to keep it to just one page. The Executive Summary is probably the most important part of the small business plan that you will write, because it may be the only part of the plan that most other people will read in detail. Include here a description of your small business and its uniqueness. What advantages over its competitors does your small business have?
  
• Mission Statement. This expresses what the business is and what it stands for. The Mission Statement should not be confused with Business Goals below. A mission statement deals with your business philosophy, business goals are what you can realistically achieve as far as monetary gains.
  
• Business Goals. Establish here specific, measurable (usually monetary), achievable, and time-targeted goals for the first and subsequent years. Your goals should express a sense of direction and purpose.
  
• Market Description. Include here a description of the particular market your business is competing in, for example, selling automobiles on eBay.com, an online auction website. Be specific. Try to give basic information about the market, briefly but in some depth also. Include exactly who your target customers are and needs you are fulfilling better than your competitors.
  If you like, include a market analysis table, chart, and text, not shown here, but you can see them on my Business Plan Template page (new window). If youinclude tables and charts in your business plan, it does add color, understanding, interest, and ease of reading to such business documents. It also gives your small business plan, or other business document, a more professional look.
  
• Product and Services. Describe why you are in business and list your products or services, including prices. Everyone is going to want to know, of course, what you are selling.
  
• Management Summary. This includes a description of top management and what value they bring to the company as far as skills and experience. If there are many involved in top management, an organization chart showing a flow of responsibility would be helpful. Many business plans will include here a chart showing a yearly payroll summary for all employees of the business.
  Also describe the legal structure of your business. That is, what is the legal form of its ownership? Is it a sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership, or other?
  
• Financial Capacity. Provide here an estimate of start-up costs, projected balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The cash flow statement essentially shows the flow of cash into and out of a business. A balance sheet lists business assets, liabilities, and ownership equity.
  The income statement shows how money is or will be received into the business or revenue, expenses, and net income, after expenses are deducted from the revenue (this is often called the "bottom line"). The balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement are usually projected for five years.

A well written business plan should help greatly to make your business more credible to someone other than yourself (for example, a prospective investor or bank), who is unfamiliar with the business. Writing a plan will not guarantee success, but it can go a long way toward reducing the odds of failure too.
If you plan on seeking financial assistance such as a bank or government loan or perhaps a small business start up grant to help fund your business, the lending or other organization will no doubt require a more formal business plan from you.
For expert help in developing a professional looking small business plan I highly recommend Business Plan Pro by Palo Alto Software. Why? It's not because Business Plan Pro is the least expensive business plan software available. It's not! But I can tell you this, and you know it too, the cheapest is not always the best you can do!
It's my opinion that Business Plan Pro is the easiest, most versatile, most popular business plan software available. Believe me, especially if you are a beginner at small business start-up and business plans, the small amount of money you spend on Business Plan Pro will save you time, money, and mental fatigue!
Another great thing about this software, and what makes it the most unique, is that it provides hundreds and hundreds of ready made, perfect, sample professional business plans, that you can see, study, and modify any way you want, and, each comes complete with terrific functions that will provide you great layouts and graphs for a truly professional looking business plan, that you can be proud of!

It really is the easiest way to produce an excellent business plan for you. Hey! If you learn how to write business plans the Palo Alto way, you could possibly even start your own small business writing business plans for others.

What Are Some Advantages to Starting a Small Business on the Web?

• It depends on the product line, but the typical annual gross earnings can have a greater potential than many high salary jobs.
  
• Small business start-up costs are usually much lower on the Web, especially when compared to traditional ways of marketing.
  
• Overall, it's easier to sell products over the Web. Even One person can handle day-to-day processing of orders.
  
• Marketing on your own website, Amazon.com, other websites, like example, eBaycan be much more profitable when compared to other types of marketing, such as selling from a brick & mortar type storefront shop or a mail order business.
  
• Creating a website business can be started on a part time basis without leaving your full time job.
  
• no fixed hours; the Web is open 24/7.
  
• You can specialize in merchandise that would not sell enough to support a shop;sell products or services that express your favorite hobbies or passions.
  
• Your income does not need to stop when you take time off.
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Why Start a Small Business?

Are you thinking about opening a small business? Millions of people just like you have not only thought about it, but have actually done it, and many with great success.

There are many good reasons to start your own small business:

• Starting a small business can create for you a more flexible lifestyle, especially if you start a business from home. A small business start up can give you more of an opportunity to do those things that you would most enjoy doing and spending your time with in life. Many, many people have already found the greater freedom you are looking for. You can find it too!
• With unemployment and job dissatisfaction at all time highs, a small business start-up can turn out to be terrific insurance against a job layoff, or at least provide you much needed extra income. And who knows? It could be the start of a new and exciting career for you!
• It's a great way to have a career that is all yours and YOU'RE THE BOSS!
• Is daily exercise and healthy diet important to you? With your own home business, and a more flexible lifestyle, you may be able to more easily schedule your working time around your health program.
• Have a need to satisfy that creative drive in you? There is more than enough opportunity for this in producing a successful small business.
• Research has found that nearly half of the world's richest people are entrepreneurs, making opening a small business the number one way to get rich, and sometimes very rich.

Banking Services Business Guide: Commercial Loans and Investment Banking

Running and maintaining a business today is a complex process that requires a mix of investment banking and managing commercial loans for starting and expanding a business. Commercial loans are the building blocks of any business and are often used to purchase inventory and hire employees during the lean times where there aren't many profits.

Investment banking covers a large variety of banking operations, from asset management and trading securities to advice on finance and investing. This allows businesses to understand and develop their business model, see where they can eliminate expenditures, increase revenue, and get them in touch with investors. Investment banking can help a struggling business thrive and aid a successful business to go even further.

Benefits

Being a business owner isn't easy, and it is in the bank's best interest to help you in any way possible. A successful business means more revenue for the bank in the form of deposits and interest. Most banks provide investment banking services for a small fee and some opportunities free of charge.

Building a Business

Many people don't have the ability to save enough money for all expenses when they start a business. There are many expenses, such as purchasing an initial inventory, renting, or buying a business space as well as buying necessary business components like cash registers and computers. Commercial loans provide the initial capital for these purchases, and investment banking provides the needed advice and direction on starting a business. Most businesses require a business plan before approval for a commercial loan because 50 percent of start-ups fail in the first year.

Expanding a Businesses

Success is a wonderful feeling, and those businesses lucky enough to experience it discover that they can increase their profits by adding a new product, starting a franchise, or adding more employees. Investment bankers can help them see the pros and cons of expanding their business and the various options available to the business owner. Once a course of action has been determined, the business owner can apply for a commercial loan to help finance the expansion. If the business has been successful, then it can put up a portion of the money and finance the rest.

Avoiding a Bad Decision

The thrill of owning a business can be appealing to many people, but many businesses fail because of poor planning. They don't take into account all the variables such as taxes, supply and demand, and advertising. An investment banker can help them understand these variables and prevent them from making a mistake that could lead to closure or bankruptcy. A bank will not provide a commercial loan unless they feel that the risk of default is low. Denial of a loan can be avoided by crafting a proper and believable business plan.

Greater Profit

Financial advisement given by an investment banker is based on sound advice and foundations of economics. He understands the trends in business and can determine what businesses are the best to invest in. This advice can lead to great profits if the businesses he recommends succeed using the invested money.

Pitfalls

No investment has zero risk, and there is always the possibility of business failure. These are the pitfalls of starting and investing in a business. Business plans and models don't always go according to plan.

Master's programme in Business Administration

The Master's programme in Business Administration at VU University Amsterdam is the only programme of its kind in the Netherlands that focuses on business services, the largest and fastest growing sector in the Dutch economy. The teaching staff provides an ideal combination of scholarship and hands-on experience. Much of the teaching takes place in small groups with real-life cases.

Situated on Amsterdam's South axis, VU University Amsterdam is strategically placed at the very hub of the business services sector, home to large and small finance and IT companies, as well as employment agencies, haulage contractors and consultancy firms, all bringing extra dynamism to the programme.

Master´s specialization in Information & Knowledge Management provides students with a thorough academic understanding of the new organizational and technological challenges in managing information and knowledge processes. Students are called on to think creatively and critically while searching for innovative solutions for the management needs of many types of organizations in both the public and corporate setting.

The courses in this specialization focus on the interactions between the individuals, organizations and partners involved in these processes - and how they relate to organizational and technological characteristics. The specialization has a strong academic focus: the emphasis is on studying and refining theory and conducting research.

As a Business Administration graduate, you are likely to find a suitable job very quickly. Your career could take any number of directions. You might become a business analyst, a consultant or an operational controller. Or perhaps you would prefer to be a management trainee, an IT consultant or an account manager? Of course, you will also be extremely well-equipped for entrepreneurship.

Business Communications

The successful conduct of business demands effective communication, and you can hone your skills and gain valuable new knowledge with a major in Business Communications. What’s the best way to communicate on the Internet? How do you effectively incorporate visual aids into a presentation? Answering these questions and many more will be part of your studies in Business Communications.

Speaking skills are of primary importance to a successful career in business. You’ll learn how to interview, make presentations, deliver a ceremonial speech, or explain a policy analysis. You’ll get practice in nonverbal communication, like visual aids, to underscore your points. You’ll analyze audiences in order to compose an appropriate speech for them. You’ll examine numerical data, such as survey results, and translate that data into helpful information. You’ll learn how to communicate policy changes to your employees and discover the best ways to use the Internet for the dissemination of information. You’ll learn how to communicate in a crisis and how to develop and maintain good public relations

You can apply most of what you learn in your Business Communications major to dealings with your own employees, co-workers, or the public. A major in Business Communications could greatly extend your career success.