The financials section of a business plan is where you document the numbers and convince investors that your company is a good risk.
Conventional wisdom is that you should have up to 12 months of living expenses put away before you start your own business, although the figure depends on a few factors.
Among the online resources are key government publications, forms, statistics and regulatory data that can help you plan for your small business.
No matter how much research and preparation you do, you will make mistakes when you start a business, but the common errors listed here may help you avoid a few.
Creating a clear job description before you begin the hiring process can help you choose the best candidate from a pool of applicants.
Just because you like an idea doesn't mean it makes a viable business. Research is the key to a wise go no-go decision.
Naming your business should be done carefully because this is a decision that you will have to live with for a long time.
The hypergrowth needs of fast-growth startups have turned the old rules of venture financing on their ear.
A partnership agreement can give you a framework for defining each partner's obligations, and settling the conflicts, disagreements and other issues that occur in every relationship.
Your business is growing and you're bringing in employees to expand your business. What could possibly go wrong? The answer is, a lot, if you don't hire the right people.
Developing a business idea is a matter of creating a vision, leveraging your strengths and determining what the market needs. These three steps should get you started.
One of the first questions you're likely to face when you decide to incorporate is where to locate your corporation.
Limited partnerships are typically used for real estate investing or in situations where a business is looking to finance expansion.
A limited liability company (LLC) has the liability protection of a corporation but the tax status of a partnership.
If you have business partners, you have the option of forming a partnership instead of incorporating.
While incorporation requires more paperwork and expense than sole proprietorship, it does give you one critical benefit - protection from liability.
The main difference between a C Corporation and other business structures is that a C Corporation files and pays corporate income taxes directly.
If you have chosen to organize your company as a corporation, you are legally required to have a board of directors.
The primary benefit of being a non-profit (or not-for-profit) corporation is that you are exempt from paying income taxes.
Sole proprietorship is the quickest and easiest business structure to adopt. If you don't incorporate and don't have a partner, you are automatically a sole proprietor.
S Corporation status gives you the liability protection of a corporation, and allows you to pay taxes on the same basis as a sole proprietor or partnership, that means you pay tax at the personal rate and your profits are your salary.
Groups of certain professionals can form corporations knows as professional corporations or professional service corporations.
