The Best Small Business Ideas

Top Small Business Ideas and Tips

When you decide to start a small business, you need to determine what idea is going to work the best for you. There are often many ideas to choose from, but the world is changing and the entrepreneur has to change with it. So, in the 21st century, what ideas for a small business are the best? You have to consider how easy it is to start up, and how much it costs. So, here are some of the best businesses to start up as an entrepreneur

1. Yoga Instructor: You don’t need a studio, you can go directly to your clients and all you need is a yoga certification to start this job, making it very cheap to start.
2. Tutoring: If you are skilled in something, then being a tutor is a very cheap business to start. All you need are the books for what you are teaching and a few flyers put up around schools. At that point, you will have everything you need to start this business.
3. Consulting: If you are an expert in a particular sector, then you may want to start a business working as a consultant. You will help businesses and individuals do better in their industry by using your own knowledge to help them.
4. Medical/Legal Transcribing: If you can type fast, have the right equipment and can do a training course, then this is a good business to start because of its low cost and high demand.
5. Web Design: The internet has been around for 15 years, and yet there are still millions of people who need websites to add to the billions already online. If you can make a good web site and have the skills for it, then this is a good job for you. It will allow you to do business from home, while making a lot of money.
6. Photography: If you have a good camera, know how to use it and love to take pictures, then photography may be a good business for yourself. As a photographer, you would take pictures of families, birthdays, weddings, funerals and more. You will also be able to sell pictures online, while editing photos and selling them at everything from sporting matches to school events.
7. Interior Design: If you know how to make things look good and like to do interior design in your own home, then you may want to consider doing it in another person’s home. It is a good business that is easy to start up, cheap to run and highly in demand.
8. Personal Shopper: Do you love to shop and want to spend someone else’s money? Then you can shop for people who are too busy to shop for themselves. This is a good business that is fun, cheap and easy to start up.

As an entrepreneur, you need to find a business that is going to work for you but is going to be cheap to start up. The right business, at the right price, in the right market, can make you a lot of money.
First Published: Published on: Oct 24, 2010 EntrepreneurJourney.com

The Small Business Administration (SBA)

How The Small Business Administration Helps Entrepreneurs

In the United States, one of the most popular and widely used organizations for entrepreneurs is the Small Business Administration. This administration exists for the sole purpose of helping people start their own small business by offering resources and financial assistance to entrepreneurs.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has the mission to maintain and strengthen the nation’s economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters. While the SBA does not make loans directly to small businesses, they do help to educate and prepare an entrepreneur to apply for a loan through a financial institution. In addition, they will also serve as the guarantor for the loan with the bank. The administration will also help get government contracts for small businesses following natural disasters.

Since its creation, the SBA has directly or indirectly helped over 20 million businesses get off the ground, and in 2008 alone they had a loan portfolio of 219,000 loans, worth more than $84 billion, making them the largest single financial backer of business in the entire country.

The SBA was created in 1953 through the passing of the Small Business Act by congress. It was created to aid, counsel, assist and protect small business concerns. It was also stipulated that the SBA would provide fair proportion of government contracts and sales of surplus property to small businesses. Sadly, while the Small Business Administration has proven to be essential for millions of businesses, it has been nearly dismantled several times in its existence. In 1996, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives planned to end the agency but it survived and had a record budget in 2000. Four years later, the Bush Administration tried to end the loan program of the BA but was not able to, so the budget was cut and certain expenditures were frozen.

The SBA has several programs in place, with the most visible programs being the loan programs. Many believe that SBA loan programs are for those with bad credit who cannot get bank loans and need the SBA to effectively co-sign, but this is not the case. The primary uses of the loan programs are to make loans easier to pay, with less interest. Typically, the most common use of the SBA loan is for commercial mortgages on buildings that small businesses would like to build, or to move into.

The loan programs that the SBA helps to finance include:

1. Loan Guarantee Program: The 7(a) Loan Guarantee Program is designed to help a small business owner start and expand their business. It does this by making money available to the small business through the bank, or non-bank lending institutions. This is the most popular loan program administered through the Small Business Administration.
2. 504-Fixed Asset Financing Program: This program provides funding for the purchase and construction of real estate, or the purchase of machinery for a business. With this program, the lender will provide half the financing, while a Certified Development Company will provide 40 per cent of the financing through a SBA-guaranteed debenture. The last 10 per cent of the financing is provided by the applicant and due to the high amount of capital that is needed, this type of loan is much harder to get and aggressive vetting of any property purchased is done.
3. MicroLoan Program: This is a loan program that is provided through non-profit, microloan intermediaries to small businesses who have less than perfect credit. These loans are only up to $35,000 and can have a term length of no longer than eight years in total.
4. Economic Development Program: This program offers free counseling and low-cost financial training to small businesses.
5. 8(a) Businesses Development Program: This program offers assistance to the development of a small business that is owned/operated by someone who is classified as socially and economically disadvantaged. This typically means women and minorities.
6. Disaster Loan Program: Homeowners can receive long-term and low-interest loans to rebuild or repair a damaged property to pre-disaster conditions. The SBA will determine the cost of repairing or rebuilding the property structure, the ability of the applicant to repay the loan and whether or not the applicant can get credit elsewhere.

The SBA loan industry can be split up into three categories, which are:

1. The largest banks in the United States, which is typically the Bank of America and Wells Fargo, generate most of the SBA loans. These banks use computer systems that make the process much quicker to allow people to get loans through the SBA that they would not have been able to receive elsewhere.
2. SBA loans are used quite often by banks of all sizes to finance the purchase or construction of business owner-occupied real estate. Banks will offer loans through the SBA only for this purpose and only for properties and business owners that the bank would have found too risky to give money to on credit without the backing of the Small Business Administration. These often include gas stations, car washes and motels.
3. SBA loans are used to allow a person to buy a business. Commercial lenders will get a referral fee to business brokers who help someone buy or sell a business and for this reason, the funds for this typically come from smaller banks and finance companies that operate for this purpose specifically.

The Small Business Administration exists to help people start or continue to operate their business. In tough economic climates, the SBA can be one of the most beneficial and highly sought after organizations in the country for entrepreneurs. Anyone in the United States who is thinking about starting a business should seriously look to the Small Business Administration for assistance.

First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Oct 16, 2010

You Need Only One Strange Idea To Become A Successful Entrepreneur

Being An Entrepreneur With A Strange Idea

When we think of successful entrepreneurs, we think of Richard Branson and Bill Gates, two people who made huge companies out of nothing, making things people need. However, being an entrepreneur also means taking an idea no one has, and turning it into something people will want, even though they do not need what you are selling. Case in point, the pet rock, possibly one of the greatest entrepreneur stories of all time.

Gary Dahl was just an advertising executive from Los Gatos, California, when he hit upon a strange idea. He was sitting in a bar in 1975, listening to friends complain about their pets. From this, he hit upon the idea of creating the perfect pet, which led to the idea of selling rocks to people, complete with instructions. The manual stated that a rock did not need to be fed, walked, bathed, groomed, would not die, become sick or disobey you. He drafted the manual that night at home for the pet rock, filling it with gags and puns and making it seem as though the pet rock was an actual pet.

Dahl then went to a building supply store and bought a bunch of rocks, which he put in cardboard boxes with straw in them and breathing holes. In 1975, Dahl created Rock Bottom Productions, which sold rocks for $3.95. The manual was 32 pages long and was called The Care And Training Of Your Pet Rock, and had everything for caring for your pet rock including feeding and bathing it. It also showed how to teach the rock to sit and stay and even how to roll over, come and stand with help from the owner.  The expenses for this venture were minimal, with the biggest expense being the die cutting and manufacture of the boxes. The boxes themselves cost one penny, while the straw was free. Dahl also had a printing job for a client and had the manuals printed as part of it, meaning he had nearly no expenses for the pet rock.

The pet rock fad lasted for six months in total, but during that short run, which hit the Christmas season, millions of pet rocks were sold. From getting the idea for a pet rock in April 1975, to December 1975 when the fad ended, Dahl became a millionaire based on an idea most would have thought of as completely insane and doomed to failure.

The point of this story is to show that strange ideas can make a lot of money if you know how to market it properly. Selling rocks to people may seem stupid, but it made one man millions of dollars and it has served as an example of how being an entrepreneur can mean following your dreams and ideas and seeing them pay off for yourself. Sure, it only lasted six months but Dahl has more money than he needs now because he took a risk, which is what being an entrepreneur is all about.
First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Oct 3, 2010

Identify Today's Trends to Make Better Future Decisions

Internet Shopping Is On The Rise – Entrepreneurs Take Note

Statistics Canada says in a report that Canadians are shopping more online these days than ever before. Let’s look at some important highlights of the report:

- Canadians ordered $15.1 billion worth goods and services in 2009 (was 12.8 billion in 2007)

-39 per cent of Canadians (aged 16 and over) placed 95 million orders (was 32 per cent and 70 million orders in 2007)

- Average value per order stands at $158 (was $183 in 2007)

- Most common types of orders are: travel services and entertainment products such as books, clothing, magazines, accessories etc.

- 52 per cent Canadians went to research their products before buying at stores (43 per cent in 2007)

Now, here is what these highlights translate into in a broader sense:

- Although these stats represent Canada, the world’s one if the top developed countries – situations are no different in other developed countries and developing countries will soon follow.

- More and more people will be accessing the Internet.

- Online retailers will be seeing increased demand for their products and services

- Advertisement opportunities (for blogs and websites) will increase representing online retailers and stores.

- As people are spending more time on the Internet, researching before buying at physical stores and shopping online, content base websites or blogs will see a huge spike in traffic.

So, if you are an Internet entrepreneur, you should pay attention to these trends – people’s changing habits. The Internet will always provide money making opportunities for those who are able to identify, analyze, and utilize today’s trends to make better strategic decisions in the future.

First Published on: Sep 27, 2010 EntrepreneurJourney.com

How Big Companies Started For Nothing

Mega Companies Started For Nothing

There is a misconception that to have a huge mega-national company, you need to have a lot of money to start it up. However, the truth is that there is plenty well known companies that have started in a garage with next to nothing in funds. By looking at these companies, you can see that your dream of being a successful business owner can happen, even if you are just starting in a garage.

1. Whole Food Market: Started by a college dropout in 1978 and his 21-year-old girlfriend, the couple borrowed money from friends and family and opened up a store, which within one year resulted in them being evicted from their home because they used it as storage for storage. With no home and very little money, they moved and lived in the store. The couple lived in the store, bathed there using a water hose and tried to make ends meet. Within two years they merged with another store in Austin, Texas and increased the number of employees. In four years, the company expanded to other cities and today, is ranked 369 on the Fortune 500 with $3.2 billion in revenues.
2. Apple: Started in a garage by Steve Wozniack and Steve Jobs, these two men created a personal computer, which Wozniack designed and Jobs helped to sell. They were broke and had to order parts for their first purchase order on credit. The company now ranks 103 on the Fortune 500 and is one of the leading companies on the planet.
3. Dell: At one time, it was the largest seller of personal computers and servers on the planet. Currently ranked 34 on the Fortune 500, with $61 billion in revenue in 2008, the company was started in 1984 by Michael Dell in his dorm room with nothing more than a $1,000 investment. In 1985, the company produces its first computer and by 1988 had its first public offering worth $88 million.
4. Mattel: A married couple by the name of Ruth and Elliot Handler decided to start a company just after World War II in the garage of their California home. Initially a company to make picture frames, soon after opening they began to make dollhouses with scraps left over from the picture frames. Thanks to starting to make toys, and picture frames, just as the Baby Boomer were growing up, they were able to benefit immensely from this new and large market. By 1955, their company, Mattel, was sponsoring The Mickey Mouse Club and soon after that they created Barbie. Currently, they have a revenue of $6 billion and rank #413 on the Fortune 500.
5. Starbucks: In 1971, three academics used $1,350 they had to open a Starbucks location in downtown Seattle. After the opened, things were tough so they had to borrow $5,000 from a bank just to keep going. Initially just roasting coffee beans, the company began to sell coffee exclusively in the 1980s. In 1992, the company went public and had a rapid expansion in the 1990s, opening one store per day. The company currently ranks #277 on the Fortune 500 with revenues of $9.4 billion.

First Published: Sep 19, 2010 EntrepreneurJourney.com