Starting a Business

Many people often dream of starting a business of their own. While these entrepreneurs in-the-making may have terrific ideas, they may not know quite where to start given all the issues associated with complying with federal and state laws, accounting and so on. Below, we have assembled lots of information, tools and links pertaining to starting your own business. So, this page is a great place to start your new business planning research.

First, click on the links below to launch audio clips of a recent study that was done by Intuit in which they examine the significant trends affecting small business over the next decade. Learn how these concepts apply to entrepreneurs in the Lehigh Valley.

Phase 1 - The Changing Faces of Entrepreneurs Listen to this audio that discusses how the most diverse pool of entrepreneurs will drive American small business. The report looks at who they are and the factors driving them - everything from job insecurity to early entrepreneurial education.

Phase 2 - The Connected World of Entrepreneurs Listen to this audio that examines the technologies that will propel and transform the small business sector. The report finds that social connectivity, wireless networks and mobile communications and computing devices are redefining the boundries of presence and location, affording entrepreneurs the flexibility to do business virtually anywhere.

Phase 3 - The New Entrepreneurial Economy Listen to his video which reveals that concepts from the first and second report installments are shaping an environment where small businesses can thrive. The report addresses small business collaboration with big business, access to enhanced computing power and global marketplace.

Articles of "need to know" information related to starting your new business

How to write a business plan  - Discusses the issues involved with writing this important document.
Selecting a name for your business - Discusses some of the factors to consider.
Business entities - A discussion of the different choices and the attributes of each.
Filing new business registrations - Discusses some of the applications and forms to be filed when starting up.
How to setup a bookkeeping system - Discusses the recordkeeping requirements of a business.
Risk management - Provides a general overview of the different types of insurance coverages for businesses.
10 business planning ideas - for starting and running a successful business.

Business planning tools - Just click on any one of the following calculators

Starting Costs Calculator - What does it cost to start a business? This simple starting cost calculator can help you estimate.

Cash Flow Calculator - Cash flow is critical, but not intuitive. Don't confuse profits for cash in the bank - they are not the same thing.

Investor Offering Calculator - In the classic start-up situation, investors purchase a share of a new company for an amount of money. They expect a return on that investment porportional to the degree of risk they are assuming. Two classic financial formulas to determine this are the "Net Present Value" and the "Internal Rate of Return". Use this tool to evaluate both sides of the table - what the investor gets, and what the company gives up.

Discounted Cash Flow Calculator - Analysts use the concept of discounted cash flows to explore the "time value of money" under the financial principal that money today is worth more than the same amount of money later in future.

Use these calculator tools for your website business

Email ROI Calculator - Use to evaluate your email campaigns. (But, enough with spam - okay? We're all sick of it!)

Conversion Rate Calculator - Evaluate your conversion rate affect on sales.

We also have a "New Business Starter Kit" CD-Rom for you.
It's loaded with lots of helpful information on a variety of topics related to launching and sustaining a new business.  For example:

1) A new business checklist of things to do when starting a business.
2) Ways to manage your cash flow
3) Ideas for marketing and gaining new customers
4) Help for business in preparing for tax filings
5) Legal tips for how to structure your business, creating contracts etc.
6) Help in creating a business plan
7) Things to know about hiring employees and setting up payroll
8) 10 mistakes that every new business needs to avoid
9) QuickBooks trial software that you can load directly from this CD

Click here to request this CD