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Thread: Worried about starting a small business

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    Senior Member Sad Sally's Avatar
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    Default Worried about starting a small business

    So I've always wanted to own my own small business. I decided a year ago that I would like to open a socks and stockings shop. With the economy doing so badly I am now thinking about trying to open an online socks and stockings shop to reduce my overhead, but I am still worried and discouraged.

    Here is a link to my favorite online sock shop to give you an idea of what I wanna do.

    http://www.sockdreams.com/_pages/index.php

    Anyone have any advice or words of encouragement?

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    I've seen that website before & adore it!

    Get your business license (generally they run about $50), a good CPA who can show you how to set up your accounting etc, & a great web designer who is familiar with online shopping.
    Don't you ever sleep?
    Not at night...that's when the stars have rather better things to do. They're coming out, shining, that sort of thing.
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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Agreed that attempting to sell high quality 'niche market' products to 'rich' customers is one of the few 'fertile' areas for cultivating a new business. The socks and stockings idea would seem to fit right into this 'fertile' area.

    In regard to 'overhead', however, websites may avoid storefront rental costs but they do involve other 'overhead' expenses i.e. web hosting, credit card merchant account processing, bandwidth costs etc. Granted that these 'overhead' costs will be lower for a 'G rated' online retail business than for 'X rated' websites, but they are far from zero ! There is also the 'overhead' costs of online 'advertising' to consider i.e. paying search engines to list your website.

    However, for the most part, these online 'overhead' costs are not directly proportional to sales volume. As such, if you can manage to grow your website sales volume to the point of 'breaking even' versus 'overhead' costs, any additional increases in sales volume will add greatly to the 'bottom line' of your online business.

    Again I'll go back to recent analytics on what sort of Americans are spending money versus what sort of Americans are not. In general, upscale retail product offerings ( i.e. BMW, Tiffany etc. ) are going gangbusters, and downscale retail product offerings ( i.e. Hyundai, WalMart etc.) are hanging in there, while 'middle of the road' offerings ( i.e. Toyota, JC Penney etc. ) are doing poorly. Arguably, this follows the 'rich are getting richer' interpretation ( i.e. plenty of investment earnings with which to fund spending sprees) ... as well as the middle class being hard pressed interpretation (i.e. rising prices for 'essential' expenditures pressuring middle class customers to do more shopping at lowest priced downscale retailers). As such you'll need to be careful in selection of your product line, as well as in the presentation, to try and assure that you are appealing to the 'rich' !

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    Senior Member Sad Sally's Avatar
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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Thanks Melonie.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    However, First thing you do is get your tax ID from irs.gov THEN apply for a business license (You won't be able to get a business license without this in most cases) THEN get a CPA

    You also don't need to hire a designer.. You can get a readymade eccomerce template like this one here.. . Website design for these things are really unnceccesary but it all depends on what YOU want.

    I also highly recommend this free guide.


    Good luck!


    Just fyi, I'll be registering my non adult business next week.

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    Senior Member Sad Sally's Avatar
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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    I already got my tax ID, fictitious business name, and business license. Right now I am writing up my business plan, doing market research, and figuring out vendors. Vendor searching is fun. Doing market research...not so fun.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Quote Originally Posted by Sad Sally View Post
    I already got my tax ID, fictitious business name, and business license. Right now I am writing up my business plan, doing market research, and figuring out vendors. Vendor searching is fun. Doing market research...not so fun.
    Smartie! Good luck!

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Quote Originally Posted by Sad Sally View Post
    I already got my tax ID, fictitious business name, and business license. Right now I am writing up my business plan, doing market research, and figuring out vendors. Vendor searching is fun. Doing market research...not so fun.
    Wow!, if you've accomplished all of that you are way ahead of most people who dream or talk about opening their own business. It's sounds like you have the desire and passion to do it and as you've already completed the steps to be in business it seems like you are serious and have the right mentality to succeed. My only suggestion from this point on would be to think and act with great confidence that this business is going to be a big success. You will of course still have to dot the i's and cross the t's but if you have the attitude of assured success, people will get caught up in it and will help you make it so.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post

    Again I'll go back to recent analytics on what sort of Americans are spending money versus what sort of Americans are not. In general, upscale retail product offerings ( i.e. BMW, Tiffany etc. ) are going gangbusters, and downscale retail product offerings ( i.e. Hyundai, WalMart etc.) are hanging in there, while 'middle of the road' offerings ( i.e. Toyota, JC Penney etc. ) are doing poorly. Arguably, this follows the 'rich are getting richer' interpretation ( i.e. plenty of investment earnings with which to fund spending sprees) ... as well as the middle class being hard pressed interpretation (i.e. rising prices for 'essential' expenditures pressuring middle class customers to do more shopping at lowest priced downscale retailers). As such you'll need to be careful in selection of your product line, as well as in the presentation, to try and assure that you are appealing to the 'rich' !
    Toyota just made over $2 billion in profit this past year, and is forecasting more.

    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/toy...fit-2010-05-11

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Quote Originally Posted by Sad Sally View Post
    Vendor searching is fun. Doing market research...not so fun.
    Vendor searching is very very fun. Market Research not so much BUT please keep us updated!

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    If you want to start out selling a product without much overhead, one of the best places to start is Ebay.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Thanks for all the support guys. I feel super excited about the whole thing, but sometimes I read too many depressing news articles about our economic recovery and I get down about my business idea. I'll try and stay more positive

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    You don't have to start out big. You can do something small on the internet and build your business up from there.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Steve Jobs started building computers in his garage and Michael Dell started selling computers out of his college dormitory.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Quote Originally Posted by eagle2 View Post
    Steve Jobs started building computers in his garage and Michael Dell started selling computers out of his college dormitory.
    The equivalent to that these days would be selling solar panels and other alternative energy options.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    I would say try to stay away from web templates. Most people, even if they don't know it can sense when they are looking at a cookie cutter web template. Go for something original that suits your needs and keep it looking CLASSY. I myself work as a web developer and do everything from scratch. So if you can afford the overhead, get someone to build you something beautiful and original by hand. No built-in shopping carts, no dreamweaver, none of that...

    If you can't afford it, use a neat looking template to start and upgrade ASAP. It really makes a difference.

    Another good idea is to launch some sort of analytics program when you launch your site. Google has a free one that is pretty good, and an even better one if you pay a monthly fee. That way you can see who is viewing your site most often, where they are viewing it from, what kind of computer/browser they are using, and how they are finding your site (VERY important for driving up business!). All of that can help you with your SEO which will help you get more traffic and more business!

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    ^^^ good idea on the analytics, but these days the answer is fairly predictable. The majority of web traffic originates from the larger search engines ... which for the most part require a hefty monthly payment in exchange for prominent search engine placement.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Quote Originally Posted by CaseyLace View Post
    I would say try to stay away from web templates. Most people, even if they don't know it can sense when they are looking at a cookie cutter web template. Go for something original that suits your needs and keep it looking CLASSY. I myself work as a web developer and do everything from scratch. So if you can afford the overhead, get someone to build you something beautiful and original by hand. No built-in shopping carts, no dreamweaver, none of that...

    Ummm the templates I was talking about aren't "cheap looking" or "cookie cutter" I know better. I have seen cookie cutter templates but these are pretty top notch. There's something for everyone on the link I posted

    Another thing is you can buy exclusive rights to these templates. They are a bit pricey but it could be worth it. Honestly I wouldn't recommend the OP fork over an insane amount of cash to a site designer being that this is a NEW business. Starting a business is about starting small then growing from there...

    Quote Originally Posted by CaseyLace View Post

    Another good idea is to launch some sort of analytics program when you launch your site. Google has a free one that is pretty good, and an even better one if you pay a monthly fee. That way you can see who is viewing your site most often, where they are viewing it from, what kind of computer/browser they are using, and how they are finding your site (VERY important for driving up business!). All of that can help you with your SEO which will help you get more traffic and more business!
    And this is just common sense. Any knowledgeable entrepreneur knows this. The OP sounds very knowledgeable.
    Last edited by malayataylor; 08-08-2010 at 12:37 PM.

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    Senior Member Sad Sally's Avatar
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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    I'd like to have a site built from scratch. Does anyone know what that runs? I was hoping not more than $600 or $700.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Quote Originally Posted by Sad Sally View Post
    I'd like to have a site built from scratch. Does anyone know what that runs? I was hoping not more than $600 or $700.
    For what you're wanting to start I'd guess at least $800 and up. This is why I recommended getting a template and customize it. If you're gonna have a payment processor integrated and all.. Oh you're looking at a nice chunk. Shop around and get some quotes. GL!

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Basic site design...500-1500
    Coding....about the same
    Ecommerce store...500+
    Hosting....175/yr
    Domain $10
    Merchant account 150-500 plus monthly and per transaction fees at $50/mo usually plus a couple % per sale

    I strongly suggest an llc to protect your other assets.

    Have you looked into being an affiliate for a larger co?

    Also, check out yahoo stores

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    Quote Originally Posted by malayataylor View Post
    And this is just common sense. Any knowledgeable entrepreneur knows this. The OP sounds very knowledgeable.
    I don't think I have offended her, but clearly I have offended you somehow. I'm sorry my advice was not up to par.

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    Default Re: Worried about starting a small business

    No offense here. Thanks all for the sound advice.

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