TipHero - Your Guide to Saving Money   Tip Hero serves up fresh money-saving tips daily,
with over 1,700 tips shared by readers to date.
 
  GET FREE UPDATES:

 
Tips by Category:
 
COMPARE PRICES
ON TRAVEL
Search Over 40 Websites for Cheap Airfares and More
 
ECO-FRIENDLY
DEALS & GIVEAWAYS
Get the Latest Offers Sent to Your Inbox Weekly for Free
 
 
Personal Finance
Home > Personal Finance > Topics:  Extra Income
-----------------------------------------
Tips for Starting Your Own Business

Submitted by: anonymous  08/06/2009 8:30 PM
 
I did not have the education pedigree that I needed to get hired into a career I wanted to try... I didn't have even a two-year degree. Yet I felt confident I could do that job. I faced an education bias.....

So I started my own business in that field and ended up earning way more than had I worked for someone else. That bias ended up being a positive; it is only because I knew no one would hire me that it even occurred to me to start a business.

I agree it is a little tricky to start businesses. A couple of points:

Keep your investment and overhead very low in the beginning, until you know if your venture will work. I invested $1500 to get started. I did not upgrade equipment, rent a business space or hire anyone until my business generated the surplus income to pay for those things. Service businesses are best... for example being a consultant in your field of expertise.

Second, live cheap. The only criteria determining if a business is successful is if it generates enough income for your needs. So the less you need, the greater chances your business will be successful.

Editor's Note: This tip was originally submitted as a comment in response to the question Any Ideas for Jobs Post-Retirement?

---
sponsored: Find More Frugal Ideas & Money Saving Tips.
---
Tip Hero serves up new money-saving tips daily.
Get free updates via Email , RSS or Twitter.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Comments:
 
.................................
 
Here's another tip that I learned from Dave Ramsey that is a corollary to the rule of keeping "your investment and overhead low in the beginning": never borrow money to start a business.

Save up till you have the investment required to start the business. If you borrow and the business fails, then you're saddled with the debt.

In my opinion, this is sound advice. Furthermore, putting your own cash on the line is a good test of your commitment to the idea. It's another example of why people spend less when they use cash vs. a credit card.
 
Posted by G. E. Swain on August 14, 2009 11:12 AM
.................................
 
I really like the author's comment of:

"Second, live cheap. The only criteria determining if a business is successful is if it generates enough income for your needs. So the less you need, the greater chances your business will be successful."

This really resonated with me because I'm transitioning from working for an employer to becoming a freelance writer. Fortunately, I'm completely debt free and own my car. I recently sold my home and I'm downsizing to a more manageable, less-expensive lifestyle.

My first writing assignment is for a prepaid debit card and I'm really enjoying the freedom of working for a client. This assignment has also helped me rededicate myself to staying more disciplined with my budget!

Thanks for your post!
 
Posted by Kimberly A. Griffiths on October 04, 2009 5:38 PM
.................................
 
When starting your own business, go to your local chamber of commerce and ask to speak to local, retired business men/women (the chamber often times has the names of successful business leaders in the community who are willing to donate their time to coach you along)so that you may learn from their mistakes or get pointers from them. Our community has a group who call themselves the SCORE team (Senior Core of Retired Entreprenuers) who give wonderful advice and will tell you what they think of your business venture.
 
Posted by a nurse in Naples on November 01, 2009 6:23 AM
.................................
 
Does anyone know legitimate sites that show you how to get government grants to start up new small businesses? All I ever see on the web is "free gov. grants" which cost you an arm and a leg to get just the listings.
 
Posted by I have an idea on November 01, 2009 6:25 AM
.................................
 
Government grants are tough to come by and the SBA small business assoc which used to be a main sources of funding has cut lending in half. Maybe instead of looking for a grant you can re-tool your business idea into something smaller that you can start, even part time with the money you have available.

Don't know what you business idea is but maybe thinking about it as online only, not bricks and mortar, homebased or using an incubator or office suite if you need that type of thing.
 
Posted by alicia on November 05, 2009 2:55 PM
.................................
 
-----------------------------------------
Share Your Comments:
 
Comments may need to be approved before they are displayed.
 
Comments:
Name (leave blank if you want to be anonymous):
Email Address (your email address will not be displayed):
Website URL (not required; please do not include "http://"):