The threat of new entrants is a constant and consistent one. You have the advantage in that your business is established, but that\'s no guarantee that a serious threat will not rise up to compete with you. In fact, it\'s pretty much assured that eventually somebody will either improve on your product, or they will find some new product that will supersede yours. There are two ways to combat this threat. The first is to keep innovating. Don\'t sit on your laurels, no matter how good your business is doing. Continue to search out new ideas and new talent and take risks, or risk your business. Secondly, establish a customer base. Keeping customer loyalty will be your best protection against the threat of new competitors. Always act in the interests of providing a quality product or service and you\'ll have a good, solid base when somebody eventually tries to woo them away from you.

You might want to consider franchising. A lot of young people, not ready to start working in the corporate world while things are still so volatile, are instead opening and running franchises of popular businesses. It lowers the risk that they run when they get in, but allows them enough freedom to operate themselves. Another option is to start an internet-based business. With less overhead and a wider access to potential customers, it\'s sometimes easier to get started without corporate backing. Finally, look into taking partners. You\'re not the only person struggling in this economy just out of school. Find people with similar interests and vision and start a business together.

The first place you should look is a good local library, usually a major city or a university one. They\'ll have a wealth of information about local business, free for you to find. Next, find a good business consultant. We would like to humbly suggest speaking to the good people at EM Advisory Corp. Finally, make an appointment to speak to the people at the local US Small Business Administration. They\'ll be able to help get you on the right track.

Not every business can, but 20% of small businesses are run out of homes directly. Contact your local SBA and Chamber of Commerce for information on what types of permits you\'ll need.

That\'s not an easy question to answer. It depends on what your business is, how long you\'ve been running it, where it is now, what the demand is, and several other factors. The advantage to leasing, of course, is that you aren\'t sinking as much money into the location right now, but it leave you with no resale or salvage value. Take some time to do a detailed cost analysis, especially with your financial planner. This is not an easy decision to make, and your best bet is to learn as much as you can about your specific situation before moving forward.

It very much depends on your business, but if you\'re running a small storefront in a local area, then location can be incredibly important. What you need to consider when choosing a location is availability of your prospective clientele, their ability to access your establishment, the potential employee pool, and the number of competitors nearby. Be sure to be liberal in your definition of "competitor" when you\'re considering this. Just because you run a bakery doesn\'t mean the sports bar down the way won\'t be drawing people into large, filling meals and pouring lots of alcohol that could prevent them from taking advantage of your lovely Black & White cookies.

The first thing you should do is consult an accountant or financial planner as they will be able to answer your questions in much more detail than we can here. That being said, at the very minimum, your records should show your tax returns, both federal and state, including income tax and Social Security, requests for credit from vendors or bank loans, and claims about the business in regards to selling it. However, we suggest that you keep much more detailed records than this that include credits and debits for the day, payroll, etc. A professional financial planner can help you determine what you need for your specific business.

There\'s no way to anticipate your profits exactly before you actually make them, but there are ways to estimate them. There are standards of comparison called "industry norms and ratios" that are used by businesses to figure out roughly how much a business should be making in an area. They\'re broken down by standard industry classification (SIC) code by assets and size, and you can look up the kind of business you\'re in in your area. Several groups keep copies of these ratios, but you can usually find them at your local library or by contacting the SBA.

There are three things any loan officer is going to want to know: what you\'ll use the loan for, how much you want, and how will you repay it. These three things comprise the big question "Why should we give you money?" Be ready with a smart, well organized business plan that outlines projected financial statements, as well as the name, location, and production facilities of the company. You\'ll also want to have in there your legal structure, marketing structure, business organization, and your qualifications to run this type of business, as well as the qualifications of key people in your prospective company. A well-written business plan is a good beginning when it comes to looking for start-up capital. If you need help writing one, you can find an almost limitless number of templates online or hire somebody like the people at our sister site EM Advisory Corp to help you write it.

First, let me suggest that you work very closely with your financial adviser and accountant when making any decisions regarding the financial health of your business. That being said, what you\'ll need as far as start-up capital begins with equipment and building needs such as lease, equipment rental and purchase, and upkeep on all of it for a year. Next you\'ll need enough for both fixed and variable operating costs, which include your salary as an owner, telecommunications (internet service, phone service), and money to repay your loans in the interim, among other things, again for at least a year. Make sure when you\'re writing your business plan to work these costs out and talk with your accountant to help provide accurate estimates of what the variable costs will run.

That depends entirely on what state you\'re in. Some states require that you incorporate, while some just require that you register with the department of state. The best thing to do is to look at Business.gov\'s website and search for your area to find out what permits you need to run a business there. The address is http://www.business.gov/register/licenses-and-permits/ . You can put in your zip code and business type and it will give you a list of everything you\'ll need to be licensed in your area.

That\'s an excellent question. While I can\'t speak for all such offers, especially independent ones, there are actually a lot of grants that the US government offers for minority-owned businesses. For a strong list of these, try looking at the first section here: http://bcondemand.com/government_resources.php

There’s no formula for business success. No math will help you except the math on your balance sheet, so don’t look for one. There are some things that can help you, though. Sound management practices, technical support, experience in whatever industry you’re in, and the ability to plan will help you make the decisions you need in order to create a successful company. Remember, though, that even with all of these elements, there’s no guarantee that you’ll do well. It will still take a lot of hard work , a realistic outlook, and any number of other factors that you can\'t necessarily control.

This is an excellent question because it applies to so many business owners that simply don’t know what business they’re in. I don’t mean to sound insulting, but take a moment to actually look at your business and ask yourself what you do. Are you a laptop salesman? Or are you a laptop repairman? It sounds to me more like you’re in the repair business than the retail business. So scale back your retail operation and focus instead on the repair work where you’re making the most profit. There’s nothing wrong with cutting off parts of your business that are unprofitable, and when you realize what business you’re really in, you’ll find it’s also much easier to do that work and give you a better sense of where you want to go in the future.

When you say “more customers,” that implies that you have some to begin with. If that\'s the case, then you have the seeds of new customers already. Start giving referral bonuses to your current customers if they bring new people to your business. Let them have 10% off of cleaning services if they get you five new customers, for example. You can compound this by going a little bit extra with your current customers by doing things like sending thank you notes on a major holiday or simply asking if there\'s anything you can do to improve your service. If your current customers see you as attentive and interested in their business, they\'ll be more likely to recommend you to your friends.

Your biggest consideration is going to be local zoning laws. New Jersey is famous (or possibly infamous) for its stringent, varied, and unpredictable zoning laws. As late as last month a company in Hammonton was forced to scrap plans for a solar array on their property because of zoning regulations. That you\'re putting them on the roof of your plant will help as it side-step a lot of impervious coverage laws (which are designed to limit the amount you can build on a lot that will prevent rainwater from soaking into the soil), but there are still a labyrinth of zoning laws you need to consider. Try going to your local municipal building to find out what sorts of laws you\'re dealing with. Often the local government will also be able to inform you of county or state regulations you\'ll need to follow. Beyond that, consider how much power the panels will provide and what you can use them for. How much do you currently spend on electricity and how much would solar power cost you? Assume that it\'ll take a year or more to recoup your investment and determine if that matches your plans. You will definitely want to find out about tax deductions that are probably available for moving to green technology. Also, find out if all your excess energy can or will be bought by the local utility company. The most important thing to consider, and what all of these questions boil down to, is “Will this help me make my business more successful and my product or service better?”