American small business is again in transition. Many employees, now working from home, are no longer tied to a geographic office and the woes of commuting. This is a relatively new phenomenon with hints of explosive sector growth in the days ahead. As this turbulent economy has forced downsizing, offshore restructuring and closures in large companies, many new entrepreneurs have been born. These are people, who instead of tirelessly attempting to find new employment and possibly enduring the same fate as previously experienced, are now starting small businesses and enjoying the benefits and perils of self-employment.
The attitude an entrepreneurs must have, is fixed on the goal of survival and none other. You can not afford to be denied. You must control costs and have sufficient cash flow for daily operations. Each of you must be persistent, relentless and vigilant. As CEO, you are the manufacturer, the sales team, the marketing department, legal office, accounting systems, human resources manager, IT manager, the webmaster and so on. You can't afford to be all these positions. We must locate cost effective resources to help us grow and protect our investment in our business. The first, of which, should be accounting systems.
A single legal issue: FACTA problem, accounting systems error or marketing miscue can put you out of business. In the case of FACTA, insufficient security or poor record-keeping these days could find you legally responsible for a single employee's identity fraud issue, which may end up being very costly. A single lawsuit or vendor dispute can shut you down. Many entrepreneurs are ignorant, ill-prepared and under-schooled with regard to these and other issues. Do not get caught in the deadly ignorance trap.
It is critically important for the small, home-based entrepreneur to be aware of resources available to him as he makes this great leap. Accounting systems are important to the legitimacy of a business such as Peachtree and QuickBooks. These accounting systems keep excellent records and can be used to verify and protect against incorrect figures and calculations. Become aware of and develop the resources available to you.
The growth of the internet has changed our marketplace as well. Years ago, a small business owner decided upon a geographic chunk of the market and set up shop. Today, that shop is typically located in an office at the entrepreneur's home.
The marketplace is now the world. The costs of marketing products, accounting systems, and communicating worldwide are so low that almost anyone can take part in this revolution. But, don't quit your day job until you have enough cash on hand to pay the bills for at least a year into your new venture. Sophisticated voice mail, cell phones, accounting systems, and effective ecommerce web sites now provide the illusion of size and grandeur for even the smallest home-based business. The customer typically has no idea whether their supplier is local or across the world.
Here in South Carolina, we have the outstanding South Carolina Manufacturers Extension Partnership (http://www.scmep.org), one of the best kept secrets available to businesses at all levels in our State. Other States have similar programs for accounting systems modeled after ours. These are incredible resources, partially funded by the State and private resources, available at little to no cost to entrepreneurs, with the purpose of aiding the successful growth of small business. Some additional national resources are:
http://www.nationalbusiness.org
http://www.nase.org
http://www.accountingsystemsinc.com
http://www.nfib.org
http://www.qualitybusinessdirectory.com
There are also numerous magazines devoted to small business, home-based business, marketing, sales, accounting systems, etc. Get tuned in to these and other resources, like an accounting website that are available to you. Read your industry publications to stay abreast of competition and other facets of your business interests.
There is more opportunity available today than ever before for the wise entrepreneur. Get all you ducks in a row before you make the fateful leap into the new world marketplace. Be smart about accounting systems and other aspects of business, learn all you can as quickly as possible, and take action on your ideas. Be determined to win against any odds.
About the author:
Daniel Sitter is the author of the breakthrough e-book, Learning For Profit, the revolutionary how-to book providing simple, step-by-step instructions to teach people exactly how to learn new skills faster. His expertise includes sales, marketing, effective learning techniques, self-improvement and general business interests.
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