Hey guys I am looking at starting up a business, and you seen some of my other posts. What I'm trying to do now is make sure all of my ducks are in a row before I go to the bank for everything. I am working up a business plan now, wants to make sure I can get the steps 1 2 3 & 4 done in order so I'm not having to backtrack. I have found conflicting reports as far as what those steps are going to be and just want to make sure I am running in the right direction.

I am going to register the name with the SBA, the need to get business tax exemption stuff set up, and other legalities in place. Has anyone run into any issues in doing this before the business plan is completed? I do not have an appointment set just yet at the bank once again make sure everything is in place.

My normal nine-to-five is in this industry, so I'm not worried about running the business, just all of the legal stuff and getting it said is what is confusing me.

I have been up since about 3 a.m. at this point researching, and a bit frazzled from that and I'm sure I'm leaving important information out, but just looking for any information that can insure me on either on the right track or help me get back to the right track.

Thanks

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If you don't have a massive credit history and/or a ton of capital already, you are going to have a hard time finding a place to fund the start up of a retail location.

Never go into business with a partner.

Make sure your new business name isn't being used by anyone else.

Get the domain name for the business saved well in advance
even if you don't want to set up a web page yet. Domains (.coms)
cost under $12.00 per year. If you don't have a website planned
then just forward the .com to your business facebook page.

Talk to a good CPA or attorney about how you should set up
your LLC or corporation and the tax ramifications and positive
aspects of each.  

Deposits for commercial electricity in some areas of the country
can put a serious hurting on start up costs. They want deposits
that equal four months of the average monthly bill in some areas.

Most Chamber of Commerce organizations will help get the word
out about your new business.

Keep good tax records. Keep money in the payroll account and good luck!

Some good advice there, and unless you are entering into a field where liability is almost non-existent, do go with an LLC or Corp (which will depend on your plans for the future ownership).  Bank will want to see the entity documentation and the taxpayer id when you open accounts. As mentioned above, keep good financial records and keep the business money separate from your personal money all the time.

get the best c.p.a. and lawyer u can find'
, i opened a mom/pop business for my wife while i was out of country a lot on business
we wound up 14  yrs later doing 10 mil.  but u cant  get there with out quality help and support.

unless u have a lot of business skills to impart. we did.  but still needed top quality  support
she was an accountant and i have dual masters. i had run 3 companies in 35 yrs. ran an international elec  plant up here. . came up here from TEXAS to do it.
when when her business got bigger i had people in place to deal with it. we could not have done it  by ourselves.
sold it, retired.

if u have more business back ground, than we did, ignore this post and good luck
if not , print it and read daily

1texan

If you are not a minority or a foreign resident the bank is going to show you the door unless you have massive collateral to put up for the money.
After you have been in business for a few years the purse strings start to loosen up. We have advertised in every media and word of mouth has been our best 
generator of business.

My business isn't huge, it's pretty much just me. I have borrowed successfully for 6 years in the commercial loans department at the local credit union. My bank (which I've had an account at for years) still won't even give me a used vehicle loan.

I'm convinced I need to have a couple hundred grand in liquid for them to even want to do business with me. I'm closing my accounts with them this year and moving everything, personal and business over to the credit union, at least they are willing to work with me.

What about running the books?  I'm a pro at fixing bikes but not knowing the accounting side almost sunk me and does sink most places.

If you aren't intimately familiar with the back office side of your type of business learn it now and hire someone to guide you for your first year or two of business.  You'll save far more than you spend.

showing up at the bank without a business plan and all your ducks in a row is sure to get you absolutely nothing in the way of financing.

even then, without any experience in running such a business, and no collateral of your own, you can expect very little interest from the bank.

you'd be better off just asking for opinions from GD.

Learning to use Quickbooks halfway decent took me over a month, but it is probably the single best thing I did for myself. Being able to see where my money is hemorrhaging instead of just knowing that it's disappearing, but not have a clue where, has been handy.

Let me save you your life savings.

RETAIL IS DEAD.

Look around, see all those empty buildings, and big retail after big retail going bust?

retail is dead, amazon and the internet killed it

do NOT start a retail business.

You are doing an online drop ship store with a retail front as well right?

Why not pick the one that is lowest risk and highest yield and test it first to see if people want what you think they want?

Check out The Lean Startup and run with it.

Might be worth your while to talk to a SCORE mentor, OP. They are a part of the SBA and offer exactly what you are looking for.

Look up a local chapter here: SCORE

Find out if there is a Service Corps of Retired Business Executives in your area. Those guys will help you for free and have experience. From your post, you need a lot of help. 

Have you done pro forma financials for 5 years into the future and can you defend your suppositions with facts? 

Have you done in depth market research which supports your expected gross sales, or are you guessing?

You'll need to get an LLC and register with your Secretary of State. You'll also need a tax ID number. You don't want to commingle these with your personal ID for liability considerations. 

Your business plan is merely a 'roadmap' and a snapshot of that point in time. It needs to be updated to reflect current market forces as time progresses. 

Seek experienced help and mentoring...and not on Arfcom. 

Bingo. 

I understand completely what you are saying. My 9-5 has proprietary software for that, so I will need to learn some quick books or the like to be on top of it. I know there will be a learning curve on the software.

Yea, I need to clarify a few things here.

It's drop ship stuff, no brick and mortar, may get there but not on the plans. Since I will be the retailer, I have read to treat it as a retail (I.e. taxes, legals, accounting).

I asked here as people have started startups and run them and may offer great advice, and some here is great. And different resources available, like SCORE and such.

Being a drop ship, all warranty is from the manufacturer, and for the time being it will be me and the wife working it.

This is where I see the biggest cash flow generator, able to start really getting sales and open up the purse strings (in time, obviously not a very quick process).

White male, US native. Dont have that going for me.