There are no quick answers. Build a business plan.Researchlocate a placecheck method of marketingplan promotionsource wholesalers for musical items and skatesthink of 100 more questions that need to be answered.register name dba? corp .?obtain financingproject expensesproject incomesee if viablebuild an estimated schedule 1040 C
those sound like low sellers to me. Call the Small Business Administration in your area. They have all kinds of classes you can take with regard to starting a business. They also have a website on which you can find how to do your 5-year business plan. Everyone needs one of those and it will take you three months to prepare and there are examples on their website. For any business you need to start out with lots of money and cannot borrow unless you have part of the money from your own savings.
It will be very tough at 18 years old. Mainly because you will need to lease a retail storefront in a high traffic zone. This type of real estate is not cheap and landlords will only rent to business people with proven success either as an employee or business owner. They will also require personal guarantees on the lease term which will require that you have significant assets to pay the term of the lease in the event that you default. At 18, I would assume you have little or no assets to cover a default. I applaud the entrepreneurial spirit however. My advice would be to get some work experience and learn how businesses operate first. Are you going to college/university? Maybe you could start a service business to generate income now that doesn t require the lease commitment. Maybe you could start a website selling skate equipment and/or music. Music will be tough online as you will have to compete with itunes and limewire. I started my first business at 18 also. it was service related and required little upfront money, but only my sweat equity to make it work. My next business at 19 required a little more investment, but I made some money in the other business and had the ability to borrow some for the equipment. My next was when I was 21 which required very little investment. That business grew and eventually I had to rent office space. But at that point I was 21 and had a history of success and money. I also rented a crappy office space from someone I knew. Later I built my own buiding, but had the credit and income to pay the mortgage. I didn t rent retail space until I was 27 when I bought a restaurant and the landlord would never have rented to me without the assets to prove I could pay 5 years lease payments if I defaulted. Moral of the story, take your time. You re 18. Get work experience and make sure every job/business is a learning opportunity. Stay focused on your success and enjoy the journey, not the destination.
Go to www.score.org and in the upper left hand corner, enter your zip code. On the next screen, you will find the SCORE chapter nearest you. Call them and arrange for a free meeting with a SCORE counselor.SCORE Counselors to America s Small Business is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).SCORE was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Herndon, VA and Washington, DC and has 389 chapters throughout the United States and its territories, with 11,500 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors. SCORE is America s premier source of free and confidential small business advice for entrepreneurs.
