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What Does It Take To Turn A Summer Side Hustle Into A Small Business? by @DeborahSweeney

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Summertime and the living is easy — especially when business is booming from your side hustle! If you’ve been running a successful summer side hustle for a few years now, you might want to consider spinning it off into a full-time gig.

What does it take to turn a side hustle into a thriving small business? It’s a much less intensive process than many entrepreneurs may realize, and follows certain step-by-step guidelines. Take a look at the best ways to prepare your side hustle to become its own year-round small business.

1. Draft a traditional or lean business plan.

You might have already created a lean business plan for your side hustle. If that’s the case, it’s time to add more details about the business. If you don’t already have a business plan, it’s also the time to draft one.

Most entrepreneurs choose to draft a traditional business plan or a lean startup plan. The format decided upon often depends on the needs of their business.

Consider a summer side hustle that has been around for several years. It has a proven track record of steady cash flow and offerings that continually appeal to consumers. As this side hustle pivots into becoming a full-time small business, a traditional business plan will provide an objective look into the company’s future.

A traditional business plan outlines the following areas:

  • Executive summary. The ability to explain who you are, what the business does, its industry, location, how it makes money, and why consumers want these goods and services.
  • Business description, concept, and strategy. What do your products and/or services do, and what makes them unique?
  • Industry analysis. A thorough analysis of your brand’s competitors.
  • Market analysis. A thorough analysis of your brand’s target audience.
  • Organization and management. The core responsibilities of your team members (if you have any employed).
  • Financial projections. Tables that provide information about cash flow, projected profit and loss, and a break-even analysis.
  • Financing request. A section specifically created for businesses seeking funding from investors.
  • Other additional information as it pertains to the company, like letters of incorporation and trademark registration documents.

A lean startup plan is a little less intensive, but covers these key areas:

  • Value proposition. A clear statement summing up the value your business brings to its market.
  • Key partnerships, resources, and activities. Information about any partners your business may have and resources that allow the business to create value.
  • Customer segments, channels, and relationships. The ability to define your target audience.
  • Revenue streams. How the business is able to make money.

2. Incorporate the business.

Incorporating a business, even one that starts off as a side hustle, provides the company with tons of valuable benefits. It allows you to build credibility much faster than businesses that do not incorporate, which shows customers that your company is legitimate.

Entrepreneurs may choose from a variety of entities to incorporate their side hustle turned small business. Some of these may include sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies. LLCs, or limited liability companies, often tend to be quite popular with entrepreneurs. The entity is flexible in terms of management and also provides liability protection. This acts as a safeguard between personal and professional assets. In the event of an unforeseen circumstance, like a lawsuit, liability protection ensures that your personal property like cars and houses will not be impacted.

3. Register for trademarks.

Earlier I mentioned that trademark registration documents are generally kept in the appendix of a business plan. Chances are pretty high that your side hustle may have a unique name, phrase, symbol, design, or logo associated with it. This unique mark differentiates your business from competitors. However, if you do not register a trademark the unprotected mark may end up in the wrong hands and be plagiarized by copycats.

Kick off your plans to register your mark by conducting a trademark search. You may do this through the United States Patent and Trademark Office trademark database. This database provides more information as to whether or not another entrepreneur has claimed a mark similar to or the same as your own and if there are any pending marks. If it turns out your trademark is not available, you may need to go back to the drawing board in creating a new one.

However, if the trademark is available it’s highly advised to file a trademark application as quickly as possible. This allows you to register the mark for your business and have the peace of mind in knowing the trademark associated with your brand is exclusively yours.

4. File for any necessary business licenses and permits.

Every side hustle turned business is different with varying needs. Once certain side hustles become full-time businesses, they may require business licenses and permits to operate and remain in compliance. Check in with your local Secretary of State to determine which business licenses and permits your company is required to have by the city and state you do business in. These often vary, depending on the location and industry of the small business.

5. Conduct annual maintenance.

As your side hustle transitions into a small business, you may pick up even more legal necessities along the way like an employer identification number (EIN) and doing business as name (DBA). Remember that businesses incorporated as LLCs and corporations are required to file an annual report. This allows them to communicate any changes made in the business and stay in compliance with the state.

———————————————————————

Deborah Sweeney – Legal Expert, CEO, MyCorporation.com – Calabasas, CA

As CEO of MyCorporation Business Services, Inc., Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With her experience in the fields of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah has evolved from lawyer to business owner. She has extensive experience in the start-up and entrepreneurial industry as she has been involved in the formation of hundreds of thousands of businesses for MyCorporation.com’s customers.

Ms. Sweeney received her JD & MBA degrees from Pepperdine University. She is active in the community and loves working with students and aspiring entrepreneurs. She serves on the Board of Regents at California Lutheran University and is a founding member of Partners of Pepperdine. Deborah has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in the areas of corporate and intellectual property law. Ms. Sweeney is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites.  She is a regular contributor on Forbes, American Express, Social Media Today, and BlogHer among many others.

In her ‘free’ time, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin (8) and Christopher (6). Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Follow her on Twitter @deborahsweeney and @mycorporation.

 

The Business Cloud for Small Business by @SaabyConsulting

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 “…Data security tops the list of cloud concern…”

Every Information Technology discipline has a lifecycle process. Before you choose a Cloud solution, there is a lifecycle process to follow that will match your business need with the right cloud solution.  (You don’t need to be an IT geek to get this.) 

Step 1.  IDENTIFY what you have.

ALL businesses are required to keep certain types of information.

(The first step in determining whether a cloud solution is right for your business is NOT to pick a cloud type. All clouds share fundamental characteristics and functionality. They use economies of scale to provide shared resources including storage, databases and applications, accessed via the Internet.)

1.      Inventory your software applications. If you are running Windows application, you can find all the programs on a PC in the Control Panel function. For IoS and Android applications, go to Settings, then Apps

2.      Identify existing cloud applications.   Where do you save your business bank statements? Your customer database? Receipts? Odds are, you are using some kind of cloud architecture already.

3.      Determine Industry compliance standards that may apply to your business

a.      professional licensing boards (like CPA’s)

b.      organizational standard boards like International Standardization Organization (ISO)

c.      Each state has different requirements at the Department of Corporation – make sure you are compliant with all filings, collecting state sales tax, paying re-employment (previously unemployment) taxes, etc.

4.      Define regulatory and corporate requirements that apply to ALL businesses

a.      Federal Tax Information (FTI)

b.      Canned Spam Act (mass emailing people for business is spam)

c.      Fair Credit Reporting Act (if you base employment decisions on credit scores, this applies to you

d.      HIPAA (compliance requirements for doctors/hospitals who collect, maintain and store patient information)

e.      Data Retention requirements (how long you need to maintain critical data)

f.       Data Disposal policy that identifies destruction method, i.e. key destruction, overwrite, magnetic overpass (degaussing) and/or physical destruction

g.  General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

5.      Examine stakeholder-centric data (ex: email address, payment preferences, survey results). Does this data contain?

a.      Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

b.      Credit card payment information (PCI DSS)

c.      Protected Health Information (PHI)

These are only some of the examples of laws and governing bodies and policies that apply to data and software applications and the collection of information.

Now is a good point to determine if you have overlapping applications, software that is out of date and whether or not you need all the information/data you have collected and/or stored. If you don’t need data for regulatory, compliance and/or business continuity purposes – don’t collect it. The more information you collect from your business stakeholders, the more cumbersome and complicated the requirements for data protection, access and storage become.

Never buy cloud services just because someone tells you “everyone needs the cloud”. There are some great Cloud Service Providers (CSP’s). But there are also a tremendous amount of businesses claiming to be CSP’s who can seriously jeopardize your business. CSP’s are NOT legally responsible for data breaches or losses!!!

Step 2.  CLASSIFY the data by risk

1.      High – this is data at the greatest risk, meaning loss or compromise of this data would put you at high risk of going out of businesses

a.      Intellectual property

b.      Proprietary corporate information

c.      Protected by law or regulatory body

d.      Compromises of this type of data carry the highest penalties and present the highest risk to business continuity

e.      This data may also be identified as top secret or sensitive

2.      Moderate – this is data at moderate risk

a.      Internal emails/policies

b.      Trend Reporting

c.      Compromises of this type of data may carry penalties and jeopardize business reputation and revenue

d.      This data may also be identified as confidential, private or proprietary

3.      Low

a.      Marketing materials

b.      Catalogs

c.      Mission statements

d.      Real time updates

e.      tracking

f.       This data may also be identified as public or unclassified

Step 3.  SELECT & IMPLEMENT your Cloud

1.      Understand that NO cloud solution is 100% secure. Period.

2.      It’s more than likely that your cloud solutions will contain multiple characteristics:

a.      Encryption levels

b.      In transit/At rest

c.      Key access, maintenance and replacement

d.      Virtual Private Network (VPN)

e.      Service Level Agreement (SLA)

f. Public, Private, Community and/or Hybrid

Step 4. MONITOR with a Risk Management policy

There is absolutely no sense in going to all the trouble of identifying your storage needs, finding the right CSP, then not defining a policy of access.

1.      Who needs to access your type of data?

a.      Build access and “need to know” policies by type of data

i. High

1.      CxO’s

2.      Two Factor Identification required

3.      Inaccessible via external devices

4.      Significant Monitoring

ii.     Moderate

1.      Department Heads

2.      Need to know personnel

3.      CxO’s

4.      Two Factor Identification required

5.      External device access clearly defined by policy

6.      Significant monitoring

iii.     Low

1.      Read only access for all employees/public access users

2.      Random, routine monitoring for exploits/attacks

2.      What are the regulatory and compliance requirements for your type of data?

a.      Define Corporate, Compliance and Regulatory best practices by type of data

1.      This was previously defined in the IDENTIFY step

3.      When will the data need to be accessed?

a.      Archive and Access Policy

i.     Constant vs intermittent

ii.     Short, medium, long term

b.      Platform dependencies

i.     Software as a Service (SaaS)

ii.     Platform as a Service (PaaS)

iii.     Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas)

4.      Where will your type of data be stored?

1.      On premise

2.      In the cloud

a.      Public, Private, Community or Hybrid

5.      Why do I need policies on data collection, storage, access and protection?

a.      Business Continuity

i.     Small businesses that experience a breach go out of business within six months

b.      Compliance

c.      Regulatory

d.      Business reputation

6.      How do I monitor my business cloud compliance?

a.      This should be identified in your Service Level Agreement (SLA). It may also be listed under “Terms and Conditions”. These are MUST read documents.

b.      Consider hiring an outside auditing firm

c.      Work with your Cloud Solutions Provider to identify and test vulnerabilities

As small business owners, we wear a lot of hats. And sometimes we think we could save some money by cutting corners….but as the world becomes more global and the IoT expands, I think the small businesses that will survive are those that have been early adopters of best practices in information and emerging technologies.

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Potential Power Lies in Your Personality by @SBSLEducSoltns

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( A walk in the personality ‘park’ under temperament ‘trees’ & social style ‘leaves’  )

Personalities.

 

We all have one.

And we know others do, too.

Far from an earth shattering observation, mind you.  Yet, why do so many entrepreneurially minded pros, whether in a sales role, running a micro or small business, or self-employed ( CPA, consultant ), not lean into their personality type, or gloss over them entirely?

One root reason?  Conventional classroom based schooling, whether primary/secondary (‘K-12’), collegiate/undergrad, even graduate program studies, oft times don’t include it in curricula, required or elective.

I’ve discussed becoming a self educated, lifelong learner, with no expectation of credentials before; now this becomes ever more valuable, since there are so many ‘trees’, with multi colored ‘leaves’ in this ‘park’. Said another way, there’s much to share about how much potential power there is in knowing about your own personality & temperament, let alone those of your client/customer, your staff, & your prospects.

 

 

Going Beyond Generic Labels

 

“You’re too much of an introvert, Emma. Join us at happy hour to network! ”

 

“I think I’m an extrovert, Lianne; do you agree?”

 

Introvert. Extrovert.

Two commonly mouthed words in many professional workplaces in all industries, in your home office, & at the coffee shop.

 

We should be more specific; we mustn’t over complicate matters, however, the more we can unpack ( depth ) & expand our horizons ( width ), it’ll benefit our businesses in a number of different ways.

 

 

Everything DISC

 

The DISC model has a long & storied history

( to trace it: Timeline )

 

DISC ** is unencumbered by complexity; most anyone can clearly interpret the results from the assessment.

I stress that it’s an assessment & spotlights preferences & tendencies, and is not a test, nor an exam.

 

If you’re having challenges with closing sales, or tend to be someone who wants to please everyone, you just might be an ‘S’.

Are you often inadvertently forgetting appointments, or talking your way out of a deal?  Say ‘hi, ‘I’ !’

Maybe you’ve had issues with turnover, or staff satisfaction in your workplace?  Look into swapping your ‘leader’ , who is a ‘D’ style , for someone else.

Or, perhaps you need someone to do your financials for you that won’t miss a single number?  Put a ‘C’ in this position.

 

 

Personality Plus

 

This model was the first that I learned about, not long after my professional development journey began nine years ago this month.

 

While the roots of it are birthed in faith, please don’t assume or close your mind off to how it can apply to any type of workplace, for a sales manager/team, or in your home based business.

 

The four types which Mrs. Littauer discusses have history stretching back millennia, to ancient times. One small drawback is a need to learn, or brush up ( if you’ve been classically, or liberal arts centric educated ) on what ‘choleric’, ‘sanguine’, ‘phlegmatic’, & ‘melancholy’ mean, before you read the books *** & take the assessment.

 

I’ve found much value in combining DISC & Personality + together when I talk with others; it’s a double dose of learning how to better walk in the ‘personality park’.

*** please see below for all 3 #mustreads

 

 

MBTI   

 

Myers-Briggs [Type Indicator/s] usually is the 1st to be recognized: some would say it exemplifies what marketers refer to as the ‘First-Mover Advantage’

 

This isn’t to downplay its value due to age, or perhaps apparent complexity. There’s much value in being aware of it, & perhaps deploying in your assessment ‘toolbox’ for talent, or people development; sales training; & as a high value input into hiring, firing, & promotability decision making.

MBTI Online is a great place to start to build understanding of this model’s philosophical underpinnings and practical applicability to your business/workplace, and you’ll also find certain consultants, trainers, & coaches who leverage it, such as Jeff ( someone I know fairly well. )

 

Tying it Together

 

Silo’ed results, in any business let alone an academic setting, isn’t ideal. So, let’s do our best to intermingle all 3 measures of personality, temperament, & social style together.

 

MBTI’s ‘E’ & ‘J’ =  ‘D’ (ISC) = ‘Choleric’  while ‘N’ & ‘P’ = ( D ‘I’ (SC)) = ‘Sanguine’ , as ‘I’ & ‘F’ = (DI ‘S’ ( C)) = ‘Phlegmatic’ , & … lastly, MBTI’s ‘S’ & ‘T’ = ((DIS) ‘C’ ) = ‘Melancholy’

 

Lots of letters …

Some lingo/language that might be unfamiliar, let alone the acronym.

 

Please embrace your walk, and study the leaves under the trees. 🙂

 

 

Suggested Social Profiles

 

Everything DISC

 

MBTI

 

Personality + ‘s  Marita (daughter of Florence)

 

Interested in More?

 

There are gold & silver veins below the surface of this ‘park’.

Please invest time to buy your entrepreneurial pickaxe, plan a trip, and begin your dig!

 

Best Personality Assessment

Top 10 Most Popular

*** All suggested books in the series ( PP 4 Parents ; PP – Original Bk ; & PP 4 Couples )

MBTI to DISC

 

 

In short …

 

  • The ‘gap’ : why personalities, temperaments, & social styles oft aren’t utilized.
  • Generic labels
  • Model 1 > DISC
  • Pers + >> Model 2
  • Model 3 >>> MBTI
  • Intermingling all three models
  • To continue your journey

 

Thank YOU for reading!

________________

Disclaimer: I’m an authorized partner & recommend DISC ahead of others, however, I’m very open minded & often will intermingle other models/assessments in my 1:1 mentoring, consulting projects, & family advising.

Dog Is Good Delivers Dogvergnügen and Steals Best of Show at SuiteWorld 2019

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Gila Kurtz and Jon Kurtz of Dog is Good

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

by Melissa Stewart

This was my second year at SuiteWorld and while I was wowed by last year’s keynotes from Rachel Zoe, Chief Executive Officer, Rachel Zoe, Inc. and Kara Goldin, Founder & CEO, Hint Inc., it was a little booth the Oracle/NetSuite put together that stole the show and my heart. Did I mention there were puppies?!

Yes, I was inspired by the Women’s Leadership general session. I loved last year’s women’s luncheon and was so glad to see they had expanded it into an entire general session this year. Listening to the speakers and the panel discussions sparked multiple “aha moments” and I recorded the entire session so I could go back and listen again and again. I love that SuiteWorld is growing and expanding these sessions and can’t wait to see what they do in 2020!

 

 

But when amazing speakers like Pamela Yanchik Connealy , CFO & COO of Kiva, stepped off stage and I was left to wander the SuiteWorld floor, I couldn’t help but find myself back at the Dog Is Good booth. I was drawn not only to the puppies but also the story.

D.I.G. Founders Gila and Jon Kurtz had an idea and recognized a need in the marketplace. I met Gila at SuiteWorld, all smiles and interacting with the attendees flooding their booth. I had to know more about her company and how D.I.G. uses NetSuite to grow their business.

Keep reading and get to know more about the “dog lifestyle” company delivering Dogvergnügen (The joy you feel in the presence of Dog) to the world.

 

Dog is Good at SuiteWorld 2019

 

Can you tell us a little about your story? Where did the idea come from?

I had been training dogs professionally for about 3 years when the Navy moved us to the NWst (Jon is now     a retired US Navy Capt).  We were seeing the humanization of pets moving from trend to lifestyle and wanted to be involved in the pet space but we did not want to create more pet products. While attending a continuing education conference, I discovered a vendor in the exhibit all selling tee-shirts.  However, there was nothing compelling- the tees were all white unisex shirts and all said the same thing with an image of a particular breed…” I love my…” i recall standing there and thinking- dogs played such a huge part of my life and the lives of my clients. To articulate “I love my dalmatian” felt too simplistic to describe the role my dog played in  my life and there was nothing stylish about the tees being offered. When I returned home, Jon and I talked about it and he noted there was nothing out there for the dog lover. It was then that we decided we should just try to create something ourselves.

 

Describe the first 90 days in your business?

The first 90 days involved determining who we were and what we were going to be about, designing our logo and website, researching products and manufacturing, and getting everything lined up to move into the first stage of selling- direct to consumer. This was a part-time effort.

We struggled with a logo to fit the personality of the brand.  It also took some time to figure out who we were as a company…what were we good at? how did we want to be perceived?  The pet space is a big one and we had to develop our unique proposition and positioning.

 

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

 

How did Dog Is Good go from idea to selling in hundreds of retail locations across the US and internationally?

Initially, we came up with a name and had a few ball caps embroidered so we could apply for a trademark, but we did not launch the concept immediately.  The navy would move us down to southern California before we took real action. I had worn a Dog is Good hat to a dog training session. When my client wanted to know where she could purchase a dozen of them, we had validation that the message resonated.  At this point we started moving into action and started a business.

We knew we wanted to create a brand and the fastest, most cost effective way to launch was to create apparel we could test at markets.  We sold items direct to consumers at local events and used the feedback to work on our messaging. A year later, we decided to take the leap and exhibit at a trade show to sell wholesale to retailers. We picked up only a half dozen customers, but it was exciting and we still have a few of those original buyers from 2008.  Getting into hundreds of retailers was a combination of honing our message, creating the right products, finding leads through trade shows and many, many hours cold-calling to introduce the brand.

 

Gila Kurtz of Dog is Good

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

 

Can you tell us a little bit about the structure of our operation?

We built the brand to become everything- products, services, and experiences.

-We sell  wholesale into retail establishments in numerous verticals that include: gift, pet, outdoor retail, resort, hardware… any retailer who has a customer with a dog can carry our brand and we have programs to support their needs.

  • We launched a business opportunity called the Dog is Good Pop Up Shop. This provides dog loving entrepreneurs an opportunity to have their own mobile business ( no brick and mortar) using the DIG brand and the support of our team.  We now have over 60 individuals operating Pop- Up shops around the country and have built a strong community to help them grow and prosper. We plan to add 100 in 2019, to bring the overall total to 150 by the end of the year.

-We have a robust licensing program with over 30 licensees – These companies use our designs on their products and sell them through their own distribution channels. This makes it possible to find Dog is Good at locations  in pretty much any retail vertical and in stores from Advance Auto Parts to Albertsons to Nordstrom!

-WE launched an education platform called, Fur Covered Wisdom for people seeking personal growth.

 

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

 

Now you have been out awhile, is it what you thought it would be like? (expectations versus reality)  

The expectation of owning a running a company has evolved along with our personal growth over the years.  We are not unique in the experiences we have shared building a successful business. We have had exhilarating moments and moments that down right sucked. It is a journey and the only thing we really ever expected was that we would commit to our vision, show up everyday as the best leaders possible, and focus on how we and our brand could serve others. Each day we are grateful that our messaging and brand has touched so many lives.

 

Did you start with Netsuite?  

No, we did not start with Netsuite.  Like most small business start ups, we launched with Quick-books.  Over a few years we struggled with systems that did not communicate, for example webstore integration with accounting. A goal back in 2012 was to find a system that we could scale and work with without issue for years to come.  After looking at the pros and cons of many ERPs and accounting systems, Netsuite, though not an inexpensive proposition for us, was the only one we found to meet the criteria we had set.

 

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

 

What do you use Netsuite for in your business? 

It’s basically part of everything we do with the exception of employee management/payroll and some of our CRM. It is our accounting system, drives process for the entire “order-to-cash” process, it is our inventory management system, purchasing, Sales force management, and CRM. We have only scratched the surface of the capabilities.

 

What advice would you give to those considering venturing out to Build their own Business?

Have full clarity around the vision of what you want to create- know what success looks like to you and integrate your life as part of your big picture vision for your business. It is easy to become consumed by growing a new business.  Additionally, focus on sales and know your numbers every day. All the marketing, creation, and “fun stuff”- don’t yield immediate ROI- so everyday emphasis needs to be on sales.

 

Gila Kurtz of Dog is Good at SuiteWorld 2019

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

 

What made you decide to exhibit at Suiteworld this year?   

The team at Netsuite wanted to showcase the Dog is Good brand through an experiential activation for the attendees.  We wanted to support the Netsuite Team at the booth and help to share the experience with the attendees.

 

Who gets the credit for the wildly successful “puppies at a booth” concept?  

Netsuite reached out to a local rescue group to bring the puppies in for the attendees-  They came from Waggin Train in Las Vegas. Although they were available for adoption, none were adopted out at the conference. There is a specific process involved to safely place a puppy in an adoptive home.  While everyone there wanted one, it did not make sense for many- as they would have to make flight arrangements etc… The rescue group knew that the pups would be adopted in the local community by the weekend as they had several applications in for them.   The pups were 10-12 weeks old- a great experience for the pups too, as they benefited from all the socialization.

 

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

 

What were the highlights of your Suiteworld experience?  

There were many highlights. Netsuite hosts the most amazing conference, complete with relevant workshops and access to important vendors.  Everything we experienced was spectacular, but watching the reaction of people to the brand and the puppies were the most fun.

Everything about who we are as a brand was visible in the reactions of attendees.  The impact that dogs have on humans is significant. Interestingly, our brand made an impact without even showing any Dog is Good product.  And that’s fitting, because as we work toward the goal of being recognized as an “experiential brand”, this Netsuite display really communicated what we share with consumers every day – the experience of “how great it feels to be with Dog.”

The Netsuite team also set us up with a number of interviews with popular podcasts and print publications. Having an activation like this available at a conference or trade show has lasting benefits.

 

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

 

Will we being seeing puppies, I mean Dog is Good, at Suiteworld 2020?   

We hope so!

 

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

 

How can people get in touch with you?  

Jon and I ( husband wife team):  gila@dogisgood.com    jon@dogisgood.com

People can find us at:

Dog is Good and on social media channels:

Facebook

Instagram

Pinterest

Twitter

Linkedin

Five ways to overcome doubt and start your own business – Doubt is the serial killer of dreams – it’s time to lock it away for good! by @MelittaCampbell

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by Melitta Campbell

Starting a new business is exciting!

It’s also a time when your doubts and insecurities can go into overdrive.

This is normal. It’s important for you to understand that. All entrepreneurs experience some level of doubt and fear when starting out. The important thing is not to let your fears hold you back.

I know that’s easier said than done, but follow these five steps you’ll stand a good chance!

Just about every personal development, leadership and mindset guru agrees that everything you want lies on the other side of your comfort zone, so let’s not delay things any further…

1. Visualise Your Better Future

For some reason we humans love to dwell on the negative:

What if I don’t find any clients?
What will my friends say if I fail?
What if I mess everything up?

…But what if everything goes right?!

All the successful entrepreneurs and business owners I’ve spoken to all have one thing in common – their vision was bigger than their fears; so they went for it.

The fact is, if you are starting a new venture, if you are continually putting yourself out there in new situations, and if you are committed to learning and growing – you are going to fail sometimes. But that’s OK. Failure isn’t the opposite of success; it’s one of the fastest routes to it.

The first step in getting over your fears is to give yourself a compelling reason why you should make the effort and go through the (short-lived) discomfort. You can do this by creating an exciting vision for your future.

What will your life be like in 10 years time, once you succeed with your new business?

Imagine driving up to your home – what is it like? When you walk inside, who is there waiting for you, and what plans do you have? What difference have you made to your clients’ lives?

Allow yourself to dream big and create a vision of your success and play it in your mind like a movie of your future. Play this movie to yourself at least once a day and you’ll start to your perspective changing and your fears reduce in significance.

2. Sort Fact from Fiction

While having a strong reason to start your business, will help put your fears in perspective, it still might not be enough to quash your fears and get you started.

To do that, it helps to break your fears down, and take an objective look at them. This way, you will see more clearly what are the real concerns to be addressed and what are fictional fears.

Brainstorm all your worries and write them down. If you are like most aspiring entrepreneurs, you’ll need a large sheet of paper for this exercise!

Next, draw three columns naming them: My fear, Rational Thought, and Possible Actions. Then work through each fear accordingly. For example:

As Susan Jeffers points out in her book ‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’, everyone is afraid when facing the unknown. Therefore, getting to know your fears and taking appropriate steps is an important part of putting your feelings of doubt behind you.

3. Build a Success Circle

When aspiring entrepreneurs start out, they don’t usually have many successful entrepreneurs or business owners in their network. As a result, they are often discussing their dreams and ambitions with people who don’t understand their vision and who quickly become worried or sceptical. This does not help when you have plenty of your own doubts already.

For balance, seek out people who have succeeded in business, or who are actively working towards ambitious goals. They are far more likely to have relevant insights and to provide you with the constructive feedback and encouragement needed to boost your motivation to get started.

A great way to find them is at networking events or business training. Aim to add one or two people you find inspiring to your network, and grow your success circle over time.

As Tom Rath points out in his book Vital Friends, just one good friend who gets you and encourages you, can drastically change your life and your results.

4. Practice Gratitude

Practicing daily gratitude is a reasonably simple habit, yet it has the power to transform every area of your life.

Among its many benefits, gratitude has the power to make your fears evaporate. As Sandy Gallagher CEO of the Proctor Gallagher Institute concluded, it’s not possible to hold feelings of fear and gratitude at the same time.

At the end of each day, write down 3-5 things you are grateful for. These could be simple things like the smile the bus driver gave you that lifted your spirits, or big things like a new client. You can even be grateful for something that went wrong and the lesson you learned from it.

If you haven’t practiced gratitude for a while, it might not be so easy at first, but hang in there, you’ll soon get in the swing of things. And when you do, you’ll feel the benefits fast!

5. Dream Big, Plan Small

After shrinking your fears down to size, it’s time to take action! Action is not only the antedote to fear, but it also confirms your intentions.

As John F. Kennedy famously pointed out: “Every accomplishment starts with the decision try”.

Take that big vision you created in step 1 and make that your 10-year goal. Then start breaking it down into logical steps. This can mostly be high-level, but plan your next 90 days in detail and schedule time for each action. Then make the decision to start.

It doesn’t matter how small you start, it may even be a tiny shuffle in the right direction, but it’s important to do something. Then use that small success, to fuel your next step and so on.

Before you know it you’ll be up and running and wondering why you ever doubted yourself in the first place!

 

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Melitta is a Business Coach and Mentor with a passion for using her 25+ years business, communication and marketing experience to help women confidently build a business they love. Originally from Wales, she now lives in a chalet overlooking the Swiss-Alps with her two daughters and husband.

 

What I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Business by Jackie Burke of #tiniluxjewelry

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by Jackie Burke | Featured Contributor 

When I started my business in 2017 I didn’t know anything about running a business.  I did as much research as I could before I launched, but that is no substitute for real-life experience.

My business is Tini Lux, a digitally native, direct to consumer jewelry brand that specializes in jewelry that is compatible with the human body.  Before launching my business, I studied engineering and worked as an engineer.  I had never launched a business, worked at a startup, or studied jewelry design or the jewelry industry.  Additionally, I went to a college where the majority of the students studied in a STEM field, so most of my friends and my network also work in engineering and tech.

Since my experience and my network is so concentrated in STEM fields, I did not know or have any connections in the field that I started my business in. I also didn’t know anyone that had recently started an e-commerce or fashion business. For all these reasons, I really did not know what I was getting into when I launched my business and I did not have anyone to lean on for advice.

Looking back now, it is easy to see what would have been useful to know when I first started down this path.  Just to scratch the surface, I wish I had a better understanding of marketing, advertising, SEO, SEM, inventory management, and taxes.  All of those subject areas are tangible and mostly well defined though.  Once I recognized that I needed to understand those business areas, I was able to find a plethora of information about them.

What I want to talk about here is not the tangible subject areas that can be easily researched online. What I want to talk about are the intangible things that I wish I had known before starting a business. I want to talk about the feelings and stresses and anxieties that I didn’t know I would have to deal with everyday. Here they are:

Uncertainty Is A Constant…

Uncertainty is constant as an entrepreneur.  When I started my business I believed in my idea so much and had no doubt that it would be successful. I thought that belief in the product and the idea would be enough to carry me through the day to day of running a business. What I did not realize, is that there are hundreds of other things that make me uncertain on a day-to-day basis. I have constant uncertainty about things like where and how to invest my advertising dollars, which product categories to focus on, which influencers and media outlets to work with, whether to hire outside help or do things in house. There is no right answer for any of these things, so the uncertainty can be crippling.

…So Is Anxiety

If you are already prone to anxiety, entrepreneurship may not be for you.  I have constant anxiety that a customer may be unhappy, or that sales will dry up, or that my business will fail.  In my years working as an engineer I have never had anxiety like I do as a business owner. When you are in charge, you can’t make excuses and you can’t push the blame on some outside force. It is your sole responsibility to make things happen, and that pressure is intense.  Anxiety can really take a toll on a founder and a business. I try to acknowledge my anxiety as it comes and recognize what caused it.  From there I try to understand what it is I am worrying about and come up with a plan in case it happens. It makes me feel better to know that I can face any challenges that pop up.

Patience Is A Virtue

About a year into my entrepreneurial journey I was feeling like my business wasn’t growing as fast as it should be. One day I met a woman who recently sold her successful e-commerce business that she founded and ran for 10 years. I explained to her that my SEO and marketing efforts seemed like they were growing too slowly. She said “Keep going, it takes a long time to show up on the internet.” Her response made me feel much better about my slow growth and realize that my experience was normal. I now am seeing the fruits of my labor show up in terms of organic traffic and conversions, I just wish I had known when I started how long it would take to see results.

Budget? What’s that?

When I founded my company I had a budget in mind.  I knew that I wanted to self fund my business and certainly did not have unlimited funds to work with. I knew how much my initial inventory and packaging would cost, and I though those would be my main expenses. It’s almost laughable now that I thought I wouldn’t need to spend any more money after my startup costs. From the first month expenses popped up constantly. First, there was the monthly advertising spend, then I decided to work with influencers, attend a trade show, get professional photography,  and improve my website.  All of these things cost wayyy more money than I initially thought I would spend. Many businesses fail because they don’t anticipate these types of costs and run out of money. I continued to work as I grew my business so that I would still have money to put into my business. If I had known in the beginning all the costs that would come with starting a business I may have reconsidered.

IRL Networking Is Important

As I mentioned above, my business is digitally native (meaning it was born online and the majority of my sales are done online). Despite the fact that it was, and is, meant to be an internet-based company, IRL networking is still extremely important.  There are SO many brands and people on the internet, but when you meet someone face-to-face they will have a personal connection with you and your business. That experience cannot be replaced by interacting with someone on Instagram or Facebook.  If you want to be an entrepreneur you need to meet as many people as possible and tell EVERYONE about your business. You never know who is a potential customer or who can help you with your business or career.

I know as my business progresses I will learn even more things that haven’t even occurred to me yet.  Let me know in the comments if there is anything you have learned on your journey that you wish you had known when you started!

The Energy of Entrepreneurship by @SBSLEducSoltns

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( A flyover of all the glorious forms of creating your own asset )

Just as a strong case can be made that entrepreneurship & education are intertwined, so the same can be said for energy & entrepreneurship. How many business owners do you know who live day to day with boundless determination?  Joy? A skip in their steps?

 

We have a B-i-G opportunity! We should encourage entrepreneurship’s many forms so the energy in our society is always flowing, & many new assets are created to better ourselves, families, communities, nations, & beyond!

 

Describing Our Economy

 

Thought leaders have been using various labels:

 

Conceptual Age

 

Gig economy

 

Youpreneur

 

Multisided platforms ( ‘Matchmaker Economics’ )

 

You might wonder; how do these inform, inspire, & instigate citizens to leave mediocrity behind to embrace these energetic forms of entrepreneurship?

Inform(ation)

 

With conventional classrooms in all 3 tracks very slow to adapt to the modern era, as entrepreneurs, we can share stories, teachable moments, & connections with those in our own, as well as younger, generations.

Welcome any opportunities to be someone’s mentor, advisor, or coach. Focus on paying forward crucial knowledge to others. Serve 1st always!

 

Inspire (-ation)

 

Often, entrepreneurship is not a soft fluffy bed; it’s part of the charm of the day to day journey to struggle at times! Anything that comes ‘easy’ often has more downside than engaging in smart x hard work building a business.

Don’t hide this from those whom you talk with, yet don’t muddy the clear lens of a passionate individual who wants to be a difference maker. Inspire her by adding value, w/ no stated expectation of reward or return.

 

Instigate ( lighting sparks )

 

Those who deeply understand principles such as the ‘Five Laws …’ & ‘Law of Attraction’  should be beacons of inspired instigation in her circles of influence.

The sparks lit in the fire pits of today will lead to the solutions of tomorrow.

So many of our most pressing societal challenges can be solved with entrepreneurial energy; if you flip back through the pages of history, you’ll see this jump off the pages.

 

7 Forms

 

Now, we transition from the most valuable question, why?, to what? +

 

( + we’ll leave out ‘how’; JFK’s 1962 Rice Univ Speech is the model for why not to focus on this Q )

 

Franchisor/franchisee

 

  • Franchise consultants set up shop to help someone who has the liquid capital to purchase a brand & its intellectual property, turnkey system/s, & in many cases, a ‘bricks & mortar’ location. Franchisees are far from cutting edge concept; although if you were talking with your grandparent(s), they would tell you that at 1 point, it was new & barely understood!

 

Solo-preneurial / proprietor

 

  • This is the simplest form. How do you monetize? Choices inc. hour for dollar billing ( ‘self employed’, creating your own job ); using a retainer; or working on a project basis. As with any form, there are pluses & the opposite; yet, if you’re very new to entrepreneurship, keeping things uncomplicated may be your wisest choice.

 

Gig / freelancer / contractor

 

  • Gig based businesses abound in our modern age; do depth based research to find options best for you.  Freelancing is very common in right brained, creative pursuits like social media, content/digital marketing, & writing.  Finally, being a contractor for a larger enterprise where you are offered more flexibility than an old school W-2 employee could very well be a win:win arrangement.

 

Broker / Agent

 

  • Insurance & real estate:  Both have high name recognizance, even by those who have never been entrepreneurial. Many of the agencies & companies operating in these very mature industries are always looking for someone who is servant minded & willing to tailor a solution to the consumer/prospective policyholder or buyer/seller ‘s unique needs.

 

Direct Sales

 

  • This form is newer on the block than its sister ( see below ).  How is it different than Ntwk Mkt/MLM?  It often generates income for the owner through the promotion of events versus growing a team.  For instance, you set up a cooking demo, offer products to those that attend at a % off, & build a relationship with them that goes beyond 1 transaction. Often, social media is used most often by these consultants, hosts, & associates.

 

Network Marketing ( MLM )

 

  • A mature form, when compared to its brother ( scroll up ), they’ve been options for upwards of a century! Yet, there is still much mis-understanding, inaccurate representation of its legality/lawfulness, etc.  This form is absolutely viable, esp. for those with people skills; those who are patient & don’t expect income overnight; or someone who is able to lead another by serving her first, a fundamental for building a team that replaces you.

 

Licensor / licensee

 

  • The licensee model is essentially ‘franchisee lite‘.  It has many elements of the latter, yet it doesn’t necessitate a bricks & mortar storefront;  often, you can be a mobile-preneur ( easily able to work at a coffee shop, coworking facility, or at home ). Licensors offer intellectual capital ( logos, brand awareness, a systems based approach to building revenue & cash flow ) in exchange for a 1 time, or recurring payment(s).

 

Lots of – ‘Preneurs!  Which are you?!

 

Profiles Worth Following

 

Sidepreneur

 

Mompreneurs

 

Teenpreneur Inc

 

Self directed Educational links

 

Employee vs Entrepreneur – Which is Riskier?

Actually, Starting Your Own Company …

Becoming an Entrepreneur …

 

In short …

 

  • Describing today’s economy
  • Inform, inspire, & instigate
  • 7 forms of energy: entrepreneurial options
  • Types of -preneurs
  • Three Twitter handles
  • For further learning …

 

Thank YOU for reading!

CoWorking is Cutting Edge ( and Cool! A Primer. ) by @SBSLEducSoltns

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Coworking is a remarkable concept that will enable many additional citizens to pursue their callings in entrepreneurship without the pratfalls of the prior 2 eras, the blue & white collar industrial ages.

 

No longer will the price tag, complexity, or fear of having to sign a multi-year lease, or rent to (eventually) own agreement be a stumbling block to the dream to be in control of your income stream(s); you’re now sharing costs & concurrently joining an entrepreneurial tribe.

 

What is coworking?!

 

This is a superb definition

 

Think it over: We’ve really only had this option for little more than a decade. Running parallel to the astonishing rise of social media & the proliferation of smart devices, co-working grew from humble beginnings.

 

At this point, choosing to become a member of an existing co working space, whether it’s new, or well established, tags you as a late ‘early adopter’ or at the onset of the ‘early majority’ class(es) of business owner/professional.

 

Intrigued to know more?  Please click here.

 

Options for your business’ physical presence

 

All things being equal, there are 4 choices:

 

  • Work from home.  The flexibility of merging personal & professional lives under 1 roof always has appeal. Yet, if you’re a mom-preneur, have other neighborly commitments, or are easily distracted by the mass media, you might want to ask the hard question: will you be productive, or will you be ‘’busy’ ?

 

  • The ‘coffee shop’ = office.  Whether its an independent cafe, Starbucks, or Panera Bread, maybe you arrive early in the AM, order coffee & bagel, set up your notebook/tablet in the far corner near an outlet, & start working; that remains viable for some amongst us.

  • Conventional ‘bricks & mortar’.  Some business models & professions simply must have their own physical space:  Medical office/clinic? Restaurant/bar? Retail, esp. a clothing store?

 

  • And, then, there’s coworking. This article breaks down common options that most any space in your metro area will, or already is, offering.

 

Click to Tweet

 

“We break down walls so that we can breakthrough in our businesses!”

 

— Cynthia Chiam

 

Plusses of Coworking

 

Choose from the 4 above; none are ‘wrong’ – each option will appeal to someone & that someone might be you. However, let’s focus on the benefits of coworking.

 

You quite likely will …

  • Save a significant amount
  • Opt into various perks ( who doesn’t love ‘complimentary’ coffee?!? )
  • Find flexibility ( month to month arrangements are commonplace )
  • Learn how easy it can be to ‘barter’ services &/or products with your community/tribe

 

What if …

 

… co working hasn’t yet come to my area?

Take heart: many visionaries haven’t yet pushed outside the top 25 metros.

As always, there’s a trail of ‘breadcrumbs’ that the profit motive will enable, bringing facilities to your city.

 

One pioneer shares his vision – click here to read a short Q&A w/ him.

 

How Does Co Working fit into the Gig Economy?

 

Jim Collins, in his terrific book, ‘Great by Choice’, taught us to be able to zoom in & zoom out.

 

Let’s zoom out …

 

… & answer this Q.

 

  • 1st, co working is similarly flexible.  Do your research & check as many options as exist in your area; most spaces heartily welcome entrepreneurs who don’t want to sign multi-year deals.
  • 2nd, the Gig economy spotlights project ( ‘gig’ ) based ‘work’; so does a co-working space. You can run this type of business easily & find much joy in the process
  • Next, this economy encourages interdependence, as does the coworking option. Your ‘benefits’ ( insurance, investment vehicle/s ) could very well come in a barter agreement with a sales pro who offers them to solopreneurs & sits right next to you in the space.
  • Last, your ability to be cash flow positive is accelerated; you can keep your prices aligned with your ideal avatars & earn more without having to pay steep lease or rent payments.

Suggested Profiles

 

Using hashtag #coworking as a starting point, I suggest 3 Twitter handles worth a follow:

 

Deskmag

 

kowrkdotcom

 

New Worker Magazine

 

If you happen to be in, or looking to move to, central OH …

… the options are a plenty! Here’s a quick primer on some tip top choices:

 

CoHatch

 

Brickhouse Blue

 

Haven Collective

 

&  Serendipity Labs

 

Fantastic ‘All in 1’ Resources

 

As with any topic, the internet is a treasure trove of goodness, when used for altruistic means.

 

Co-working is no exception to this mantra. Here are a handful:

 

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-rise-co-working-spaces/

* the BEST. The infographic on the above from December 2018 is amazing!

 

Top 60 CoWorking Blogs, Websites, & …

 

From coworking spaces to who is …

 

In the Gig Economy, Coworking spaces …

 

In short …

 

  • What exactly is coworking? Let’s explore.
  • 4 options you have for locating your business.
  • The positives of choosing coworking
  • Coworking’s a big trend, yet it’s not everywhere yet. It will be, though. Stay tuned!
  • Coworking & the Gig Economy are ‘fellow travelers’ = deeply interrelated.
  • The Twitterverse, unsurprisingly, has valuable handles worth following

 

Thank YOU for reading!

13 Ways Leaders Re-Boot Employee Engagement In Business by @AngeKYoumatter

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13 Ways Leaders Re-Boot Employee Engagement In Business

by Angela Kambouris | Featured Contributor

Can you remember when you first joined your team, full of enthusiasm, passion, and determination you were going to make a difference? You are pumped with new ideas, strategies and palpable energy that would permeate the walls of any building.

Then as time progressed, days turn into months, your energy plateaued, your enthusiasm waned, and you began to feel disconnected. Frustrations mounted, roadblocks seemed like unachievable peak tops. If this sounds familiar, you are around great company. No one is immune to feeling alone, experiencing the same frustrations or at times the lack of productivity. All levels of the organization, including entrepreneurial leaders have experienced at some point the disconnect. The good news is that many have also risen above to confront and re-engage within their organization.

Here is a list of thirteen actionable ideas to re-boot engagement in your business.

Time is precious

Leaders must spend time with their team member, both formally through training, coaching, performance and informally through conversations, coffee and morning tea. By engaging in conversations that determine skill gaps, what you need to close the gap and the behaviors you want to change and impact with your team creates an opportunity to identify the priorities for the next 30 and 90 days, both individually and as a collective group. The power is in the conversation.

Results, not input

An emphasis must be on outcomes and the end results rather than input. Leaders must shift the responsibility to the employee to determine how individually they can work and fulfill their responsibilities. When leading others, employees must learn to see clearly that their success or lack of, is not determined by managers or circumstances but is in their own hands. Leaders empower people to become experts at leading themselves.  When you let people drive their results, they hold themselves accountable.

Can l see you?

Visibility within the organization, speaking at meetings with your people, channeling nervous energy into adding value, presenting information that taps into all representational systems – logical information, using body language, compelling visuals and engaging the audience, creates a space to bring your people along graciously. When you are clear about communication styles, inclusivity breeds.

Future leaders

You want your people to feel more connected and engaged, include employees in company strategy. People feel more empowered, it doesn’t cost anything, respect permeates the culture, people feel heard, different ideas are brought to the table and the identification of future leaders are revealed.

Collective thinking

There is strength in bringing together teams from different areas – internal or external – for a workplace lunch, industry conference or individually to work on a project. The power of collaborating, bringing fresh ideas, problem-solving or sharing best practice knowledge, cultivates strong professional relationships that benefit both people and business.

Walk and talk

Walk and talk meetings or mentoring walks lead to healthy minds and healthy business performance and productivity. When you get and move, immerse yourself in the fresh air you will be amazed at how productive people feel. It starts at the top.

Imagine having time to create what inspires you

Google introduced a 20 percent program where employees spend 20 percent of their time at work doing whatever they like. In a smaller company, a variation may be one week out of every 8 weeks to work on a passion project. By encouraging your people to work on side projects you promote skill development, learning of new technologies and an ability to explore untouched territories in the marketplace. Encouraging creativity makes sound business sense and it helps you attract the best talent.

4-Day week

Given the digital world has had a profound impact on everyday life, including work hours, companies are now looking at cutting their work week to 4 days a week resulting in higher productivity in business, more motivated staff and less burnout. In New Zealand, Perpetual Guardian, a trust company reported that since the pilot of a 32 hour week in 2018, there had been a fall in stress and an increase in staff engagement.

A personal assistant for the week

Giving a little help by hiring a personal assistant for a day or week to recognize the time and effort your people have put in every single day, creates ripples within your organization. A dedicated person to work through administration and menial tasks that must be done so the recognized person can have an opportunity to dedicate time to working on their passion project for the week. Imagine the ROI.

Employee Award ideas

Recognizing and rewarding the efforts of your people can be done in a fun and innovative way. Start with identifying the fundamental values within the workplace that you want your people to be alignment with and identify titles that can be celebrated once a month. For instance, rewarding improving the quality of customer service in the company, a title may be for an award “Customer Whisperer”; awarding a top performer may be “Hall of Fame” award; an appreciation award for making a difference to people within the company “The Master Yoda Award” and “The Marvel team” award that celebrates and appreciates team effort and results.

Meaningful words

Mantras help unite people under a common purpose, supports employees to humanely connect with your brand and product and is a uniquely powerful source of motivation. One way to leverage the mantra is by making it visible throughout the building on posters, t-shirts, or in a workplace manifesto painted on a wall in the building. Make it meaningful and watch how people embody your brand and unleash the power of your team.

Rapid-fire

One way to start the day is to create a sense of team spirit with a rapid-fire catch–up. Fifteen minutes of sharing your wins, roadblocks and focus for the day. Team conversations ensure all members are on the same page and have an awareness of how to best support each other.

Pulse performance

When you create environments where pulse performance practices are embedded that encourage regular feedback, monthly check-ins, ongoing discussions to ensure alignment with objectives, exposing blind spots and amplifying strengths, magic happens. Leadership development in today’s climate is non-negotiable. By coaching managers in providing feedback with an attitude of ‘what needs to be done next’ rather than rating past performance and induces dialogue on a deeper level as people want to be able to grow and be better. The more personal development opportunities within the organization, the more you will retain talent.

When you tap into the genuine commitment of unlocking the human potential within your organization, people re-engage, and success comes to those who dare to be brave.

Business vs Personal Auto Insurance—and Tips for Saving Money on Both by @rebeccacclark

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by Rebecca Clark

What started out as your small, online shop has started picking up steam. You’re expanding your customer base, hiring more employees, and getting ready to open up a storefront shop. You’re even adding a delivery service, which poses a question crucial to protecting you, your employees, and your business: how can you make sure you’re covered in the case of an automobile accident?

You have two (1) options: business auto insurance or personal auto insurance.

Business car insurance typically is used for covering employees whose job requirements include driving (especially long distances) to work with customers or clients. Some of these positions could include pizza delivery drivers, construction workers, or people who drive for rideshare companies.

Personal car insurance covers individual drivers of individual vehicles. If the only time you use your car for business purposes is picking up coffee for your co-workers in the morning or driving to lunch to meet with a key customer once a month, business car insurance may not be necessary.

Both types of car insurance are meant to protect drivers in the case of an accident that causes bodily injury or property damage; however, business vehicles post a greater risk to insurers than personal automobiles. Here is some more information about each type of insurance:

Business Auto Insurance

Pros:

  • Will free up resources by not requiring an internal employee to manage multiple insurance policies
  • Comprehensive coverage for every employee

Cons:

  • More expensive
  • Increased liability

How to Save:

  • Form a partnership. See if you can work out a discount between you and your insurer by referring your customers to your insurer.
  • Pay on time. Pay your full premium on time through your insurer’s preferred payment method.
  • Encourage safe driving. Hire employees with good driving records and invest in automobile safety (2) classes or refresher courses.

Personal Auto Insurance

Pros:

  • Personalized plans for each employee
  • Cheaper

Cons:

  • Riskier for the company
  • Will need to manage policies internally

How to Save:

  • First, learn about the factors that dictate your car insurance rates. Then shop around and compare car insurance policies (3) from multiple providers.
  • Consider your vehicle. An older-model mini-van is going to be cheaper to insure than the newest Porsche or Ferrari.
  • Raise your deductible (4). This will help lower premium costs.

Whether you decide to cover your employees using an umbrella business insurance or have your employees’ personal insurances cover them, having adequate car insurance is crucial to protecting this business you’ve built from the ground up. Consider the pros and cons to each type of insurance, consult with a professional, and watch your business grow all while keeping you and your employees safe. Best of luck!

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Rebecca Clark graduated from Miami University with degrees in English literature and professional writing with a minor in creative writing. She works as an editor for a technical manual development company in Dayton, Ohio, and does freelance writing as well.