Is Owning a Business in Your Future?
At one time or another, nearly every employee dreams of owning a business.  Perhaps you’re tired of all your hard work ending up helping someone else achieve his or her entrepreneurial success, or you may fear for losing your job in a weakened economy.  Whatever your motivation, the compulsion to own a business is strong in many of us.  But the risk involved in turning that dream into reality has, all too often, acted to derail even the best-laid plans.

How to Own a Business
Every prospective business owner is forced to wrestle with many different kinds of questions.  Concerns about money certainly lead the pack, but knowing what kind of business best suits you is even more important.  The best place to start is by examining the reasons why you want to own a small business.  Here are some benefits to ponder:

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The Risky Economy
A job search under any circumstances is no treat - rewriting your resume at least a dozen times, job searching on the Internet day after day, and landing maybe two interviews for every hundred openings you dig up - but in a shaky economy it can be downright brutal.  Business revenue declines, which causes companies to cut payroll, and then the lack of personnel drives frustrated customers away.  It’s a vicious cycle.  But why get trapped in that rat race if you don’t have to?

Starting a Business Trumps Job Searching
Looking for jobs can be a very shortsighted process.  Long gone are the days when people worked at the same company for decades and retired with a nice pension.  Since at least the 1980s, most professionals change jobs every three to four years, and it’s usually the employer’s choice rather than the worker’s.  Starting a business can be a scary proposition - especially if you come to the process with a lot of unanswered questions in your mind - but a job search can take up just as much time, effort and even capital.  Besides, here is all you’re left with at the end of that road - just another job that you might hold for five years, after which it’s the same process all over again, except you’re now five years older!

Four Reasons to Drop Job Searching for Entrepreneurship
If you have reached the stage in your career where you’re earning a comfortable living as an executive or someone with skills honed over many years in business, there are many strikes against you on the job search front.  Here are four reasons why starting a business may better serve your long-term financial goals:

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 …
… Is the official name of what is known among the general population as Obama’s Stimulus Package, occasionally called “The Stim” by various news talking heads - the ones who are clever, that is.  An Obama Small Business plan does not appear to be in the works, but even critics acknowledge that the Obama Stimulus Plan contains a number of “good news” elements for small business owners, especially in certain sectors.  The entire package totals $787 billion, and this amount is arrived at by combining the value of tax cuts, direct cash infusions, and loan guarantees over and above those that already exist.

Barack Obama’s Stimulus Package - Obama For Small Business
In numerous stump speeches during the 2008 election process, Barack Obama consistently came out in favor of locally owned businesses.  That concern has carried over to his presidency.  Here are some elements of the Obama Stimulus that directly benefit small businesses:

• Larger loan guarantees - The U.S.

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Leaving the Corporate Rat Race
Quite a few nine-to-fivers express an interest to buy a business - no more bosses looking over their shoulder and no more asking permission to take a day off for personal reasons.  These days, however, people are just as likely to be pushed out of Corporate America as opposed to leaving of their own volition.  With businesses going bankrupt or simply cutting costs, worker layoffs are reaching a level not seen since the early 1980s.  Whatever the reason, many of these ex-corporatists are turning into entrepreneurs, anxious to make their own way in life and achieve financial success.  The biggest question is probably, “What business to buy?”  There is no single best answer, as every person’s experience, ability and finances are different.  But being a corporate dropout does not mean your business life is over - in many ways, it’s just starting!

Best Business to Buy - Some Criteria Worth Considering
Striking out on your own as a business owner can be scary, but the rewards are great.  Your first thoughts should revolve around what type of business to buy.  There are five elements to consider before looking any further:

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Plenty of Economic Challenges
The Dow Jones Industrial Average continues to show erratic behavior and the unemployment picture remains bleak despite recent government intervention.  In spite of disappointing economic news that never seems to end, there are still some terrific opportunities out there for entrepreneurs who want to buy an existing small business.  Uncertain times for some can be advantageous times for others—it’s all in how you approach the situation.  Here are five secrets to finding that great business.  Of course, the publication of this article sort of blows the cover off that, right?  Well, try to keep it under your hat, if you can.

1. Hunt down a recession-proof business
Even in poor economic times, plenty of businesses stay ahead of the game—and some even do better.  By choosing a business in a field whose products or services are in demand no matter what the housing or job markets are doing, you will be making a smart decision.  Here are just a few areas worth considering:

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Social networking a.k.a. the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Ecademy, LinkedIn and so on have become the new marketing buzzwords. Everyone is interested in finding out about them and knowing how to use them to get business in through the door. 

So, if you’re interested and want to use them in your business, where should you start? Here’s my top ten tips: 

1)    Don’t expect to see clients immediately. Social networking is a long term strategy. It’s about relationship building. The more people see you adding information and content to online networking sites, the more people will get to know you and want to do business with you. 

2)    New social networking sites are springing up all the time, so don’t expect to keep up with all of them. Choose 3-4 to keep on top of and work on these. That means setting up your profile and regular posting on there so that people can get to know you. 

3)    Write a generic profile of your business and about you on Word and then use it on all of the social networking sites you’re going to try out. That way, if you get invited to start using another one, your profile is already written. 

4)    Link your social networking sites as much as possible. By that I mean, use sites like www.ping.fm to help you manage all of your sites. That way, you can post on one site i.e. Twitter and have the content automatically sent to all of the other social networking sites you’re using. 

5)    Write as much content as you can. Put your articles on there, give your opinion or views on topics and write down tips. You can write absolutely anything on social networking sites, so get creative. 

6)    Write as often as you can. It’s no good setting everything up and then ignoring it.

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Shaky Financial Times
Some news pundits have described our current dire economic circumstances - not literally, perhaps, but in similar tone - as if the Great Depression of the 1930s was paired with Europe’s suffering at the hands of the bubonic plague, plus an invasion of the Mongol Horde thrown in for good measure.  While few of us are riding high these days, nothing is ever as bleak the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, or U.S. News & World Report makes it out to be.  Despite the seemingly never-ending stories of job layoffs, personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures, these can be exceptionally rewarding times for small business owners.

Darwin Was Right - About One Thing, Anyway
Although the theory Charles Darwin put forth regarding the extinction of species - he claimed it happened slowly over millennia - has been pretty much debunked by scientists identifying at least five Great Extinctions, each taking place quite suddenly, the scholarly evolutionist was correct about the survival of the fittest, at least as it concerns business.  In difficult financial times, money is tight at the consumer level.  People are especially tight-fisted when it comes to deciding where to spend their cash.  A company that trims unnecessary spending, provides superior customer service, refuses to cut back on product quality, and finds more efficient ways to operate, will stand to capture a solid share of the market.  Establishments that give off the stench of despair, alienate their employees, or continue to spend too much money on non-essentials, will probably fail to survive.  Make smart decisions and you will avoid becoming the modern-day equivalent of the dodo bird or the passenger pigeon.

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Personal Liability
We all have responsibilities when it comes to living in a society.  If you own a home, you must maintain it properly to avoid affecting the value of other properties in your neighborhood.  If you drive a car, you must operate it in a reasonable manner to make sure you are putting no one at risk of injury.  If you own a company, you must conduct business in a fair and safe manner.  Failing to abide by these societal expectations can cost you, both personally and professionally. The purpose of insurance is to protect the person or the business entity from financial harm.

Business Insurance Plan
Owners of a business should have a plan to protect the assets of the company as well as those of the individual owners.  While there are many types of insurance for small business, here are the primary categories:

• Property insurance
• Liability insurance
• Health insurance

Business Property Insurance
Property insurance offers protection against loss or damage, whether by theft, natural disaster, or accident.  A policy will protect both the physical building and its contents, and most insurers will cover items that are lost or stolen even after they have been removed from the premises—a laptop computer that accompanies you on a business trip, for example.

Three Basic Types of Business Liability Insurance
Even as the “protected” owner of a corporation or LLC (limited liability company), there are still circumstances where you can be held personally responsible for damages.  For example, you may have signed a personal loan guarantee for your business.  You may have caused an injury to someone through direct action or negligence, or did something illegal or irresponsible.  In these instances, the corporate umbrella may not protect you from suit.

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