Help! Starting business

[G. Winnen]

We are new at this. What to do first? Get license? About how much for a license? What is dba? My wife and I plan to start this spring. Need all the info we can get. We are new members to the forum.

Thank You for your input

[GrassMaster]

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<b>Welcome to the Lawnservicing Community Forum, G. Winnen!</b> []

Let me suggest that you figure out what you need to know the most & go to the blue link named "Search", Click on it & do searches on Keywords of what you want to know.

It appears you want to know about the business end of things, there is plenty to read.

If you have questions ask & someone will Help! Good Luck & I Wish You the Best!

[CCLS]

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Firstly, get customers. This will determine what kind of equipment you need and what types of licenses and insurance you will need. DBA is Doing business As. Go to your county recorders office and get a DBA, this will allow you to conduct business in the county you file in. It will also keep anyone from taking your name and using it in your county. My DBA cost $6.00. Any other questions feel free to ask. Welcome to the forum.

[Phil Nilsson]

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Business Planning ...
The following is an outline taken from my Seminar on Business Planning. It isolates the three main business functions common to the operations of green industry contractors. The outline forms the groundwork of what I call a Master Business Plan (consisting) of three things that happen in your business.

One - get the work or sales
Two - do the work or production
Three - manage input and outcomes

.Competitive environment
.Selling technique
.Advertising & promotion
.Pricing strategy
.Contracting proposals
.Customer service & retention

Do the work (production)
.Plant & facility
.Equipment
.Personnel
.Operating methods
.Quality control
.Work measurement
.Costing methods

Management - (input & outcomes)
.Business direction - growth
.Financial planning
.Accounting
.Taxation
.Evaluation of operations
.Regulations/legal
.Contingency plans

At one point or another, almost every business will have to deal with each of these areas of operations. Having a business plan and "working the plan" shortens the distance of where your company is right now, and where you intend to take it. Companies that do not plan, are known to be more stagnant than those that do. Struggle aimlessly with no clear direction. Taking the "long way" not having realized that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Planning is the straight line that takes us directly to a "target".

I think one reason why some do poorly in business is because they don't plan, and aren't aware of what will be required of them as they move from the "start up" to becoming an organized business. Organized business meaning that eventually, the owner "promotes himself" to managing operations, delegates the work to others, and focuses on sustaining and growing a business to become a major player in his or her market.

When owners wear too many hats, try to do all the work themselves, and not delegate, they tend to reach a plateau, become bored, become burned out, net incomes reach a fixed level and stay there. Many overcome the stagnation by maximizing their position, get their market share, then diversify into additional services that allow further sales growth ... where then "everything else follows" because sales don't "cap out" and growth stops.