Got Laid-off, wanting to start a small business....have questions

[gordita]

I got let go just a week before thanksgiving.(yeah....I know...)
now, after some serious thought and with my wife's blessing, I'm looking into starting my own small business.

I understand the two most important things to keep in mind would be to consult a
cpa for tax purposes and an attorney for the legal side.

I will be setting up the meetings for next week.
In the meantime, what books can I read to get up to speed with the SB process?

The business would be web/graphic/interactive design firm and I would be the sole owner.
I want to do this for the next 2-3 yrs and I don't think I would be hiring anyone else.
This would be based out of our home.

I've had atleast 5-6 inquiries from firms/ppl about them wanting to contract out some small/medium sized projects, so I want to set something up real quick.

In short, what I would like to do is
1) setup a website with my portfolio and stuff (already done)
2) identify the name of my firm (done)
3) print business cards/letterheads (done)
4) Register the business with NY state (pending)
5) meet with the cpa (pending)
6) meet with the attorney (pending)
7) accept and start working on projects from firms/ppl

am I missing anything else?
has anyone been in this situation before?
any forums I can visit? books I can read?
any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[KLin]

Draw up a client contract template.

 

[JS80]

Why do you want to waste money on a lawyer for a small business sole proprieter?

 

[OrByte]

you will be working at home so..

make sure you draw up boundaries with your family. work hours..stuff like that.

also, do you have a price point? something that you have worked out ahead of time when factoring in your expenses etc? it helps to have an idea of what your work is worth, and how much you are willing to work for when you sit down at a contract table.

Other than that since you have some clients already lined up I would suggest looking beyond those clients and working on how you are going to draw work in. One thing I have learned is that you are always looking for more clients. Thats what keeps me awake at night sometimes when business is slow.

for me the most important things are schedule and boundaries. my .02

 

[rh71]

will you be sharing your website/portfolio with us ?

 

[jpthomas]

Why do you want to waste money on a lawyer for a small business sole proprieter?

Not a waste of money, unless he really knows what he's doing. You want to discuss with your attorney the different ways that you can set up the company (whether it be a sole proprietorship, a corporation, etc). Each setup has different tax and liability situations to consider, and only an attorney will be able to help you pick the proper way to set up your business.

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

Originally posted by: jpthomas

Why do you want to waste money on a lawyer for a small business sole proprieter?

Not a waste of money, unless he really knows what he's doing. You want to discuss with your attorney the different ways that you can set up the company (whether it be a sole proprietorship, a corporation, etc). Each setup has different tax and liability situations to consider, and only an attorney will be able to help you pick the proper way to set up your business.

Before you do any of that lets test the feasibility... how about he get some clients lined up before he registers and pays money to these professionals...

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure

Originally posted by: jpthomas

Why do you want to waste money on a lawyer for a small business sole proprieter?

Not a waste of money, unless he really knows what he's doing. You want to discuss with your attorney the different ways that you can set up the company (whether it be a sole proprietorship, a corporation, etc). Each setup has different tax and liability situations to consider, and only an attorney will be able to help you pick the proper way to set up your business.

Before you do any of that lets test the feasibility... how about he get some clients lined up before he registers and pays money to these professionals...

he already said he has some clients lined up.

 

[paulney]

Nolo's guide to Small Business
Choose the book for your state. Invaluable help.

Also look at : Nolo's 'Writing Contracts' and Nolo's 'Hiring Contractors'
Basically, anything from Nolo's is worth the money.

The only gripe I have with them, is that they should've combined a lot of things into one book instead of splitting them into many. But hey, everyone wants to make money.

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure

Originally posted by: jpthomas

Why do you want to waste money on a lawyer for a small business sole proprieter?

Not a waste of money, unless he really knows what he's doing. You want to discuss with your attorney the different ways that you can set up the company (whether it be a sole proprietorship, a corporation, etc). Each setup has different tax and liability situations to consider, and only an attorney will be able to help you pick the proper way to set up your business.

Before you do any of that lets test the feasibility... how about he get some clients lined up before he registers and pays money to these professionals...

he already said he has some clients lined up.

Then he can do work with them as an IC... if that goes well, then he should invest money in talking to the professionals.

 

[Shadowknight]

One: Decide if you're going to run it on an accrual or a cash basis; this will affect how you file your taxes. If it's cash basis you can only record income or expenses AFTER the money is received or spent. Under accrual, you record it even if you haven't gotten the cash on hand yet (i.e. you buy or sell things "on account.", it doesn't matter if cash hasn't changed hands yet).
Two: Keep thorogh records in case you are audited. Hell, keep thorough records so you know what you're spending your money on in regards to the business so you have a better idea if you're actually making money or not.
Three: Depreciation: This can get kind of funky, if you use a computer (or a home office) you can take depreciation but ONLY for the portion used for the business. So if you're computer is used 50% for gaming, the other 50% for business, you can only take half of the theortical business depreciation for the year. Depreciation is good, as it's essentially a "free" expense to decrease your taxable income.
Four: Self-Employment taxes: You'll have to track these since you're doing it solo instead of working for someone else. You will get a partial deduction for this though.