People often ask me about how I started Work It, Mom!. It's a long, long story and instead of boring you with it, I came up with these very quick five tips for moms thinking about starting a business. I did all of these when starting Work It, Mom!, with the exception of talking to an accountant. Because I come from a financial background I have the financial skills necessary to start a business (although good advice never hurts.)
If you've started a business, I hope you'll add a few of your own tips in the comments!
- Write it down. You don’t need a long business plan, but you should have a good idea about what you want to do or sell, who your clientele is, how you will get the word out, what you will what materials you have already, what materials you will need.
- Do some research and find out who your competition is. Do you want to start an online boutique? How many other boutiques out there are just like yours? How can you make yours unique or special? Do you think you can compete effectively? Or do you need to re-think your idea a bit?
- Start to work on your business before you quit your job. Few working moms have the luxury to just quit a job and start a business. Find a way to start working on your business at night, on weekends or during other days off from your current job to get a head start.
- Go talk to an accountant. Even if you don’t need to live off your business, be smart about the numbers from the start. You can get a free consultation with most accountants and get help with setting up basic accounting for your business and yourself as a business owner.
- Just do it. You can start talking to potential clients or promoting your business before you have a finished website or nice business cards. The sooner you get out there the quicker you will learn.
About the Author:
I am the co-founder of Work It, Mom!, a freshly minted entrepreneur, and an amateur writer.
