My husband and I both lost our jobs recently, and as you can imagine, we are going through a difficult time.  We have two children to support, a mortgage to pay, and all the usual expenses of running a household.    Lately we’ve been kicking around the idea of starting our own business, but we have no idea where to start.  We do have a small inheritance we haven’t yet had to touch that could help in financing a new venture.  Any ideas where to go from here?

Ambitious But Clueless

Dear Ambitious,

There are two great resources to consult in Waterloo for people interested in starting a business.  The first is the University of Northern Iowa’s Regional Business Center (236-8123), and the second is SCORE (236-9878), made up of successful area business people who have retired and are offering their wisdom to future entrepreneurs.  They are located at 212 E. 4^th Street, Waterloo.

There are a number of websites that will get you thinking about all the considerations inherent in starting a new business.  Just use your search engine by entering “How to start a business”, and you will have lots of material to look at.

Lots of due diligence is required to lay the groundwork for a successful venture.  Among many other things, you need to consider:

How to evaluate your business potential

How to write a business plan

What communication tools you will need: computers, phone system, etc.  

How to organize your business

What licenses and permits you will need

How much business insurance you will need

Where to locate your business, and whether to buy or lease the property

Who will handle the accounting and track the cash flow

In addition to your inheritance, where you can get additional financing

Whether your business lends itself to e-commerce

Whether it makes sense to buy an existing business, or get a franchise

How to publicize and market your company

If there are opportunities for/problems involved in future expansion 

Whether you are aiming for international trade

Whether your business will be home-based

These are just a few of the many considerations to keep in mind.  Starting a new business is not for the faint of heart, but thousands of people in the Cedar Valley have done so successfully.  Best wishes toward adding to their ranks!