Welcome to my blog.
You can go to the library and spend a fortune buying books on how to start up a business and succeed, I can assure you that most of these books have been written by people who never really owned a business or have reached a level of success and somehow no matter how much you read you’ll probably find inspiration but not many answers to your every day questions. You’re never really going to see how any of the authors developed and maintained the “nuts and bolts of their businesses and as for the reality shows…..get real!
I’m going to give you a step-by-step “how to” on developing a business while at the same time tell you how I’m handling my day-to-day decisions. Hey, I’ve been reading the same books you have and I did find inspiration and insight in a few books and I will bring up some of the information that I found the most useful. I warn you, if you want to read eloquent words, you are wasting your time reading this. This is a blog written by someone who has been in the retail business for over 30 years and at the tender age of 23, decided he was not going to continue in the corporate rat race. I did not go to college and had very little business training but I did get my degree in the “School of Hard Knocks”. I’m still far from being successful and I can assure that at this moment I am trying to figure out a way to make money by getting you to read this.
First let’s start with the here and now.
I have my store in Coral Gables where for some reason everyone gets the impression that Miracle Mile is paved with gold. The truth of the matter is that it’s a miracle that most of these businesses survive and all you have to do is take a walk down the mile and see the number of businesses that are boarded up to understand what I am talking about.
I’m sure that most of the businesses that failed did so for the same reason that most businesses fail and you might if you don’t take some of this free advice (for now) that I am posting here.
At this moment we are in a recession and I guarantee you that this is going to be one of the most devastating summers we are going to go through. Don’t blame it on the Republicans nor Democrats, let’s not politicized the economy more than what it already is. But let’s take a reality check. One of the leading reasons we are in this soup, and I’m bringing this up in order to give you a clear picture of what you are up against. I’m sure you can come up with a huge list as to why things are the way they are, Immigrants sending most of their income overseas, foreign investors driving up real estate prices and then the real estate market crash. But I feel there are two main reasons why the economy is in the shape it’s in.
1- We are in the most expensive war ever fought in history.
2- “Globalization” has become “open season” on the American Middle Class closing American plants, moving them overseas making it crystal clear that corporate management is only responsible and committed to their stockholders and workers are only the largest and easiest corporate expense that can be controlled by finding low wage workers overseas. Now the dollar is weak and we just don’t have anything to export.
So as a small business how do we survive?
Be bold, be smart, get prepared, plan, plan and plan some more. There should never be anyone that understands your business better than yourself and if you find someone try to sell your place to them for a profit and open another one!
So let’s get right into it and start with the nitty gritty.
So you have an idea for a new business….
First thing you have to do is develop three budgets.
The first budget is a current budget and a projected budget of the business expenses. We will go into detail on that.
The 2nd budget is a “barebones” budget projecting the minimal you can live on and the minimal amount on which you can operate your business.
And the 3rd budget is the “Ideal Budget” projecting things going perfectly right and what it would take for you to live your dream.
So lets start with the “Here and Now”, let’s start our current budget and it should include the following expenses. Don’t expect any accountant to come up with these figures, they have to be thought of, researched, figured out and posted by one-person….you!
Rent/Mortgage/Association fees:
Electricity:
Water:
Communications: Phone, Cell, Internet
Personal insurance:
Auto payment/lease:
Auto insurance:
Auto maintenance: including car washes, projected tire replacement, balancing and any other scheduled/planned/projected expenses you would have in a one year period.
Health/Medical insurance: (if you can afford it), add dental
Groceries:
Vacation:
Gifts: Birthdays, Anniversaries, include parents, brothers and sisters, wife-husband, children.
Weekly/monthly entertainment: Cable TV, music downloads
Prepared foods: this includes your Starbuck’s coffee, lunches and dinners out
Credit card payments: Note that I accept this as a “cash basis” accounting because it will affect your bottom line in the “Here and Now” I don’t give a damn if you owe a million dollars, in the short run what you pay back is what is affecting you directly.
Entertainment: Do you have anything left?
Use this formula to plan your future personal budget cuts. Only you can figure out what you can “live without”. Do it and be prepared to “Live Without”.
