Generally speaking, we don’t just wake up one day and say “I’m going to have a baby today. My dog/cat/mouse ran away so I might as well have a kid today.” I’m afraid with the state of the economy many people are starting to feel like they don’t have a choice but to start their own business. While this is certainly a reason to start your own business, I do not think it is necessarily the best reason.

 

I hold a Juris Doctor degree from the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University. This means I went to school for at least 7 years (4 years undergraduate + 3 years of law school) to attain that degree. However, while it qualifies me to practice law (after taking the grueling two-day North Carolina Bar Exam) it does not qualify me to own/run a business (and/or have employees). 

 

So, like any parent (or entrepreneur), I needed a plan before I embarked on my endeavor. Every web resource and “Dummies” book recommended drafting a business plan. I must confess, I had no idea what one even looked like (they don’t teach you that at law school). So, like any red-blooded American, I googled “law practice business plans”. (I got 1,610,000 results – in case you’re interested). I spent several weeks browsing the results until I picked one that worked for me. I spent about $100.00 on some downloadable software that had fill-in forms and samples but allowed me to mold it into a personalized plan.

 

To be honest, this was the best hundred bucks I spent. Drafting my own business plan made me sit down and think about what I wanted to do with my business and how I was going to do it. I mostly guessed with some of the figures (but that’s what parents are for – to tell you your numbers aren’t “realistic”). I went through about six drafts of my plan before I had something I could present to banks. I’m proud of my plan and I’m proud of me for doing it myself.

 

You can certainly hire an attorney, M.B.A, C.P.A., M.O.M. or D.A.D.  to draft your business plan for you, but I recommend against it. Have the above individuals review your plan, but try doing it yourself. Just as the decision to have children (or how to raise children) is personal so is a business plan. Nobody knows you, your abilities or your management style better than YOU!! If I can do it, YOU can do it!!

One thing I have learned as a business owner is that I’m pretty vain! Because I am the registered agent for my corporation, I am the target of an obscene number of direct mail solicitations. You see, solicitors monitor the North Carolina Secretary of State’s (actually every Secretary of State) corporate filings to find out who has incorporated (or registered their business) in North Carolina. They then capture the name and address of the registered agent and add it to their mailing lists.

I have gotten solicitations for ink pens, key chains, holiday cards, clothing, mugs, you name it and I have gotten it!! Now, I have served as registered agent for other corporations before, but I generally just tossed the “junk mail” in the trash to spare my clients the trouble. However, seeing my own name on a pen, etc., I just couldn’t resist. I spent precious dollars from my small budget on a gimmicky item. I confess that while it turned out to be a good marketing tool, I would nevertheless recommend resisting the urge to waste too much of your budget on these “gimmicky” items (simply because your name is on it).   Go ahead . . . buy one! It is pretty cool to have a pen with your name on it. But, stop at one--if you don’t you will be on every junk email list for the rest of your business’s life.