Bill Bartmann Business Dumbed Down The Investing For Dummies Approach
Investing For Dummies: Before Starting and Growing a Successful Business
Heres some tips from Bill Bartmann that would be included if an Investing for Dummies book existed for starting and growing a successful business. But before we get into the elements about starting and growing your business, lets discuss two myths that are out there about starting a business that a lot of people suffer from, and make sure youre not one of them.
One of these myths is you get to be your own boss. Thats wrong. When you are at a job, you think I could have my own company and be my own boss and thatd be great. Now, maybe you have a jerk for a boss and youve got a guy thats telling you what to do and when to do it and how to do it. There are probably days you dont really care for that person very much. Well, be careful what it is youre trading for because when you go into business for yourself, you get to be your own boss for a little while and its a very, very short while.
Soon, you have other people that become your boss. They are your employees; they literally become your boss. They are your customers; they become your boss. The bankers and lender, they become your boss. Your venders and suppliers, they become your boss. Not technically, or legally, or by pure definition, or job title. They will never call themselves your boss, but they will do the same things this jerk youre calling a boss has been doing to you. Theyll tell you what to do, when to do it, where to do it, and why to do it. Theyll tell you the ramifications for not doing it. You have to understand that if youre getting in to be your own boss, that isnt the right reason because all youre really doing is trading one jerk perhaps for a whole bunch of other jerks.
Now the second myth that some people suffer from is they think theyll be independent. Ill be in charge of my own time. Ill be able to come and go and do what it is I want to do. That is way wrong, also. When youre in business for yourself, you become more dependent on that business than anything youve ever done in your entire life. You will now have less freedom to do the things you really want to do than youve ever had as an employee working for another company.
You have to understand what youre getting into before you start. You dont want to be operating under a bunch of misconceptions, and you dont want to have some fantasy that things are going to be remarkably different on day one. Theyre not going to be different on day one. They can become different as you grow and become successful. Then, you do get some independence, freedom, and the luxury of not showing up all the time, and playing golf in the middle of the week. But, youve got to pay the dues for that. That doesnt happen on day one, so when youre thinking about starting and growing a business, youve got to understand its going to be a real challenge. Youre trading one kind of independence for a different kind of independence.
If you still want to learn the basic elements, ones that would be included if Investing For Dummies, how to start and grow a business, were written. Some of them are going to surprise you. Starting and growing a business is certainly a challenge. And anybody that tells you its easy hasnt done it. Take it from Bill Bartmann, a guy who has started seven different businesses in seven different industries, starting and growing a business is full-time work. Its something you have to be ready to commit yourself to, to make some sacrifices to get to the rewards you want to get in life.
Why would you want to do that? Well, there are some really great reasons to be in business for yourself, and an obvious one is you do get to control your own destiny. In the old days, we used to have a thing called job security. Where you could have a job and itd be there tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. Well in todays age, weve come to learn that there isnt any job security. That the only security we can have is ourselves.
One of the reasons we start a business, and probably one of the most important to Bill, is that we get to control our own destiny. That means if it doesnt go well, youll pay the consequences, but if it goes right, you can end up with some wonderful rewards, and you can end up being the master of your own ship. Theres another reason for being in business, and its probably right there on top of the list. Its the only predictable way to get rich period. There are some other ways: you can marry rich, and if youre still eligibl. So if that is available to you, go ahead. But for most of us its not available. The second really easy way: have a rich relative die. Well, if you dont already have a rich relative, you are probably not going to get that opportunity. Then, theres a third way that is kind of easy, and that is win the lottery. But mathematically thats not going to happen. Youre odds are like a gazillion to one. So, although people do get rich those three ways, there are some people who marry rich, there are some people who inherited fortunes, and there are people who have won the lottery, but none of those are predictable. The only way that is predictable is to start and grow your own business. Then you do have control over your own destiny. You have control over your future. Thats got to be a compelling reason for why youd want to start and grow your own business.
One option for someone who is looking to get into business for themselves is to buy a business. Buying businesses works. Bill Bartmann has done well buying businesses, and its a good way to get into business, if youre ready to do it. One of the places you can get free information is www.bizbuysell.com. Its got some pretty good information, but like all things on the internet, always be a little skeptical of what people are telling you because sometimes its pretty difficult to verify. However, on this particular site they will show you 35,000 different business listings that are for sale.
What is really neat about this website is they give you some of the facts and specifics, including financial information relating to the company and what the business valuations are for these respective businesses. That is pretty helpful for if were already in business; we get to compare ours to somebody elses and it gives us a frame of reference. But if youre not yet in business, it gives you a flavor for what it is you might have to pay to get into that kind of business. Its like when you want to buy a house; you look at lots of different houses in several different price ranges to try to find the perfect house for you. Businesses are exactly the same way. You dont buy the first one you see or the first one thats for sale. You should treat it just like buying a house. There are thousands of businesses for sale and you should look at a lot of them so you can explore all the different opportunities.
Bizbuysell.com will also give you some links for some places where you can get financing. If youre interested, look at them with a certain degree of skepticism so you dont do anything silly while youre out there, but dont let not knowing how stop you from at least exploring the opportunity.
Another website is www.businessresale.com which has a large number of businesses listed for sale. Both of these websites refresh themselves regularly and frequently as new businesses are added and old ones are sold or disposed of.
If youre not an internet person, you already have another source in front of you right now, and thats your local hometown newspaper. Wherever you live, if you go to the back section of the newspaper, there will be a column of businesses for sale. They also have those columns in financial magazines and business magazines. Go do some research. Wallow around in the information and pretty soon youll become knowledgeable and start to pick up some tricks of the trade. Youre going to quit being intimidated because youre going to learn some things that all of us need to know.
Remember, you dont have to know all this stuff, these become things we learn as we get educated. Thats why you go to these sites, and if you never do anything with them, at least be familiar with them.
When you get more serious, when youre ready to make that decision, but you still dont know enough and are concerned that youll make a mistake, get somebody to help you. It doesnt matter where you live, there will a business broker, a CPA firm, or a law firm or someone who does this for a living. They will charge you for it; they will get paid for what it is they do. There are professionals out there you can hire, usually modestly, not for a lot of money. If you dont know what they charge, call them up and tell them youre thinking about buying a business and would like to have their assistance, and ask if they do that. Then ask if they have done it before? The third question you should ask is, What will you charge me for that?
Based on their answers to those three questions, you, the boss, get to decide if you want to create a relationship with that person or not. If you like the answers, good. If you can get someone who does this for a living and has done it a lot and brings a lot of experience with him at a price you can afford, this would be smart money as opposed to being a riverboat gambler and betting it all that youre smart enough to figure out things that you havent encountered or experienced before. Thats pretty risky, so get an outside professional to help you, especially if its the first time you ever bought a business. They not only give you a lot of good advice, but they can help you with the negotiating. You dont want anybody making any business decisions for you, but you to make the business decision based on good advice from experts. Let them give you their opinion, and you make the decision. Youve got to make sure youre representing your own best interest.
These same professionals can help you with the paperwork, and the paperwork is important. Documentation in a business transaction is really important because in the business world, contracts rule. If you dont have it in writing, you dont have it. No matter how friendly you are with a party today, its after you give them the check and the check clears and they spent the money that sometimes there are problems. Theyre going to be a little bit less friendly, a little less nice, and probably a little less cooperative at that point in time. Thats where a good, well-written contract thought through and thought out by a professional could protect your whole entire investment. It may be the kind of language you put in the contract that determines your future.
When youre thinking about buying a business, make sure you insist on some portion of the money staying in an escrow account for a minimum period of time to make sure all the representations, all the things the seller said were true are true. Within 30-60 days youll know. You should know, and if you dont know its not your fault, nor their fault.
The other thing that business brokers, CPAs, and lawyers can do for you and with you is give you their experience. Theyve been down this road. Theyve seen this movie, and they know how it ends. It may be the very first time youve ever bought a business, but they may have been involved in hundreds of purchases of businesses. They can tell you the right questions to ask, the right things you really need to know in a business because youre not supposed to know things youve never experienced.
Hire some people who really are experienced so they can bring their wisdom, advice, and counsel and can ask good, intelligent questions. Some of the basic questions are still going to be for you to decide. Is this a business that you really do understand? Is this a business which you have a high expectation of success? You have to keep asking yourself that. You havent signed the check yet. You havent transferred your money to them. Its not too late to pull out. Its not too late to walk away.
You need to understand that until you sign the paper and you transfer the money, you have a right to change your mind. Dont get hung up on the research youve done and time youve spent. If youve got a reservation, then you need to slow down and be really cautious. Does this business really match your skill set and expertise? Are you familiar with the industry? Are you familiar with the geography? Are you familiar with the client base? These are all basic, simple questions, Investing For Dummies style, that you should be asking yourself all the way up to the closing.
If the answers keep coming back yes, then great. Youre going to walk into the closing with confidence. Youre going to walk in knowing this is a good decision and youre prepared to do it. However, if any of those answers come back even slightly negative, you need to be really thinking about going forward. Maybe then youll want to be on the other side of the equation, where youre not going to be spending a lot of money to buy a business, but rather youll be building a business.
by: billbartmannopportunity
No teletrack cash loans- Almost everyone is approved Affiliate Marketing As An Ebay Business Opportunity Business Workers Looking After their Health Cityville Cash Cheat - Make Incredible Amounts Of Cash In Cityville Urgent loans: easy cash approval Earning Cash Online Selecting Texas Criminal Records Little Caesars Pizza Discount coupons - How to pay less for discounts on your business dinner 500 Fast Cash Loans – No need To wait For A Day To Fulfil Need Great Business From Vending Machines No Credit Check Loans–Swift Easy Cash For Short Time Period The 20 Most Important Questions In Business How to Build Online Business