If you want to start your own business, it is important to consider your financial situation. By determining your current income and expenses, you will be better at projecting your financial needs over the next months. For most small businesses, there is a gap between when you start your business and when you begin to produce income. In fact, most management consultants who specialize in small businesses suggest that you have at least 6 months of savings available for the start-up phase of your business. Of course, this number will vary depending on the type of business you decide to start.

Service businesses and home-based businesses are a favorite choice for many because the start-up costs are considerably lower than other businesses. Before you make any decisions about the type of business you would like to start, you need to develop a monthly plan of saving and spending. This will help you identify how much money you will need each month to live. Also, it will tell you if your dream of owning your own business fits with your other dreams such as sending a child to college.

To develop a savings plan and spending plan:
First, identify and write down your fixed expenses for each month for the next year. Fixed expenses are the monthly payments that have to be made every month. They include such things as insurance, home/ property payments, car payments,loans, utilities, savings, etc.

Next, identify your flexible expenses and write them down for each month. These are all the other monthly payment that include such things as food (including dining in restaurants), clothing/ personal care, entertainment, transportation (gas), etc. Since you are not obligated to specific expenses for these items, you have more flexibility in whether or not you want to include them and how much each of them will be. Consider what you've spent in previous months and any changes you wish to consider.

Now, subtract your total fixed expenses and total flexible expenses for each month from your expected monthly and annual income. Is there a balance? Do you have extra money each month? If you have extra money, this is a good sign. You can use this current income and expense calculations to estimate how much income you will need on a monthly basis.

What to do if you don't have the resources to start.

After examining your savings and spending requirements, you may find that you lack the necessary resources to start your business. Do not worry. This happens to many people. In fact, this may be the first obstacle that you will need to overcome. If you are still determined to start your business, you may want to begin accumulating alternative sources of income. 75 percent of small business owners and more use their personal savings to start their businesses.

However, if you need more than you have in your savings account, other money sources may be available from bank loans, family members, partners, friends, venture capital companies, mortgage property, loans from the government, or any other source that you can think of. A good rule of thumb is that you should not borrow more money than is necessary to start your business.Often, the more money you borrow, the less control you will have. For more information on business loans go to: /start/loans.htm

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