Basic steps to start a laminate flooring business

While most people prefer other businesses, some people get into laminate flooring business. Like any other business in the world, if done right, it’s a quite profitable business. Laminate flooring has been successful since it was introduced on the market, first in Europe and then in the United States in 1996.

Here are some basic steps to follow before you start your laminate flooring business:

1. You should make specific short and long-term plans with clear goals and ways to evaluate them. Determine the resources needed such as the place from which you will work, people, money etc.

2. You should have a pretty good idea of what products and services you will sell and the benefits people who buy them will get.

3. Find important information about your competitors like their strengths and weaknesses because it helps you in setting a competitive bid. Always try to be unique.

4. Focus your promotions effectively by knowing who will buy your products/services. Think about the different promotion strategies and find out the best that suits your business. Focus your promotions in reaching the greatest number of customers.

5. Set up your laminate flooring business. Find out the start-up costs (gear, furniture, licenses etc.). Also find out how much you will have to pay to stay in business. These costs usually include rent, taxes, utilities, promotional expenses, etc.

6. Insurance is a must. There are several types of insurance that you must have like health and property insurance, for example. You may have to talk to an insurance agent to determine what suits your particular situation.

7. Take care of all the legal matters. You should contact your state’s department of commerce and industry and find out all the things you need to do in order to start your own laminate flooring business. In most cases you need to get a business license from your local municipality.

8. Start a business checking account and use it to perform any money related operation like depositing your income or pay your business related expenses. Setup a fairly simple bookkeeping system to record all your income and expenses in a way that makes tax preparation and monitoring your situation easier. Ask your tax advisor or accountant to make sure you do this right.

This list is far from a complete one so use it just to learn the basic steps to be taken when starting your own laminate flooring business. You should consult a business professional and do additional research to make sure your business will be successful.

About the author:

Laminate flooring enthusiasts unite! Installation, maintenance, selection, e.g., Harmonics, Pergo, Shaw, Mannington – you name it, we are talking about it. Join us at http://laminateflooring.oncloud8.com

Small Business Legal
Structures

One of the first decisions that you
will have to make as a business owner is what business structure you want to
use. Depending on your situation and financial funding, you should consult with
an accountant and attorney to help you select the form of ownership that is
right for you. If you do not have enough funding, you will need to do a lot more
thorough research to reduce the chance for error.

We’re here at
Webhostingreport.net will try to give you some basic understanding of what
options you have and which one might be right for you. Once you decide which
option eventually is the best for you, you are able to intensify your research
and to build a case.

Sole Proprietor

The majority of
small businesses starts out as a sole proprietor. These businesses are owned by
one person, usually the individual who has day-to-day responsibility for running
this business. Sole proprietors own the complete assets of the business -
including all the profits generated by the business. The owner (sole proprietor)
also assumes complete responsibility for any of its liabilities or debts. In the
eyes of the law and the public, the owner (Sole Proprietor) is one in the same
with the business entity. Unlike a LLC or a corporation, you don’t have to file
any special forms or pay any fees to start working as a sole proprietor. All you
have to do is declare your business to be a sole proprietorship when you
complete the general registration requirements that apply to all new businesses
in your state/local area.

Advantages of a Sole Proprietorship

-
Easy to organize
- Owner has complete control
- Owner gets all the
income

Disadvantages of a Sole Proprietorship

- Owner is liable
for every kind of debt from the business
- Benefits are not business
deductions
- Business and personal assets are at
risk

Corporation

A corporation is considered by law to be
a unique entity, completely separate and apart from those who own it. A
corporation can be taxed; it can be sued; it can enter into contractual
agreements – all by itself and therefore protecting the personal assets of the
owner(s). if the corporation gets sued and found liable, the personal assets of
the owner(s) cannot be touched under normal circumstances. The owners of a
corporation are its shareholders. The corporation has a life of its own and does
not end to exist when the ownership changes. To form a corporation, you must
file the “Article of Incorporation” with your state government or with the state
government where you want to have your business registered.

Advantages
of a Corporation

- Shareholders have only limited liability
- Can
raise funds through the sale of shares/stock
- Your business is very
profitable, so that you can save a significant amount of income tax by keeping
the profits in the corporation each year. This results in higher value per
share.

Disadvantages of a Corporation

- To incorporate requires
more time and money than starting a sole proprietorship
- Running a
corporation requires certain organizational duties that need to be met
(Shareholder meeting, reports, create corporate bylaws, must issue stock
certificates)
- Actual taxation might be higher

Limited Liability
Company (LLC)

A Limited Liability Company is designed to provide the
limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and
operational flexibility of a sole proprietorship and partnership. The actual
formation is a little more complex and more formal than that of a sole
proprietorship and/or partnership. A LLC does have members but can also be
formed by just one person (=1 member). Basically – a LLC receives the
corporation’s protection from personal liability for business debts and the tax
structure of partnerships and sole proprietorships.

Advantages of a
Limited Liability Company (LLC)

- Members have limited liability
-
Actual taxation might be more beneficial for the members
- Business form
looks more professional than a sole proprietorship in many cases
- A LLC only
needs one member

Disadvantages of a Limited Liability Company
(LLC)

- A LLC cannot seek funding by offering shares to shareholders
-
The liability protection can be removed by a judge if it is obvious that the
members did not run the business as a LLC but as a partnership / sole
proprietorship
- Less laws that govern the LLC. This could be a problem in
complicated business situations

There are 2 additional business
forms that we do not cover this time. The partnership and the S-Corporation. We
do not consider the partnership a good business form as each partner can be held
liable for the debt created by the other partner. The S-Corporation is
eventually to complicated for most situations and requires more guidance by a
lawyer and accountant.

Your Home Based Business…Some Important Startup
Tips

There are numerous reasons why people choose to start a home-based business.
Some of those reasons include:

1. Dissatisfied with their present employment situation.

2. Out of work due to being laid off or downsizing by their employer.

3. A need to be home more with young children, an infirm family member, or
aging parents.

4. A yearning to be their own boss.

Whatever your particular reason for exploring a home-based business, there
are a few common steps you need to take in order to launch your business.

First off, you need to come to grips with reality…be realistic in your
expectations. Far too many folks read advertisements that are hype and imply
quick money, and lots of it, from a home-based business start-up. It will
certainly take a year, and in some cases it may take up to three years, before
you begin to truly make a significant profit from your business.

I have helped a large number of people start up their own home-based
businesses using the Internet. Over time, I have come to recognize two of the
most important factors for identifying people that should NOT start a home based
business. If a prospective entrepreneur says something like…

“I’m broke and need to make some money, fast!”

or,

“I want to start a home-based business, but I don’t want to spend anything on
it until after I start earning some money.”

…it is certain that they have not addressed reality and, with that mindset,
they will most certainly fail.

It takes a lot of time to successfully market and promote a new business. If
you are planning a home-based business in order to spend a lot of time with
young children or care for the elderly, a full-time business (and income) may
not be a realistic objective.

Second, spend some time researching your business idea. Make sure there is
truly enough of a market for your product or service. It’s easy to fall into the
trap of having a hobby or passion for something that you like to do and just
assuming that you can turn it into an economically viable business.

Third, learn as much as you can about small business. There is a wealth of
information available on this topic and the US Small Business Administration is
probably as good a place to start as any. Just go to http://www.sba.gov/ and
navigate to the sections dealing with home based businesses.

Fourth, write a business plan. It is your roadmap to reaching your
objectives. There are numerous articles on the Internet and in libraries that
can assist you in developing your business plan as well as addressing the many
other issues involved with starting and operating a business from home. As a
starting point, here are a couple of Small Business Administration website
locations that should prove useful:

http://www.sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.html

http://www.sba.gov/library/pubs.html

And last, but not least, seek the advice of a tax professional. Your first
reaction may be that you can’t afford such expenses right now; but, in reality,
you can’t afford not to seek such advice from the very beginning of your home
business start-up. They can advise you about ways you may be able to reduce the
amount of taxable business income at the end of the year. Paying for an hour or
two of consultation with a tax professional at the beginning will probably save
you much more than that amount later on down the road.

I never cease to be amazed at the number of people that seem to think that
some magic is somehow created when you put the words “home based” in front of
the word “business”. It’s still business…it just happens to be based in the
home.

Kirk Bannerman operates a successful home based business and coaches others
seeking to start their own home based business. Visit his website at Legitimate Home Based
Business for more details.