Topic: advice on new business

[tramp]

started new business with woodworking
furniture and the what not
here's the question
i have my state license to run a business but i would have to charge tax on my items
that and the cost of a accountant would raise the cost of the item
in todays economy that does not add up well
but i could branch out and go online and sell to more people
or do i stay local and keep prices down?

[martino1972]

keep the prices low is a good goal,but don't forget to make a penny... I was always cheap with labor and didn't always charge all the hours i put in and it nearly cost me my business....I learned fast to make sure there's some dollars in between...

problem is:are you willing to work with hired hands or wanna stay a one man business.....
I found out that it's hard to find a GOOD hired hand that does the work the way you want him/her too..(quality of work)

[tramp]

right now the only hired hand is the wife
she draws well and can handle most tools too

[754]

Unless you want to learn a new vocation or job, pay the accountant.

You can do it yourself, but not knowing what they know, can cost more than you save.

Listen or try to listen & understand, what experienced business owners try to tell or pass on to you.. it may not make sense at first, and many never listen..

 But 2 or 3 years later, it will make sense..

 Overhead is killer, keep it under control..

 If you are not good at estimating, maybe you should not be in business!!. ( I include myself in this group  )

[754]

you will soon learn to hate Chinese-made..

[firecracker]

Talk to an accountant and decide early-on if you are going to use accrual or cash-based accounting.  We're a small mom-and-pop type business and use cash-based.  If you plan on growing, consider using accrual from the get-go.  Too much trouble switching mid-stream.

When we went from being W-2 employee-types to business owners, we kept the same accountant.  Mistake!  She didn't know how to deal with all the little issues.  A few years later, we switched accountants and the new one discovered we had overpaid our taxes by $20,000   (bonus: the IRS paid interest on what they owed us).  Still, it would have been nicer having the money all along...

Best of luck!

[Industrial Rat400f Killer]

I've been a self employed cabinet maker/carpenter for the last five years.
http://www.covelconstruction.com/index.html
I use Quick Books to make bills for clients and keep track of incoming/outgoing money. It took awhile to learn how to use the soft ware but once dialed in it is the best way to go IMO. There is a version specific to our trade. I have a CPA that helped me get started with Quick Books and now at the end of the year I load the years info on a memory chip and take it to the CPA. The CPA sticks the card in their computer and has all the info right there. I have them file my year end taxes and set up my quarterly payments. This only cost about $3-400 a year.
Ask other small companies in your area for good CPA's and make an appointment with one that is willing to work with you using some sort of soft ware accounting.

In my experience, there are way to many land filling garbage makers that sell furniture for so cheap I could never compete without cutting every overhead cost I can.
My only saving grace is that I build stuff using a level of quality that can not be purchased for cheap and I make custom anything. If somebody wants something that isn't a stock item they can come to me.

The word of advice I have is, make your business a LLC or INC. If a piece of your furniture falls on somebody or causes some sort of accident, people can sue you and take you house if you aren't protected by a corporate shield.

[tramp]

i have talked to an accountant and he said the same thing
i think what i am going to do is stay low key and see how things go

[martino1972]

okay,enough about the business end of things...how bout some pictures of you new business/work skills......

[tramp]

kids have most of my stuff
working on a log house project like when i was a kid
i was surprised when my grandkids played with it
don't mide the prototype roof
also working on a foot locker for kids

[tramp]

tried to download pics
failed miserably

[Industrial Rat400f Killer]

tried to download pics
failed miserably

email them to me and I'll post them if you like.

[HavocTurbo]

I run both a local and an online motorcycle parts business. Although I use Bookkeeper it's basically the same as Quickbooks, and my accountant uses it as well. So that helps. ( www.Mavrik-Powersports.com) Started out as wanting an online place for my local customers and it has started to grow considerably.

At the furniture store we use quickbooks and have in house accountants as well. Of course we can afford all that but we didn't start out that way. Best thing I can offer about the furniture business is the need for a wide range of styles.

While we are known for traditional styling ( www.AmishFurnitureSpecialties.com ) we also have quite the contemporary selection.

That allows us to meet a wide range of needs.

[tramp]

I run both a local and an online motorcycle parts business. Although I use Bookkeeper it's basically the same as Quickbooks, and my accountant uses it as well. So that helps. ( www.Mavrik-Powersports.com) Started out as wanting an online place for my local customers and it has started to grow considerably.

At the furniture store we use quickbooks and have in house accountants as well. Of course we can afford all that but we didn't start out that way. Best thing I can offer about the furniture business is the need for a wide range of styles.

While we are known for traditional styling ( www.AmishFurnitureSpecialties.com ) we also have quite the contemporary selection.

That allows us to meet a wide range of needs.

cool sight, showed my wife
unfortunately

[heffay]

just because you have a business doesn't mean you need an accountant... especially at the stage you are.

get that picture thing worked out, either yourself or hire it out... you need to get your name out on the web and phone books and such.  a tiny little webpage can be the best boost for your business.  at least be able to show people your work outside of forcing them to come to your woodworking shop.

i would go online in a heartbeat.  you don't have to sell all your stuff online... only ship the shippable items and make them come get the really big stuff.

[Industrial Rat400f Killer]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that a lot of small businesses have set up blogs because they can be free and easy to figure out. Instead of blogging every day you can just post your contact info and pictures. I was going to do that but my neighbor built my web page for free.