What You Need To Know About Starting A Business

Last year, stats showed that there were around 30 million small businesses in the USA alone. That’s a pretty impressive number, and when you apply it to other countries around the world, it’s clear that business ownership is on the up. There’s something deeply appealing about starting your own business; you get to decide your own hours, you’re never in thrall to a boss (although you may have to deal with some nightmare clients), and you can truly say you’re what makes your business great. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Here’s what you need to know about starting a business. Some things differ from one country to another. For example, in Malta you can open a business as a foreigner and pay a very low corporate tax compared to other countries where this is a few times higher.

It takes money

You’d be amazed at how many people seem to forget that starting a business is a costly endeavor. You’ll need money if you want to make it in the world of entrepreneurship; even starting up your business and getting established will set you back a considerable amount of money. You could look to many sources to shore up some cash. Business loans are a good idea, but if you’re looking for a cash injection quickly, why not consider logbook loans? It’s a site that offers quick cash against your vehicle, which is a great way to drum up some money for your first business endeavor.

It’s not easy

We know it sounds extremely obvious, but many people don’t seem to realize that a business won’t be plain sailing. Not only will you have to source the aforementioned funding, but you’ll also encounter many pitfalls and problems along the way, and they’ll come in lots of shapes and sizes depending on whereabouts you are in your business journey. Before you set out to start your company, make sure that you understand this will be hard. It’s no good quitting your day job only to realize you’ve got a much bigger task in front of you than you thought.

It might fail

Around 50% of businesses fail within their fifth year of operation, while a staggering 20% fail within their first year. This number isn’t anywhere near the oft-reported 90% that some outlets like to claim as gospel, but it’s still pretty high. With that in mind, you need to remember that there’s every chance your business will fail. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you did a poor job or that you aren’t a good entrepreneur; it could be down to a dip in the market or any number of other things that are out of your control. Accept failure and move on if it does happen.

Being in charge is exhilarating

If you’ve spent your whole life as an employee, then starting your own business can be incredibly exhilarating, but also very intimidating. Where do you begin when your hours aren’t being dictated to you by an external boss figure? Working without a boss is a skill you can acquire, but it’s going to take time and effort to do so. You’ll need to divest yourself of the mentality that you’ve got someone to answer to. Once you do, though, you’ll find the feeling of making all the decisions and being in charge utterly exhilarating and thrilling.

It’s not for everyone

There is every chance that you’re simply not the right person to start a business. That’s completely fine, and it’s not something you should fight. Some are born leaders and entrepreneurs, while others are much better suited to desk work. That’s not a slight on your personality at all; knowing your strengths and understanding how to play to them is very important. If you get a few weeks or months into your business endeavor and realize it’s not for you, there are steps you can take to quit. Just remember: you’re never trapped, and this is never the end of your career if you don’t want it to be.

It’s extremely competitive

This will, of course, vary from business to business, but the vast majority of enterprise is incredibly competitive. You won’t find it easy to establish yourself and your business if you’re not willing to go the extra mile as far as marketing is concerned. Building a name and brand identity for yourself is one of the most important things you can do as a business owner, with tools and resources available over at Platform Creator to help you establish that presence, but you won’t do it unless you’re willing to stick your neck out for your company. Obviously, don’t resort to anything underhanded or illegal, but you should do everything in your power to ensure your business succeeds.

It’s a team effort

Whether your business is an entirely solo endeavor or you’ve got staff, remember that starting and operating a small business is a team effort. If you don’t have staff, you’re working as a team with your clients, any freelancers to whom you’re outsourcing, and other individuals and businesses you need to work with. Don’t shut others out, especially if they have important critical feedback that could help you improve the day-to-day operation of your business. Allow yourself to work in a team with others and you’ll reap the benefits.

It requires you to be ruthless…with yourself

Contrary to popular opinion, starting a business does not require you to be ruthless with your staff members. It does, however, need you to be strict – almost ascetic – with yourself. Curb any bad spending habits you may have and work on negative personality traits that could seriously affect how you’re doing business. Are you quick to anger? Do you give up easily? These are characteristics that won’t be good for your business in the short- or long-term. Know that if you’re going to start a business, there’s a great deal of character development involved on your part.

5 Key Upgrades For Your Business

Gloucestercitynews.net (Nov. 21, 2019)–A smart business owner will always be looking for upgrades to boost their brand. Things can change quickly in the business world, and being able to update and stay current is critical for staying ahead of the competition and satisfying your customers. Even a minor upgrade could have a big impact on the success of your brand, so it is always worth considering any kind of positive change, no matter how big or small. With this in mind, here are a few upgrades to consider, which could help your business and keep you ahead of the curve.

1.Chat

It needs to be easy for your target customer to get in touch with you so that they can get questions answered. If it is hard to contact your team and/or it takes too long to receive a response, then they will simply take their business elsewhere, which is why having a live chat function is so valuable and a simple upgrade that you can easily make.

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The Story Behind The Story: Daylight Savings Time Forever

by Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Contributor

The United States Senate has passed a bill submitted by Sen. Marco Rubio (R, FL) to make Daylight Savings Time permanent. Sen. Rubio made some valid points in his bill. During the standard time when evening comes at 5:00 p.m. crime rate is higher, people become depressed due to Seasonal Affective Disorder and for an unknown reason, people have more heart attacks. There is also the hope, optimistically, that with more daylight kids will spend more time outside getting exercise.

image courtesy of The Farmers Almanac

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THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY:Response to School District of Philadelphia CEO Candidates

BY DOROTHY PHILBIN | CNBNews Contributor

When I taught at West Philadelphia High School a student named S.M. was the valedictorian the first year I was there. I’m happy for everyone who works hard enough to place first in a class of more than 300 students. He should have been very proud.

At that time the CEO (Superintendent) of the district was Paul Vallas who, in my opinion, was doing a wonderful job. His first priority was to buy all new textbooks for every student. Other, similar priorities quickly followed. Sadly, for S.M. it was too little, too late. Even though he was valedictorian he had to take a remedial math course over the summer to enter college in September. The school hadn’t prepared him to take an entry-level college math course.

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THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Is Teach for America an Unfair Program?

BY DOROTHY PHILBIN | CNBNews Contributor

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 16, 2022)–Cleary’s Notebook (CNBNews) this week printed an article about the Teach for America program and they, as with many employers, can’t fill openings. In their case they have hundreds into thousands of openings. I had experience with Teach for America when I taught in the School District of Philadelphia. I felt it was a very unfair program.

OUR BEST FRIEND ERICA IS WAITING FOR US AT THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

Erica Cleary, a beautiful yellow Labrador Retriever who resided in Gloucester City, NJ, most of her life, died Thursday night, May 14, 2015, from complications of old age. She was 13. In human years, she would be 91.

Erica began her life as a Seeing Eye puppy in Moorstown, NJ. She was in training when she broke her toe at the doggy playground. She spent 14 months with her toe in a cast. When the time came for her to take the final test, she was unable to pass it and was placed up for adoption at the age of two.

Connie and I had tried for over two years to adopt a retired Seeing Eye dog. Tired of waiting, we had gotten a black lab named Lacey during that time. The day we got the call that Erica was available we were so excited. During the 90-minute ride to Morristown, we were very anxious, not knowing what to expect. When we arrived in the town we were surprised to see how many people were walking the streets with seeing eye dogs. We learned later that those dogs were in training. The Academy, located in a wooded area, consists of a number of single-story buildings. It is nestled away a mile or so from the Mooristown.

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A MAN TO BE REMEMBERED

TO: William E. Cleary, Sr.

Dear Bill,

I was sad to read that you are saying goodbye to something that has become an essential part of Gloucester City. Reading your articles, opinions, and other important news over the years, it is evident that you encompass everything good about your profession as a journalist. Your knowledge, honesty, and dedication through the years kept us in tune with and educated about what was going on in the city. Your comments about what you investigated and questioned may not have been approved by some politicians, but how they handled the situation made you that much more of a “champion” of our First Amendment rights.

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ELATED CATEGORY GLOUCESTER CITY HISTORY

BY CNBNews Staff

Bill Tourtual, Butch Shaffer, and myself were talking

A new look for Butch Shaffer photo credit Babe Tourtual

recently about some of the characters we remembered growing up in Gloucester City, NJ back in the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. Somehow the name of Albert “Monk” Schaffer, (no relation to Howard “Butch” Shaffer), came up in our conversation.

Monk was a local hood who grew up in the 300 block of Morris Street. As a teenager he hung out at Augie’s pool room (28 N. Burlington Street), Tuckers Corner (Cumberland and Atlantic Street) and the Pine House (200 block of N. Broadway). When he got older he could be found at the Sand Bar, 5th and Powell Streets, The Twin Bar, Broadway and Market Street, and The Crown Point Inn, Westville, to mention a few.

My father-in-law, Tom Sarlo and I, bumped into Monk in the Batsto Pine Barrens during a 1970’s December deer hunt. We were heading home. His cadillac was stuck in the mud blocking the road. We tried to pull him out of the mud with our truck, but no luck. Wet snow was falling. He was with two teenagers, his nephews. They were dressed all in black. Not the right attire for hunting deer. As we drove away they were setting the woods on fire trying to get warm. We alerted the rangers about their situation.

SAINT MARY’S JUNIOR GUILD, GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ

By Tom Bowe

GLOUCESTER CITY NJ–Monsignor Edward Lucitt (Big Ed) pastor of Saint Mary’s Parish, Gloucester City, was the driving force behind the St. Marys Men’s Guild, which was started probably by Msgr. Brick during the depression. Both priests were similar in nature, great heart, passionate, and when something went wrong, they took no prisoners.

Big Ed was my first basketball and football coach in grammar school.

The men of the Guild made fishcakes on the first floor and delivered them and other food to the citizens of Gloucester City during those awful years of the depression.. During the war years, while I was in grammar school (St. Mary’s), all the fellows were in the service, and the Men’s Guild evolved into the Junior Guild. It also kept a lot of young guys out of trouble by giving them a place to hang out.. Not to mention that Big Ed also kept an eye on us and the building..

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1971 Gloucester Catholic HS Football Team Honored

source GCHS Press Release

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (October 2012)–Gloucester Catholic’s 1971 unbeaten, untied football team was honored on Saturday, October 20, 2012, during a reunion of team members at Gloucester Catholic High School. Team players, coaches, and staff were honored prior to the Rams’ 10:30 a.m. homecoming game against Woodstown in a special ceremony.

Guided by former coach Bob McQuillan, the 1971 Rams posted a 9-0 overall record, led by All-South Jersey standouts Jack Long and Steve Rotella, along with quarterback Steve Johnson. They capped a spectacular season with a 34-29 victory over Middle Township team in November 1971.