Just a few thoughts to share for those of you who own a small business or are thinking of starting one.

1. Buy some decent business cards. Nothing says part time, dead-broke wanna-be like a crummy little business card printed off your inkjet printer, even if you carefully removed most of the perforations around the edges. Real businesses have real business cards. They don't cost much, I pay about $85 per box of 500 for full, four color print. Spend the money.

2. Get your own internet domain name. JoeYerkel @ yahoo.com doesn't impress me, and won't impress anyone out there. Joe@YerkelsYardCare.com shows that you are in it for the long haul and care about your image. You can register a domain for 10 bucks a year or so. Google Mail will host your email servers for FREE and provide great spam filtering. I use GoDaddy.com - cheap and good service to boot. Spend the money.

3. Don't ask me for a deposit for a $400 job. If you can't float a few hundred bucks before working for me, you probably don't do enough work to be any good at what you do. On the other hand, a $10k job? Sure - I wouldn't do that much work without a signed agreement and a down payment, because then I'm extending credit, not relying on my customer to float my finances for 30 days.

4. Don't use your home phone number for a regular business number. I don't want to call and explain to the 12 year old that answer the phone (who insists on taking message) that I need a dozen J19 units instead of the R21s with additional flux capacitors installed. Get a business number - either land line or cell phone. If you can't afford $15/month, you probably don't do enough work to be good at what you do. Spend the money.

5. Don't tell me you don't have a fax machine. You can buy one at Office Max for $30. You can get a virtual fax number that will convert the fax into a .pdf file and send it to your email address. Real businesses have fax numbers. Spend the money.

6. Depending on your business, write up a price list. Nothing irritates me more than being told a price that is made up on the spot and isn't based on anything more than what you think you can get out of me at the moment. I'm not an impulse buyer and I'll probably call you back 2-3 weeks later. You give me a different price for the same item / service without a _very_ good explanation, you're not getting my business.

7. Don't be afraid to make a collections call. Your customers won't think poorly of you for calling about an invoice that's 60 days overdue, but they will if you're rude, pushy or tacky about it. Make the call at 30 days, and again at 45 days if necessary. Follow up with your customer - they will most likely pay you, just be polite about it.

8. Don't worry about telling a customer to take a hike. Part of business is "firing" customers. They either are too difficult to work with, or don't pay their bill, or want you to do substandard work and cover it up with the inspector. You don't need any of those people in your life. Tell them you can't work with them anymore, and move on. Life will be better.

9. If you have employees, don't get behind on payroll taxes. The penalties and interest will balloon up on you and overwhelm you. Hire a payroll service like ADP or Paychex if necessary - they will pull all the wages and taxes out of your account each pay period so you can't fall behind. It's peace of mind and money well spent if you don't know how to do it yourself.

10. Don't use your personal bank account for business. I don't want to write a check to Herb E. Curb for electrical work - I want to pay Herbus Curbus Electricans LLC. If you're too cheap to afford a separate bank account, you probably don't do enough work to be good at what you do. Also, a check made out to you personally gives me the impression you don't plan to pay taxes on that money. I pay a ton of taxes and I just don't feel the desire to watch you get away without paying your share.


Feel free to add your own tips and ideas.

I cosign this entrie post! I own a Real Estate Franchise and nothing bugs me more then to see other folks in my biz with aol,yahoo,msn email addys. Also using personal accounts to hold trust money. Also get an accountant already!! I also cant stand to get a repair ask for the money for the parts upfront and working under someone else's license.

I hate when people hand me a fake business card, drives me nuts. Oh, ok, I'll take you seriously...

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Whatever you do.... dont freakin answer a personal call while we are having a business meeting.. in fact if your cell rings I dont even want to hear it

I agree, very good post.

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