Starting Your Own Company

[TomAz]

one more thing re company credit cards:

the question you're really asking is how do you come up with operating capital. This is the single most important question you will face with a startup. There are no easy answers. Either you front the money yourself (if you have it) or you find others to do it for you. Friends, family, or, eek, a bank.

[Tubesock Shakur]

I recommend that you stop worrying about trivial crap like company credit cards and VistaPrint business cards and start worrying about the fundamentals of your business. If you want to differentiate yourself from the rest of the IT community then stop acting like a smug asshole. People are offering you genuine advice, don't shit on them for it.

Also, you can talk to office managers to start, but ultimately you want to be talking to business owners. Office managers deal with commodities, business owners work with strategic partners. I mean yeah your foot in the door is probably keeping their network running. But the long term value is in helping them use technology in ways they haven't thought of to make their business run better.

Seriously, business cards, web site, seo, smo, and business names is the easiest part of getting a business started.

[RotationSlimWang]

... okay, just nevermind with the thread. Tom, that wasn't advice about starting a business. That was advice about how to do the job I already do. I've got an idea: how about, if you're going to bother still trying to contribute any suggestions which I hope to God nobody does 'cause this is getting fucking annoying--you just pretend like you don't have any insight into how to be a better IT consultant to give me? It would be nice in two respects: (a) I didn't ask for advice on how to manage clients. I already manage clients. I think you either don't understand what I do or you just assume I must be doing some lower-end version of it because my personality is just so deplorable.

I don't want advice about starting an IT consulting company unless you're an IT consulting company owner. I was asking for general advice about the process of starting a new business and if anyone knew of any useful programs or lessons they learned in their first few years that they think any first-time business owner should hear, that sort of thing. Not for you yokels to give me your opinions on whether or not it's possible that I know how to deal with my clients.

[PotVsKtl]

Get a batch of big dick dogs and charge $100 a pop to have them run a gravy train on Amy. Business sorted.

[RotationSlimWang]

There's no way Pot has a high-paying job with responsibility at a major technology company. Look at the things he types. Someone quick, give him a suggestion how to behave in front of his supervisors. Because apparently how you talk on the message board is exactly what you're like at work. This is what I'm gathering.

[Tubesock Shakur]

Your new best friend. http://www.sba.gov/

[Mugwog]

A friend of mine is an owner of an IT company that serves SD, OC and some parts of LA, he originally started by working as a subcontractor for a major realty company. He's doing pretty well, has to still deal with idiots (IT work standard), but he's buying larger property, just had his first kid and drives a foreign luxury import. He works like a mother fucker sometimes, but its going well, as its expanded to basically the coast of So. Cal. He's talked about it possibly expanding to NV and further up CA.

It sounds like you have enough independent clients to invest whatever little time you have to yourself to see if the money has potential to grow, in addition to staying consistent. Not sure how you would price yourself, as flat rate jobs seem very inviting off the bat, but if they aren't consistent and you offer support within the flat rate, it may just become a headache in the end.

An LLC is definitely the way to go, just have a good accountant and possibly consider keeping a daily expense log, you'll be able to write a lot off. You want to take advantage of as many tax loopholes as you can.

[HotHamWater]

I don't have anything useful to contribute, I just want to be on the receiving end of a Mexican joke.

[VigoTheCarpathian]

2 ways to grow: 1. Sales 2. Acquisitions

Think about that. Think long and hard. PM me when your ready to make some money.

[RotationSlimWang]

::eyebrow:: If you have a proposal of some sort just say so, either publicly or via PM. When you ask me to PM you when I'm ready to make some money, it just sounds like you're going to sell me a bridge... or rape me.

[fatbastard]

How about certifications in hardware/software applications and liability?

People call from our 3rd level support and ask me to power cycle multiple servers. They have been certified and I have not. I ask them to send me the request via email and CC their boss. They do this 80% of the time, they come back 20% of the time after putting me on hold then tell me they are sending HP out to further diagnose of the issue, which normally has a 4 hour turnaround time. This tells me that they weren't that confident to put their name in writing. Just trying to cover my ass.

You know what I mean right? Certification means you have a license to fuck things up and the producer will back you up, for the most part.

You realy haven't spoken in detail on specifics, so not sure on the size of businesses you would be taking on.

[bug on your lip]

::eyebrow:: If you have a proposal of some sort just say so, either publicly or via PM. When you ask me to PM you when I'm ready to make some money, it just sounds like you're going to sell me a bridge... or rape me.

somebody has been thinking long and hard

[ThatGirl]

My only advice would have been that you get help with budgeting to ensure you have the capital or the revenue potential to go it alone, but you don't want to hear that. Considering you mentioned your personal finances were a concern, i.e. terrible credit history - I'm really surprised you would ditch on Courtney for offering that advice. Sounds like its the area you'll need the most help.

[RotationSlimWang]

Certifications in IT don't do anything like that, FB. They're mostly exercises in test-taking and knowing how the software/hardware developer wants you to support their product, which is not frequently not actually the best practice when it comes to reality. Certifications come in handy because you need a certain percentage of your employees to be certified in, say, Microsoft products in order for your business to be accepted as a Microsoft Partner. That stuff is a bit more important when you have a staff working for you. I think I've been asked maybe a handful of times by clients whether or not I was certed.

[ThatGirl]

Certifications in IT don't do anything like that, FB. They're mostly exercises in test-taking and knowing how the software/hardware developer wants you to support their product, which is not frequently not actually the best practice when it comes to reality. Certifications come in handy because you need a certain percentage of your employees to be certified in, say, Microsoft products in order for your business to be accepted as a Microsoft Partner. That stuff is a bit more important when you have a staff working for you. I think I've been asked maybe a handful of times by clients whether or not I was certed.

You need liability insurance to protect you from errors and omissions when you are an independent.

[gaypalmsprings]

Hire a good lawyer. Save money for bail.

[fatbastard]

Just throwing it out there.

[RotationSlimWang]

My only advice would have been that you get help with budgeting to ensure you have the capital or the revenue potential to go it alone, but you don't want to hear that. Considering you mentioned your personal finances were a concern, i.e. terrible credit history - I'm really surprised you would ditch on Courtney for offering that advice. Sounds like its the area you'll need the most help.

Exactly. And since I'm not FUCKING BLIND and I'm not A GODDAMN IDIOT, it's somewhat reasonable to assume that before I embarked on a life changing financial transition, I would probably take my big Jew brain and do some fucking calculations to see how much I'd have to make and how many clients I'd have to maintain in order to reliably make that and estimated the costs of all the expenses I've thought of already, fucking OBVIOUSLY that would be a critical part of my process, you goddamn dizzy motherfuckers.

[TomAz]

... okay, just nevermind with the thread. Tom, that wasn't advice about starting a business. That was advice about how to do the job I already do. I've got an idea: how about, if you're going to bother still trying to contribute any suggestions which I hope to God nobody does 'cause this is getting fucking annoying--you just pretend like you don't have any insight into how to be a better IT consultant to give me? It would be nice in two respects: (a) I didn't ask for advice on how to manage clients. I already manage clients. I think you either don't understand what I do or you just assume I must be doing some lower-end version of it because my personality is just so deplorable.

I don't want advice about starting an IT consulting company unless you're an IT consulting company owner. I was asking for general advice about the process of starting a new business and if anyone knew of any useful programs or lessons they learned in their first few years that they think any first-time business owner should hear, that sort of thing. Not for you yokels to give me your opinions on whether or not it's possible that I know how to deal with my clients.

I have no doubt you know how to wire networks together. I doubt you know the first thing about running a business. because I and others have offered you "lessons they learned intheir first first years that they think any first-time business owner should hear", but you want to talk about company credit cards.

[PlayaDelWes]

Just get started and go at it. You say you have some pretty good leads already. Develop those relationships. Take them to lunch, explain what you are going to do, and confidently ask for their support in your endeavor. Don’t’ worry about your current employer. Work forward and the rest will take care of itself.

The only disconnect I see is when you say “…doing the same work...” I think you know that simply continuing to do what you like and what you are good at is not enough. Client relationship development is THE barrier to entry in professional services and a huge part of what’s going to make you succeed. It takes a lot of time, effort, and emotion.

The administrative BS will be an initial pain, but won’t take up too much of your time. Just get the LLC, FBN, Tax ID, and all the other hoops out of the way ASAP so you can start doing business legitimately for your initial clients.

On the surface it doesn’t sound like you need a terrible amount of cash to get things rolling. What’s this ‘2000 dollars worth of equipment’ you speak of? Is this something you need to service your clients? Or is this a client cost that they expect you to front and get reimbursed for later?

I think all this is extremely doable and whatever you need to do to motivate yourself to go forward, you should, ASAP. None of this is rocket science that only a bunch of a-holes on a music message board hold the answer to. The barriers to entry here are essentially a couple hours and a few hundred dollars on legalzoom and your ability to gain some immediate trust from your initial clients.

[gaypalmsprings]

You'll make more money selling drugs.

[lt.roast.a.botch]

As said earlier, LLC seems to be the best for you however, a few of things to consider that I remember from my Start Up Law class. First, although you mention that you are going solo (and I assume will take on the financial burden alone), if you do ever plan on finding an investor/partner remember that in an LLC the profits AND losses are distributed based on contribution. Second, in an LLC there is a franchise tax on gross receipts not net receipts. So if profits are low but margins are high you will be taxed more in an LLC then a LLP. Lastly, CA courts will strip you of your limited liability if you manage, tax, and act like a Partnership (unlimited liability). Again only relevant if you have an business partner in the future. Ask your accountant or lawyer for more info.

[RotationSlimWang]

I have no doubt you know how to wire networks together. I doubt you know the first thing about running a business. because I and others have offered you "lessons they learned intheir first first years that they think any first-time business owner should hear", but you want to talk about company credit cards.

You like bringing up the same quote from the beginning of the thread repeatedly. Perhaps it's a short-term amnesia. What you were cautioning me against there is that I only know what it's like to be the guy who shows up and greets the receptionist and then fixes the thing, but if I run my own business I'm going to have to show them how I can help business grow profitably from the smart use of technology. Yeah, that's already part of what I do. I mentioned office managers because--guess what--90 percent of the time that's who the point of contact is. You talk logistics and scheduling with them and then you talk money with the owner or whoever's acting on their behalf. Convincing men to spend money is at least interesting... putting up with chit-chat is the arduous part. My point is that you've done some bizarre extrapolation of one little comment I made about a company credit card--the usefulness of which is that sometimes clients really need me to be able to show up with thousands of dollars worth of equipment in a hurry and since I have no fucking startup capital, I offhandedly brought up the credit card, you old fuck.

[chairmenmeow47]

You'll make more money selling drugs.

if you're going to sell drugs, test the product and make sure you know the people aren't cops. just sayin'

(wants to be on the receiving end of tit jokes)

[ThatGirl]

Exactly. And since I'm not FUCKING BLIND and I'm not A GODDAMN IDIOT, it's somewhat reasonable to assume that before I embarked on a life changing financial transition, I would probably take my big Jew brain and do some fucking calculations to see how much I'd have to make and how many clients I'd have to maintain in order to reliably make that and estimated the costs of all the expenses I've thought of already, fucking OBVIOUSLY that would be a critical part of my process, you goddamn dizzy motherfuckers.

Sounds like you have it all figured out and didn't really need to start a thread asking for advice then.

[p.r. teo]

I don't know why I'm helping you but when I started my first production company in 2001, the one thing I made a point of was having a nice office that could convey to my clients that I was a serious about my work. They were impressed by the videos I made but there were other companies in town who could also make impressive videos. What set me apart aside from the unique look of my cinematography was that my office reeked of professionalism. Clients would come in and see my armada of XL-1 lenses and the dolly track I had my friends built (but told them I built myself, heh) and the posters of the movies I'd already made or storyboards of the projects I was in the preproduction stage of and they would think they were in Hollywood. One of them even said wow, it's like I'm in Hollywood. It was not like any other office in town at the time. I got a lot of commercial shoots that way and helped to fund my real projects. Now you go into any production office in Tucson and it looks like what I pioneered 12 years ago, so I've had to keep reinventing to stay ahead of everybody, but now it's not as important because I'm established and don't have to do commercials like I did back then. But that was probably the number 1 thing that led to my early success.

[VigoTheCarpathian]

My mom hates it when I make movies and smoke weed in the house

[TomServo]

Without reading all the responses...

Going LLC is extremely expensive, and it never ends. Even if you incorporate in Delaware (like everybody else), California still screws you with huge taxes (if you're in Cali), and the attorney fees for keeping everything current are significant. If there's no real likelihood of a personal liability situation, don't overvalue that protection. Most businesses fail quickly, hopefully yours does not... but since it's an IT business, just have an attorney write up an ironclad no fault agreement (with an arbitration clause) for the clients to sign and bill them as a contractor.

Of course this is not intended as legal advice. I advise you to speak to an attorney, but know that the attorney may encourage you to do whatever gets them the most billable hours.

[RotationSlimWang]

I don't know why I'm helping you but when I started my first production company in 2001, the one thing I made a point of was having a nice office that could convey to my clients that I was a serious about my work. They were impressed by the videos I made but there were other companies in town who could also make impressive videos. What set me apart aside from the unique look of my cinematography was that my office reeked of professionalism. Clients would come in and see my armada of XL-1 lenses and the dolly track I had my friends built (but told them I built myself, heh) and the posters of the movies I'd already made or storyboards of the projects I was in the preproduction stage of and they would think they were in Hollywood. One of them even said wow, it's like I'm in Hollywood. It was not like any other office in town at the time. I got a lot of commercial shoots that way and helped to fund my real projects. Now you go into any production office in Tucson and it looks like what I pioneered 12 years ago, so I've had to keep reinventing to stay ahead of everybody, but now it's not as important because I'm established and don't have to do commercials like I did back then. But that was probably the number 1 thing that led to my early success.

So your office helped you convince people to fund your continuing production of totally shit movies? Good to know. Fuck an office.

[bug on your lip]

GAYDDAMM FUCKING BLIND IDIOT !! amirite randeeee ?