5 Tips for Starting a Business After Financial Setbacks

Financial setbacks are never pleasant, but they don’t have to be fatal when you’re an entrepreneur. It’s true, financial setbacks are part of becoming a successful entrepreneur. The trick is learning how to navigate those setbacks so that you can position yourself for success in the future. Kimberly J. Howard, CFP explains how you can bounce back.

1. Learn From Your Mistakes 

Most founders who’ve experienced significant financial setbacks, or even lost their business, made substantial mistakes along the way. Mistakes are part and partial of growing as an entrepreneur. Bill Gates’s first company failed, executives removed Steve Jobs from his own company, and Walt Disney lost $15,000 on a company that failed before starting Disney. Look at your mistakes, ask others for advice, and learn from them. 

2. Create a Detailed Business Plan

Having a business plan is essential before starting a business. Using other people’s money, such as angel investors, can increase your chances of success. However, angel investors often require a solid business plan before investing their money. Your business plan should include the following: 

• Marketing strategy. How will you advertise your company to potential customers?
• Competitor analysis. Be honest about your competition, but detail how you’ll beat them. 
• Financial projections. Have some precise economic forecasts for the first three years.
• Details about your business. Detail your product and service and how it’ll serve your potential customers.
• A section on HR. Discuss employee requirements and how you’ll meet those requirements. 

3. Use Free Tools to Keep Costs Low

You’ll need to utilize free tools during the startup phase to keep costs down. Fortunately, there are many free tools to choose from, including:

• Website builders. If you’re looking to keep costs minimal, look for free website builders that offer easy design with a clean look.
• Accounting software. Free accounting software is helpful, and ProfitBooks offers precisely that. 
• Word processing. If you need to edit documents for your business, you can use Google Docs. 
• Invoicing. A free online invoice generator makes it easy to create and customize invoices that you can quickly send via PDF.

4. Find Mentors

Everyone faces financial setbacks when they start a business. Some people overcome their setbacks, yet others never start a company again. Finding mentors is the best way to learn from your mistakes. 

Look for various business networking events throughout the year where you can meet business leaders. Use these events to find mentors with advice on how to overcome financial setbacks. 

5. Don’t Fear Failure

You shouldn’t be scared to fail when you start a business. Although failure is somewhat likely depending on your risk levels, fearing failure will achieve nothing. In the future, use disappointment to motivate you to succeed and switch failure from a negative into a positive. 

Planning a Successful Career-Related Move

If your company is relocating to a new city or a different state, you may be forced to uproot your family and move to an unknown locale. So what can you do to prepare yourself and your loved ones effectively in order to avoid stress and to save both time and money? Depending on your situation, here are a few tips for a smooth relocation, courtesy of KJH Financial Services.

Relocate Your Business

If you’re a business owner and are relocating your company to a different state, you’ll need to re-register your LLC or corporation. To avoid costly lawyer fees, you can file the paperwork yourself or use a formation service that will help you understand and follow the rules applicable in your state, as well as obtain all the licenses and permits you may need to legally operate.

Try to plan your move several months ahead and get in touch with a local accountant to review your paperwork and inform you of possible tax incentives, as well as to prepare for unforeseen expenses. And if you need to find a new brick-and-mortar location for your business, spend some time in your new city to find a neighborhood where your target market likes to shop and find retail space in that area that fits your budget.

Additionally, if the new job isn’t what you were hoping or planning for, don’t panic. There are plenty more opportunities out there! To give yourself an advantage over the competition, here’s a free resume builder that you can use to professionally highlight your skills.

Find a Place to Live for Your Family

In an ideal world, you would have plenty of time and opportunities to visit your new state or city, explore different neighborhoods, inquire about the best–and worst–schools in the area and find the perfect home for yourself and your family. But sometimes, a career-related relocation leaves you with barely enough time to pack. So try to optimize the time you have by doing a lot of research based on the needs of your family.

If you have school-aged children that will be enrolled in public institutions, find a house or apartment located in the school district that best suits your children’s educational needs. And if you’re concerned about spending too much time away from your loved ones, find a rental home close to your new place of employment to reduce your commute time. Two bedroom/two bathroom homes in the Boston area start at around $2,400 per month, so do your research. Certain areas are more desirable than others, especially when you take school districts into account. Once you know the area better, and if you want to put down roots in your new city, you may start looking for a place to buy.

Create a Budget for Your Moving Costs

Some companies will offer to pay for some of your relocation costs, so make sure you keep all your receipts handy. Contact a few moving companies in your area and have them come to your house in person to assess the cost of moving your household to a different city or state, and get several estimates in writing. You may be able to save money by packing your belongings yourself, but make sure to allow enough time to do so, and don’t forget to keep track of how much you spend on packing boxes, tape, and bubble wrap for your fragile items.

When creating your moving budget, be sure to include upfront costs such as internet, utilities, rent, and security deposit, as well as your travel expenses like gas, hotel accommodations, and meals. It adds up pretty quickly. Make a list of everything that will need to be turned off at your old house (cable, gas, electricity…) so you don’t end up paying providers you no longer need and don’t forget to notify the post office, your bank, and your insurance company that you are moving.

Relocating can be a wonderful thing if you’re looking for a change of scenery, but make sure you and your loved ones have a soft place to land. That means making sure that your kids have great schools to go to, that you live in a safe neighborhood, and, if you’re a business owner, that your company can thrive in its new location.

Building your career requires many strategic moves and a lot of work. If you’d like guidance on the financial planning aspect of your growth, contact KJH Financial Services. We can help you manage your money and invest in ways that will secure your future. Visit us online to learn more.