Is there a business start up check list

[christij]

I want to setup a small farm business... sell of eggs/produce/fruit/raw milk. Is there a checklist on the dos and don'ts somewhere. A certain $$ amount where you don't bother with it?

I have a ficitious (sp?) business name, but I think that's it. I am totally clueless! I took business courses in college but none of them actually made do anything other than come up with a business and some made up plan...

Thanks!

[lharvey]

Hello Christi

I struggled with the same thing back 12 years ago when I started my business.

I looked and looked for some guidelines, the do's and don't's, what I needed what I didn't.

I too have a degree in BA and like you it really didn't apply fully to what I wanted to do.

What I eventually ended up doing was to talk to other small business people in my area and picked their brain. Learned from their mistakes so to speak.

Talk to them, networking, see what worked and didn't work for them.

The SBA was NO help at all. They were not geared for a small start up at all.

There was a group that I found in Maine that was somewhat connected to the SBA that was retired CEO's from companies that offered their services and advise for free to small start ups, they were very nice, knowledgeable, and available. Most, however, were retired from big companies and could only offer advise in their particular field within that company. Not a top to bottom approach but still some useful information. As I recall, they were called angels.

I don't understand this part of your question

A certain $$ amount where you don't bother with it?

If I read it rite, I think you are asking at what point, dollar, wise is it not a good idea to run a business. If I read it rite, that would totally depend on what you have in mind.

Never turn down work, do not give away your product or services, and never limit the ways a person can pay you.

Hope this helps.

Lee

[roncarla]

In Missouri, you can only sell raw milk "for animals". Be very careful. I have friends who own a dairy outside of Rolla. They sell milk for $3.00 per gallon with the cream.

[MoonRiver]

When I was getting ready to start my first business, I took a class called "How to Start and Run a Small Business" at a community college. It was excellent.

One thing I have learned from being in business - you will probably overestimate your income by 50% and underestimate your expenses by 50%. So I recommend doubling both of them during your planning phase. That way, you are more likely to be pleasantly surprised on the upside rather than disappointed on the downside.

As far as what is worth doing. There are many scenarios that play out. When you are really busy and making money, you might reject anything that doesn't bring in at least $20/hr. During the off season, you might be willing to do things for just $5/hr. One way to put it in perspective is to ask "What is the minimum I would charge someone to do this for them?" Now you have a price - if you can't make that much then don't do it.

I think if you search on business start-up or business checklist or something like that, you will find checklists that others have put together. Your state probably has a booklet on starting a business. It will give you a list of all the things you need to do to be legal in that state.

[clovis]

Great advice already given.

If you are a sole proprietor, my suggestion is to NOT worry about a checklist. I, too, did the same thing years ago. I worried that I wasn't ready to open a business. It was as if I were waiting for some angel from business heaven to come down, tap me on the shoulder, and say "Go make some money now. You are ready."

The reality is that don't waste your time worrying about this, unless you need state or county licensing/inspection for something. If so, get that in place first!!!!

You also need to learn about checking accounts, and to set one up. Might talk to a tax pro or accountant if your business is going to be big.

For everything else, just learn it on the way, and just wing it. You will figure it out later.

Do NOT waste time...just start making the sales, and get paid.

Clove

[KBQuilter]

There are some great resources on the internet from the Internal Revenue Service website and probably from your state revenue site as well. You want to get the money right so there are no issues later.

Advertising can be confusing - phone books and newspapers are great for local business. The online phone books can be useful and you can list either local or regional or national. My advice would be to start locally and expand out as the demand will allow.

Do you have experience with the bookkeeping end of things? This is one of the most important things in the end. The sales and customer support are the easy parts - you can easily "fix" something that happens. The books are not so easy (the government is involved) and can't be "fixed" quite so easily if something goes wrong. I have an accounting background so the books are easy for me to understand and maintain but, if you have little experience you can miss some very important things. Maybe talk to an accountant if you need to.

There are great books out there for how to write a business plan - not that you really have to write one - they can be very helpful in thinking of all the "angles" when starting your own business.

If you would like more advice, you can PM me and I'd be glad to help.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Google search yielded these checklists:

http://www.smallfarm.org/uploads/upl...0checklist.pdf

http://agmarketing.extension.psu.edu...akingWrkbk.pdf

[pinemead]

Excellent links! Thanks Alice.

[christij]

Thanks everyone for the advice you have given me a lot to look over and think about.

[SashayXP]

Good advice from everyone...I would recommend starting with your local county extension agent since you want to start a farm based business. In NM you can't sell raw milk without a USDA license for a dairy...not easy to come by and takes about a year or so to jump through all the hoops...EVEN for animal food. The rules are different everywhere but you dont' want to start even a roadside stand until you know the rules where you live and make sure you follow them. Even weird nitpicky stupid rules will cost you plenty if you violate them. can't sell at the farmer's markets without all the necessary licensing and permits and such either. Not sure about honey, but the county extension agents are usually very helpful with this sort of thing. If you have a USDA office near you, that's another good place. Hope this helps!