backyard entrepreneur, start your own business, entrepreneur, get a license, pay taxes

Backyard Entrepreneur^TM

Initiator

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.-- Mark Twain

new business under construction sign

Decide What Product You Want to Sell or What Service you want to Provide

Where do you come up with an idea for a business? You start in your own backyard. Look around. What do you see? It’s not necessary to have that one perfect idea. Once you get going with one idea, it will lead to other ideas, and take you down the path to success. Do not be afraid to fail or to change course. You have to get into entrepreneurial mode and experience entrepreneurship before you can find that one great idea. If you do not make mistakes, you cannot learn from them.

At BackyardEntrepreneur.com, we provide different ideas and projects to try in your backyard or the great outdoors. We don't endorse any websites or products, we simply provide them as helpful suggestions. See what works best for you and you'll soon be on your way to becoming a Backyard Entrepreneur.

On each page, we list some Internet resources and handy products to help you get ideas for your endeavors. There are so many exciting possibilities. We hope you’ll breathe the fresh air outside, get an idea, execute your plan, and earn some money with a business you love.

Know Your Competition

Know your competition and the products they offer. Check out SuperPages.com for help in knowing what competition you have in your local. Check out the Internet to see what your worldwide competition is.

Do Market Research

Know your potential customers and the economic climate. Will your product sell in the economic climate that exists today? Do some market research and ask around, in person. Write letters and send emails asking friends and neighbors what they think of your idea and ask if they would they purchase your good or service, if given the opportunity.

Find your Niche

pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

It is most important that you find a niche. Make your product different from your competition. Find a void and fill it. You can take the most mundane and make it yours. Own it. Take over the market.

Set Up Your Business

You will need to determine your market structure. Will you be the sole owner, have a partner, or incorporate? If you incorporate, you will need a lawyer. Otherwise, you can pretty much set up your sole proprietorship or partnership alone. We have some ideas on how to get started in the professional section of our website.

Start small and absorb all you can learn. Take baby steps and build a solid knowledge base as you go along. Have patience. The learning curve is pretty steep at first, but do not get discouraged. Being an entrepreneur is worth all the effort.

Check out our Scout page for ideas where to sell your stuff.

Money Tree

As a rememberance of the day you began your entrepreneurial endeavors, plant a money tree. The money tree bonsai plant began in Taiwan in the 1980's and has spread around the world. It is also known as Pachira aquatica, the Guiana Chestnut, and the Good Fortune Tree. The trunks of the tree are twisted and then the tree is allowed to grow and become bushy. There is symbolism here for you, the backyard entrepreneur: as your business endeavor begins to grow, there are many twists and turns, but eventually your business will grow straight up and bush out in all directions. Find out more about selling the money tree on our backyard botanist page.

Grow a Money Tree Plant

So here's to you and a beautiful relationship with your backyard as you think of all kinds of ways to make money!

Now get started.

Find it.
Name it.
Research it.
Design it.
Improve it.
Build it.
Box it.
Bag it.
Bottle it.
Promote it.
Sell it.
Teach it.
Improve it.

How to get your business off the ground and finally get started: It takes guts, drive, and initiative to get to this step. You have the idea for your business. You have it all thought out and know what you are going to do. Now you have to execute your plan. You have to get the business. You need a name and you have to make it legal. Steps vary from local to local, but here is an idea of how to do it.

Steps to Getting Your Business off the Ground

1. You Need to Register a Name

Naming your business is serious business. You need a winning name. It should be related to your product. Maybe your name and/or the name of your town or state can be incorporated into the name of your product. Think about a play on words.

Go online and download the probably one-page form from your county clerk’s office. Chose a name, check the data base records to make certain no one else has the same assumed name, fill out the form, get it notorized, write a cheque for the fee, and mail it in. Now you have an official name.

For example, we did a Google search for "Harris County Clerk's Office".
Clicked at the top of the Clerk's Page that said "downloadable forms".
Clicked the words "Assumed Name".
and finally clicked the very first downloadable form.

2.You Need a State Sales Tax Permit

Download the form from your state “Comptroller of Public Accounts” website. Because you have to sign the form, you will have to mail it in to the state capitol. It cannot be done online (yet, in most areas). Wait a few weeks and then you will get your state tax-payer ID number.

For example, we did a Google search for “Texas Sales Tax Forms”.
Looked near the bottom of the page for “Sales and Use Tax Applications Apply for a Sales Tax Permit Online –New”.
Read the instructions, got the social security number, and clicked “Begin” . Simple to follow the instructions.

Find your state information.

3.You Need a Federal Employer's Identification Number or EIN

Even though you might not hire, you might run into places where this id number is required. This is necessary for federal tax purposes. For example if you make money from Affiliate Marketing, they need to have this number to report the income to the IRS that they paid to you. It is just easier to get it and to have it rather than not have it when you need it because it takes time to get this number.

For Example, we did a Googol search for “Federal Employer's Identification Number or EIN”
Clicked on “Apply for an EIN Online”
Scroll down to “Apply Online Now”
Clicked “Begin Application

4. You need a Business Plan

This is a great exercise to do even though you might not need a loan at first. This gets your thought all together to figure out where you are going and how you are going to get there. We have a very simple sample plan for you so that you can get the idea of what is involved.

Parts to a Business Plan:
1. Coversheet
2. Table of Contents
3. Executive Summary (who, what, where, when, why, how)
4. Organizational Plan (description, products or services, location, legal structure as in partnership or sole proprietorship, management structure as in who does what, insurance, and how will you keep the business and products secure)
5. Marketing Plan (target audience, competition, trends in the industry, sales and advertising structure on and , whow will you handle public relations and customer service)
6. Financial Documents of Business (summary of your needs, what will you do with the loan money you apply for, budget, project income for the next three years, breakeven analysis, a balance sheet, a profit and loss statement, financial history and statement)
7. Supporting Documents of Yourself (personal resume, your personal financial statement, credit reports, any leases you have signed, letters of references both personal and business, any legal contracts or documents pertaining to your business, and any studies you have done in regards to traffic flow and potential customers at your location)