Prepare to Successfully Launch Your Creative Business

: Launch Your Creative Business Picture by Ltljtlj at Wikipedia Commons

Schedule flexibility, freedom to make and act upon decisions that directly impact a company’s bottom line, opportunities to grow wealth by large measures quickly and the chance to expand company offerings are benefits you may gain after you launch your business. Launching a business can also bring you uncertainty, a push to take “risks” in order to strengthen your business, several tasks to complete at the same time (can you see yourself juggling five brightly colored balls) and a “to do” list that appears to never be empty. It’s a reason that starting a creative business may not feel right for everyone.

Support as You Prepare to Launch Your Creative Business

To give yourself a good start as you’re preparing to launch your creative business talk with other business owners, particularly people who are operating one or more businesses in the same industry and field you want to start your business in. Professional associations like the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the Travel Industry Association of America, the Association of Information Technology Professionals and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) are great places to start when you’re seeking business owners in your industry to connect with as some members of these associations have owned and operated businesses for several years.

Ask these creative business leaders to share their personal stories with you regarding:

How they financed their business
Steps they take to keep themselves encouraged, especially during periods when customer traffic slowed
What they learned about money management to grow their wealth and financially afford to take time off during the year and do nothing except relax and enjoy “doing absolutely nothing”
New technologies they’ve discovered that helped them to more fully connect with their target audience

Local, State and Federal Laws in Relation to Preparing to Launch Your Business

As you’re preparing to launch your creative business, get a firm understanding on legal, marketing, human resources (if you plan to hire workers), etc. regulations in the city or state you plan on opening your creative business in. Of course, you’ll also want to become familiar with federal laws for creative business owners. A good place to start is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) small business website. You can access the material at the website for free; take your time reading the IRS material and go back as often as you wish. There are even videos you can watch to add visual and audio to your learning experience.

Key items to research while you’re preparing to launch your creative business are:

Passions you have that you can turn into a creative business (The enjoyment that you get from operating your business works like fuel; it can keep you moving forward as you adjust to changes in your industry, business sales, etc.)
Insurance (e.g. liability, property, workman’s compensation) required for your business according to local, state and national laws
Licenses (e.g. food and beverage licenses) your business may call for, keeping in mind that not all businesses need licenses
Tax laws applicable to your business (If you’re self-employed consider visiting the Internal Revenue Service small business website to discover the different types of taxes you must pay. For example, as a self-employed creative business owner you must pay your Social Security and Medicare taxes; depending on your tax liability the previous year, you may also be responsible for paying quarterly income tax.)

You also might find it beneficial to remain connected with other creative business leaders in your industry as the contrasts associated with owning and operating a business are ongoing. Doing so can keep you in a state of learning. It can also give you a ready team to gain ongoing support from as you continue to take your creative business toward greater and greater success.

Get into Spiral online at: https://www.ebookit.com/books/0000000841/Spiral.html

Check out Long Walk Up online at: https://www.ebookit.com/books/0000000531/Long-Walk-Up.html

Sources:

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99336,00.html (Internal Revenue Service: Starting a Business)

http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-small-business-advertising.html (Wall Street Journal: Building Your Business)