Dane points us to a list of 20 Don’ts that would really do you some good if you intend to start your own business. (Via BW)

1. Don?? quit your day job.

2. Don?? incorporate. Seventy five percent of all businesses are sole proprietorships, and they already make money.

3. Don?? get a bank account. Your personal banking account will work just fine if someone wants to write you a check, or if you need to pay for something.

4. Don?? rent an office. Work from home. It won?? require a first, last and security deposit. Plus, it?? tax deductible.

5. Don?? hire an attorney. What?? an attorney going to tell that you didn?? already know, or couldn?? figure out on Nolo or in a good bookstore? There are only two times to call an attorney: if you??e in jail, or if someone else?? attorney contacts you.

6. Don?? hire an accountant. Quickbooks Simple Start or IAC-EZ will get you going.

7. Don?? get a loan. To get a loan from anyone, even your family, will require that you do too many items on this list. And besides, if you get a loan, you know work for the bank ??not for yourself.

8. Don?? hire anyone. Don?? hire someone if you can do it yourself. For everything else, use contractors and give them 1099.

9. Don?? get a business license. I?? not advocating that anyone cheat the government. Once you can sell your product/service, go out immediately and get all of the necessary business licenses and permits in your jurisdiction.

10. Don?? try to patent anything. It takes 1.5 to 2.5 years to get a patent. Who knows what the market will look like then.

11. Don?? design a logo. You are your own brand, you don?? need a logo.

12. Don?? waste time picking a business name. As a sole proprietor, you already have a business name: your own!

13. Don?? advertise. Advertising costs money, and takes time to perfect. Selling takes only you.

14. Don?? buy office supplies. If you need a pencil, get one out of the kitchen or your son?? backpack. You are working from home, aren?? you?

15. Don?? buy any equipment. Outsource everything. Fedex Kinkos can handle all of your printing, and instead of splurging on a postal meter head down the post office. Need something big? Rent it! If it?? not something you can rent by the day, maybe there?? another local business with one. Can you rent it during their off hours in the middle of the night?

16. Don?? try to find a partner. What do you need a parter for? Capital? Don?? take loans. Need someone with some sales experience? If you the inventor of your product/service can?? sell it ??no one will be able to.

17. Don?? join the Chamber of Commerce. Chambers of Commerce have great mixers where you can meet and network with other local business people. Right now, you don?? need to network, you need to sell! Plus, you can always go as a visitor.

18. Don?? tell all of your friends about the business that you??e going to start someday soon. Every minute that you spend telling someone you love about your future business is one less minute you have to either try to find someone to buy your product/service or to refine it. Plus, everyone knows an ??ntrepreneur??that is all talk and no action: don?? be one yourself.

19. Don?? write a business plan. Sure you need to know what you??e going to do and how you??e going to make money, but don?? waste time formatting it into a structured plan.

20. Don?? get a business telephone number or mailing address. You have a cellphone, use it. If someone needs to mail you something, have them send it to your house. You??e working there, remember.

#2 Don?? incorporate. This really hit home on one of the mistakes I’ve made back in 2005. We’d a gung-ho team with some really great ideas, and before even getting any paying customers, we went ahead and in-corporated the company, and THEN started working on the business model. We’d to pay the Company Secretary a monthly fee, keeping a proper account of the company’s finances and pay an audit fee every year, even when we are not making a single sen of profit. I am not saying all that is not important, but really, the whole company’s incorporation is a distraction that we could really do without. In the end, when the team members was heading in different directions, the bleeding company had to be de-registered, which incurred another cost, not to mention the unproductive time spent on administrative work. Hence, always opt for sole-proprietorship or partnership first.

#4 Don?? rent an office. This would really help you to cut out on unnecessary operation overheads, especially if you don’t require a retail front to sell your wares. Besides, what you really need is a space to get productive, without distractions. If there’s a place at home that serves such a purpose, by all means utilize it.

#13 Don?? advertise. Another useful point. A friend spent about RM10K just to advertise on a prestigious business daily. Results: A few phone calls enquiries and that’s it. Spend those money and get this book instead. Some of the points though, are a good reference but not necessarily applicable to every kind of businesses.

For example, #16 Don?? try to find a partner. If you have problem creating a website on your own and you’ve identified that your products would benefit most from online presence, it would be a better idea to get a partner who’s IT-savvy rather than outsourcing the IT department.

For #20 Don?? get a business telephone number or mailing address, you can always get a single multi-purpose machine that scans, faxes and photocopies all at the same time. I’ve got a multi-purpose OfficeJet 4335 All-in-One at just under RM250 and it’s hooked to a splitter that is also connected to the StreamyX Broadband modem. I’ve also got a HP LaserJet 1010 which I use for black and white prints and an EPSON Perfection 610 flatbed scanner, which I won from a computer graphics competition back in 2001. So, far the setup which cost about RM950 and a maintenance of about RM30 for the ink cartridges and hardware services worked really well for me.

The list is certainly very minimalist, but it really points out what you really should focus on when starting a business- the selling part. Yes, until the first sen comes rolling in, you are just in the day-dreaming phase.

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