This post was sponsored, and paid for, by SunTrust. All opinions are my own.
Did you know that November is National Entrepreneurship Month? Families all over depend on entrepreneurs just like you and me for pretty much everything we do. You may not realize it but small business and start ups are what Americans run on. Think about it! Do you drop your kids off at a child care providers house or a day care center? How about stopping by a roadside fruit or vegetable stand on your way home? Or maybe you’ve just had your nails done at a small corner shop in your local home town – whatever the case, entrepreneurs have you covered!
I know 14 years ago, when my 3rd son was born, I started a home day care so I could make a few dollars AND stay home with my son. All too frequently, we start with a couple of bucks and a small and a HEFTY learning curve right on our backs. Who would have ever thought when they obtained a background check and day care permit they’d need to consider insurance, check policies for bounced checks, expenses and so much more! Boom – you just moved from changing diapers and coaxing babies to “coo” to entrepreneurship. Welcome!
Even with all the love I had in my heart I still needed help being an entrepreneur. All businesses have to deal with contracts in some form or another. Even the corner nail salon needs to contract for rental space, supplies and orders. Well, as a day care provider, way back when, I had to contract with moms just like you so I could accept payments, set boundaries for drop off, and keep kids in my care safe. A few tips from my personal experience as a small entrepreneur;
- Make accepting payments easy – You’d be amazed at how many great moms there are out there that frequently forget to bring a check book with them each week! The SunTrust Small Business Best Practices Guide outlines in controlling cash flow and includes a checklist to guide you on how to do this. Just remember, the more you make it easy to accept payments, the more likely you are to be paid.
- Secure a credit card for your business and keep all purchases on that card – mixing expenses with your household budget is a potential disaster. When it came time to pay taxes, it was so simple because my husband had the good sense to insist in keeping household and day care expenses separate – best decision we could have made. The SunTrust Small Business Best Practices Guide provides insight on why separating personal and business expenses are important.
- Know Your Insurance Needs – I knew that I needed insurance having kids dropped off in my home 5 days a week. No matter what your small business, protecting your home, vehicles and other assets is a must – even if those items aren’t completely paid off yet! Although you may have the best of intentions, accidents are always a possibility so be sure to have the insurance you need to protect yourself. SunTrust has small business advisers that can help you figure out your insurance needs. They provid resources on important topics like this.
SunTrust wants to help business owners navigate the waters of entrepreneurship. They have a Small Business Best Practices Guide that covers the six important areas of financial management that small business owners need to get started on the right tract, or for those already operating a business and want to cut out their learning curve. The guide will help you with;
• How to protect your assets
• How to grow your business
• How to control cash flow
• How to increase profitability
• How to start your business
• How to prepare for business transitions
The guide has straightforward checklists so you can make the best business choices that are right for you. You can find the SunTrust Small Business Practices Guide here. Remember, families depend on you and you need a business you can depend on too.
This post was sponsored, and paid for, by SunTrust. All opinions are my own.
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