After all, when you look in the business section of your local Barnes & Noble and see how many books (basically) address this concern, it has to be the “main thing”, right? Right?

Not necessarily. I would have you take a look at the problem from a slightly different angle and consider another way to approach the problem.

First, ask yourself the question:  “Am I charging enough for my services?”

Yes, you read that correctly. The problem may be with the class of clients you’re currently getting – and by charging more you will definitely be abandoning them, but the “positive” is that you’ll be classifying your business as one that serves a higher class of client.

I have to quote a commenter on a blog a read.

I asked a friend once, “how do you get those huge contracts?”. His response: “charge a lot”.

His point, obviously, is that when he charged more than the next provider he appeared to me a better provider.

The principle of “perceived value” isn’t a made-up fairy tale – it’s quite real and can have definite effects on your level of business and type of clientele.

So, in short, the answer to your problem of “not enough” may have more to do with quality than with quantity. And as risky as it may seem, sometimes raising your prices may be the answer.

I don’t mean to criticize just to be a jerk. But this company sure does things in a haphazard and disorganized fashion.

They opened up a bakery cafe about 6 months ago, with plans to open up a few more restaurants. They hired dozens of managers for the four or five different eateries before they all opened. So from the very beginning at her new job in the bakery, at least a dozen or more managers are all arguing over how things should be done, though most won’t even be staying at the bakery but are waiting for their restuaraunt to open. Employees have come and gone. The menu has been changed a few times. Prices have been raised. It’s very chaotic.

Just last week, the second restaurant opened. And while the food was mostly good, it was mass confusion. There’s a wok station. A pizza station. A salad station, and the regular menu. It was overwhelming. They are trying to offer too many varieties of food, like a cafeteria, but more upscale. Is it a restaurant or a cafeteria or a Whole Foods? Can good pizza and good noodles be made in the same place? How do you order your food? I am sure they have a few kinks to work out since this place just opened.

But when it comes to running a business, it really is better to be a master than a jack-of-all-trades. Focus your energies and efforts. Find your niche. Be a Master in your trade. You will develop a stronger business sense and avoid unnecessary confusion and wasted time and money. Be the best at what you do in your particular craft, not some handyman who does a little of this and a little of that.

Then after you are established and things are running smoothly, then consider expanding into other areas or even another business. But trying to do too much too soon will only serve to overwhelm you.

Build momentum. Focus. Succeed.

And when we got back, I started dabbling in real estate investing. So it’s been about 6 months and I’ve made a few bucks here and there. At first, I read a book called “Earning Without Owning” and I did what the authors described and IT WORKED! Yeah, I made a few dollars.

But I wanted to make more money with each deal and I was also a little apprehensive about making huge financial mistakes. Lo and behold, a solution came. I had joined my local REIA and gone to a few meetings. I am a novice and know I need all the help I can get. I availed myself of the e-mail “Circle of Support” (where people can ask questions and get answers from other real local investors) and through that met a seasoned investor who asked me to partner with him. Why did he ask me???? He said it was because he saw that I was out there pounding the pavement and actively looking for deals. It benefits both of us because he is my money partner and an experienced investor who is my mentor; and I find deals that make us both money. This arrangement suits us both. And you will find that no matter what field you are in, many of those who have made it already are happy to help the new kid on the block.

It’s always a good idea to find someone else who has been-there-done-that when you are starting out in a new enterprise. You’ll avoid costly mistakes. You’ll make valuable contacts. You’ll have the benefit of knowledge and experience when making decisions. You’ll be in the fast lane to success.

Just make sure when you’ve “made it,” that you return the favor.

Part of starting your own business is deciding which business entity suits your needs the most. Make sure you do your research and choose wisely, not by default. There are a few main points to consider when comparing the different options:

1. Cost. There may not only be initial costs when creating your business entity, but in some cases and some states, you may have to pay ongoing yearly fees to maintain your licenses, permits, or other similar fees. Do your research to make sure you don’t get penalized for failing to comply with city, county, state, and federal laws.

2. Taxes. This is definitely an area you need to be familiar with if you are or will be a business owner. Different business entities have different tax rules and benefits. For example, a properly structured LLC is not taxed at the entity level, instead income and loss is passed on to the members.

3. Ownership. A big part of choosing the best business format is defined by who the owners are: Are you the sole owner? Do you have a partner or partners? Is it possible that your business may go public in the future?

4. Liability. What business owner isn’t concerned about liability in such a sue-happy time? Some entities protect their owners from personal liability in the event of a claim against the business.

5. Requirements. What has to be done to maintain such an entity? In a sole-proprietorship, there are few requirements in maintaining that entity. But in other entities, there must be meetings, a board of directors, and annual reports. Be familiar with what your business entity requires as far as records and the legal paperwork. If you want to take the hassle out of things however, you can use a company like Florida Inc. to handle the details for you.

There are several different business entities for the entrepreneur today, each with it’s own advantages and drawbacks.

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP
Relatively inexpensive to set up and with few recurring costs, a sole proprietorship can only have one owner (a person, not a corporation, etc.) and cannot be sold or passed on to one’s inheritors. It cannot take advantage of special business income tax rates since all income is considered personal income. It also offers no protection from personal liability. Check with you local authorities to make sure you get all the necessary licenses, permits, and are in compliance.

GENERAL PARTNERSHIPS
Also generally easy and inexpensive to create and maintain. Made up of two or more legal entities which are individually responsible for the partnership. The partnership itself pays no taxes; all partners are considered self-employed and claim their share of the partnership’s income on their individual tax returns. No protection for personal liability. there is usually a partnership agreement drawn up a creation that outlines various topics like duration, management, and transferability- but this is not necessary.

LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS
Similar in structure to a general partnership, a limited partnership has two different kinds of partners: general and limited. The limited partner does not take part in the management of the business and is not liable for any more than his capitol investment. This entity encourages investors to become limited partners and share in the income but never lose any more than their own contribution.

“C” CORPORATION
One of the most expensive to begin and maintain, a “C” corporation is the standard state-formed corporation. It files it’s own taxes and is responsible for it’s own dealing. It can have an unlimited number of shareholders and the shareholders can be any kind of entity. A board of directors must be elected, annual meetings must be held, meticulous records must be kept, and stock must be issued. If these rules aren’t followed, then personal liability protection is not guaranteed. Additionally, “C” corporations are double taxed- at the entity level and again when shareholders claim the gains on their tax returns.

“S” CORPORATION
Very similar to a “C” corporation in that it is its own legal entity, protects it’s shareholders from personal liability, and is costly and requires effort to create and maintain. But it avoids the “double tax” issue because shareholders claim this income directly on their personal income returns. They are usually more costly than a “C” corporation and may be limited to 75 shareholders.

LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
Sort of a mix between a corporation and a partnership, an LLC provides the same kind of tax and liability benefits as a corporation, but has the same management structure as a partnership. Forming an LLC can be as complicated as forming a corporation, but not quite as costly. Also, there must be an Operating Agreement, but it can be verbal in many states.

OK. Now that you have done your research, forming your new business is pretty straightforward. Decide which entity is the most suitable for your business. Then choose the state where you want to form your company in (you may want to look into the different benefits and disadvantages each state has when it comes to the different business entities). Choose a name for your business. Submit the proper paperwork and pay the necessary fees associated with the permits, licenses, etc. Oh, and the last thing to do is hang a “We’re Open For Business” sign on your door.

How much should you charge for a job? Often, this isn’t easy to figure out if you’re a new entrepreneur. You quickly realize how often you forget things or how often unexpected things come up – things that cost you time!

So how do you properly account for the unexpected? How do you structure your fees?

There are a few things you can use when you come up with pricing:

• A setup fee. You can call it anything you like, such as “setup fee” or “job fee” or “setup cost” or whatever sounds appropriate for your line of work. This particular pricing entity allows you to cover your costs in one shot, regardless of how the job goes or how much someone orders. So if you had a post printing business you could charge a one-time setup fee to create a poster and a separate fee for each poster or 100 posters you print. You always make money after the point the customer has paid their setup fee, as opposed to you building all your costs into the printing of each poster. (Doing it that way will make it very difficult for you to ever make money.) A setup fee also does something else: it causes the customer to invest in you as a regular supplier of that good. So if I have a t-shirt design and I pay someone to create a screen and print my shirt I’m gonna use that same company over and over again since they made the screen and charged me a one-time setup fee.
• A minimum amount. If a job isn’t likely to get you repeat business, you structure your fees with a minimum order amount. This ensures that even if you get a little job, you still pay yourself.
• A membership fee or contract fee. If you run a service type business this is easy, but it can apply to other businesses as well. If I do SEO work or maybe IT consulting, I can either charge by the hour, I can quote them by the job, or they can pay a set amount each month and get my services for x-amount of hours. They are a member of my Preferred Customers or whatever I want to call it. It works out well for them if they use my services every month because I give them a slight discount by prepaying, and the benefit to me is that I’m paid at least that amount every month! For any time they need me beyond the included amount of hours, I bill at regular rates.

When you set your prices you need to include the following (at the very minimum):

1. Cost of materials
2. Cost of overhead
3. Cost of your time

You can probably think of other things that should be included, depending on what you do. If you’re in a highly-skilled field, include the cost of your skill as an added factor. If your job is in high demand, include the demand for your type of work as a factor.

Whatever method(s) you choose to set your prices: always get paid for your time, first. Never allow yourself to work for less than the dollar value you give an hour of your time. If nothing else, use that one rule when setting price and it will put things into perspective quickly.