Anyone out there own their own business?
Found only a short previous discussion about this topic
How did you get started? Do you have a website? If so, please share.
Great article on Women's Wall Street:
http://www.womenswallstreet.com/colu...n.aspx?aid=790
Mary Engelbreit offers her words of wisdom: "Booker T. Washington once said, 'I'd never waste my time working on anything anyone does just as well.' When you're starting out you have to do a lot of research," she says. " "You have to spend money. At the beginning, I had a partner and we borrowed $50,000 to print my greeting cards and ship them out of my basement. We doubled in size every two months, so eventually we had to relocate to a bigger office." No matter where you start, cautions Engelbreit, protect your ideas and your business dealings. "You need professional legal advice," she says. In 1994 she enlisted the services of her friend and now CEO, Greg Hoffmann, who believes that business novices don't have to fork over big bucks for legal advice. "Most major cities have an organization called Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, which provides business counseling," says Hoffmann. "Legal advice is not a step you can skip. There's a yearly Licensing International show held in the Javits Convention Center in New York and licensing classes are offered around the country." Hoffmann also suggests checking out
www.licensing.org. Even with professional guidance Engelbreit admits to making many mistakes over the years, but insists that the only way to start a business is to jump in. "You learn from your mistakes," she says. "Another mistake I made was thinking I could do everything. Oprah and Martha were out there selling everything, but they basically license their names. It's not like they actually produce something," says Engelbreit. "That's a common mistake that people make. You need to focus on what you love best. I'm lousy on TV. I need to produce what I create."
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