my cousin my uncle and me started a pc business!

when it all goes pear shaped who's gonna be left holding the baby?

Dont sign anything.

use it for the experience, learn what the pitfalls are to running a small business.

Blimey.

Goood luck!

... assuming you are in the US (I have no knowledge anywhere else).

First, you should get some tax forms. Businesses (even small ones) are supposed to file earning quarterly (i.e. every three months or so). The IRS will fine you if they find you are making money without filing quarterly. If you plan on making money (which I assume is the plan) you might want to see if you can get a financial advisor. If you only need a couple of hours a month at first, you may find someone at a reasonable price.

Second, there are lots of places for help for small businesses. When I started my business, I took a class (it was a couple of hundred bucks). I also went to the Small Business Association which hooked me up with some volunteer advisors. It was free advice from someone who knew what they were talking about.

Third... I work in software, not hardware. But, I think that certification will go a long way to helping you convince potential customers you are worth their trust. As you make money, getting Windows certifications seems like a good investment.

Fourth, successful business is about building a large customer base of people who think you are great. You will depend on repeat customers and word of mouth. This means you should work very hard to make sure that each customer is impressed.


Good luck.

I can't believe no has asked for proof of insurance. If you screw something up you can be sued.
The IRS will find you when some business writes you a check and then puts you down on their taxes as business expense. The IRS can then do a cross check to make sure you are a legitimate business with your own tax number and business license. Small businesses are audited at a much higher rate than the big guys.

Incorporate. It protects your personal assets from litigation.

yikes.

that sounds like a lot of money for licenses and insurance.

lookin into it.

:/

Do you already have business that want you to just show up?

If not, how are you going to go about getting them?

we had one tax office done, we just fixed their old network, now we have 5 more waiting for us to network their offices from the ground up.

Licenses are cheap. Insurance varies depending on what kind of business and how much damage you could do.

I'm sure all those tax offices will LOVE to do business with you if you get a conviction on your record....

These guys are all correct; get your legal stuff together as fast as you can. It can only help in the long run and they (licenses) don't cost a lot of money to get.

Cycloptichorn

Running a business is tough. It's a lot trickier than just showing up and fixing things on the fly and getting paid under the table.

If you want to turn your activities into a business, the first thing I would recommend is doing a Business Plan. At the very least, you need to make sure (on paper) that the money you take in will exceed the money it costs you to run the business (there are lots of hidden costs). Then prepare to have your whole life become... "Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise".

I second that.
ebrown, you said you got help from the SBA. Did they offer coaching on putting
a business plan together?

Here's another organization you can try. Their services are free: SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). I've used these people before and they are very good.
http://www.score.org/index.html

They can help you develop a business plan and also give you some experienced advice on what you can expect when running a business.

drew sorry man i dont understand where conviction comes from

lol, i have some ideas but do u mean from not having a license?

thanks for the links, free is always good.

ive been working on a business plan for a while, but it doesnt involve my cousin and uncle, im more of an employee but ill help them make one.

we got business cards though HAHAHAHA

funny, they both think that they will make business will just explode!

yay! cards!

conviction comes from doing illegal stuff like taking drugs or maybe robbing liquor stores.

Nobody robs a liquor store believing he will be caught. But the security guard only has to be lucky once. You have to get away with it every time.

tell me about it!

thats exactly what i was thinking

theres a reason i stopped doing any kind of crime, all it takes is a few girls who want a bottle of liquor and i crack.

stupid sexual desires. i hate it.