I am always the first phone call when people I know want advice on starting a business. They want to know what the first step in starting a business is. They also want to know all of the next steps as well. My new E-book called “Things You Must Know Before Starting a Business” gives you the information you need before you take the plunge and start your own business. Most importantly, this book identifies not only the things I did right, but much more importantly identifies the things that I did wrong when I started the many businesses I started. I only wish someone told me these things before I started a business. I would have saved thousands.

People I know call me because they know I have over 25 years experience in owning retail, manufacturing and service companies and they want to draw from that experience. I don’t blame them, I wish I had a resource to go to that would have told me about all of the pitfalls to look out for in owning a business. It definitely would not have persuaded me not to go into business, but it would have opened my eyes in advance to all of the sand traps and hurdles along the way. If I had such a resource I would have had a much more successful journey.

Here are the critical things that you need to know when starting a business and that you are going to learn from my E-book:

• What type of commitment are you making when you decide you want to start a business?

• What is the most important factor when starting a business? If you do not pay attention to this one factor you are very likely to fail.

• What you must know about going into business with a partner? What characteristics should you look for?

• What is an advisory board? Who should be on it? Should you have one?

• How to find out how much money you need and how to go and get it.

• What role does a business plan play?

• Learn about the various ways to finance your business and resources you can use.

• Understanding personal liability and how to be always on the look out for sneaky ways that you can sign personally without knowing it!

• Selecting the right entity.

• What are strategic partnerships and how they are advantageous

• What things to negotiate with Suppliers

• How to get to know your competition

• Using metrics to evaluate your business

• How to properly price your product

• Learning about the least expensive but most powerful advertising methods

• Understanding the risks associated with employees

And much much more….

When you purchase this E-book for $29.95 you also get 6 additional E-Books that teach you….

•How to solve cash flow problems

•How to start a business in an economic downturn

•How to Build Better Websites

•Marketing and Internet Marketing

•How to succeed in the Retail Business during Economic Stress

And much much more….

Click "Add To Cart" to Purchase E-book
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First Step in Starting A Business For those of you who are ready to take on the challenge of Starting a Business! 04/05/2011 11:29 AM First Step In Starting A Business - A Rule to Understand In the movie “Wall Street” Gordon Gekko said to Bud Fox “First Rule in business. Never get emotional about stock, it clouds your judgment.” I would like to add an additional rule of business. This is a rule that a business owner needs to be consistently mindful whether they are currently in business or just Starting a Business. The rule is "there is simply no state of neutrality". Your business is either going up or going down. Let’s say you are doing 1M in sales in a year and from that you as the owner are able to take a 100k salary per year salary. Let’s say that a 100k per salary is very comfortable for you and you can see yourself living comfortably with that salary for the rest of your career. So you try to develop a strategy to do 1M per year every year. My point is that no matter how great that strategy sounds it is likely to fail. Since there is really no state of neutrality if you are not striving to increase you will probably decrease. I know things can feel very comfortable with a certain sales volume but in business, things can get very uncomfortable in a hurry by just a few unfavorable events. If you are a business owner you must understand that something always challenges your business, whether it is losing a big customer, the economic conditions are down, your industry is down or anyone of a million other things go wrong. Since this condition of “something always challenging your business” always exists you must always figure out how to increase sales. You as a business owner must always be proactively seeking ways to do things more efficiently, more profitable and you must always seek ways of increasing sales because there simply is no state of neutrality. Whether you are currently in business or just Starting a Business please keep this rule in mind. 03/22/2011 08:40 PM Do it, Do it, Do it! - Author: admin Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:34 pm ... http://ow.ly/1bTaWc 02/26/2011 07:29 PM CFO Services - Guidance to the Entrepreneur with an Idea - As a Part Time CFO who performs multiple CFO Services I v... http://ow.ly/1bwtjk 02/26/2011 07:29 PM CFO Services – Guidance to the Entrepreneur with an Idea http://ow.ly/1bwtjg 02/06/2011 07:29 PM CFO Services - Financial Numbers Can Play Tricks - If a baseball bat and ball together cost $1.10 and I told you the... http://ow.ly/1bd6HD 02/06/2011 07:29 PM CFO Services - Financial Numbers Can Play Tricks http://ow.ly/1bd6Hz 02/06/2011 07:29 PM CFO Services - Financial Numbers Can Play Tricks - Author: admin Posted: Sun F... http://ow.ly/1bd6HB 01/17/2011 07:35 PM CFO Services - Quick Cash Flow Metrics - Author: admin Posted: Sun Jan 16, 201... http://ow.ly/1aUt66 01/16/2011 07:30 PM CFO Services - Quick Cash Flow Metrics - As a Part Time CFO I am called upon to do some quick cash flow analysis for... http://ow.ly/1aTzTn 01/16/2011 07:30 PM Safe Way In Preserving Privacy - Author: admin Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 6:55 p... http://ow.ly/1aTzTl 12/26/2010 07:28 PM CFO Services - Don't Shoot From The Hip - Author: admin Posted: Sat Dec 25, 20... http://ow.ly/1aCdkc 11/29/2010 07:41 PM EPISODE26 - Cyber CFO Show 21 - Author: admin Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 9:17 pm... http://ow.ly/1adKPj 11/28/2010 07:31 PM Pick One Strategy and Go For It! http://ow.ly/1acFJN 11/28/2010 07:31 PM Pick One Strategy and Go For It! - As a Part Time CFO, I have clients who are either startups looking for investor m... http://ow.ly/1acFJP 11/14/2010 07:31 PM If you are thinking of starting a business... - Author: admin Posted: Sun Nov ... http://ow.ly/19YmOB 11/14/2010 10:09 AM If you are thinking of starting a business… If you are thinking of starting a business you must possess four things before you waste your time: 1. A Strong Passion and love for what you will be doing 2. A discipline to do the things you need to do 3. An undying faith that what you are doing is productive and valuable to the customer 4. The courage not to be frozen by fear. I once had a client who after just listening to a few sentences I could tell this person’s primary reason for starting a business was they thought they could make a lot of money. There was no passion and love for what they were going to do. Which means as soon as the first obstacle comes along (and it will) this person will get bored and frustrated easy and the effort will dwindle. You could easily see that whatever had to be done in the business to make it successful would probably be put aside as it is very difficult to have the discipline to do the things that need to be done if you do not have the passion and fire in the belly about what you are doing. When obstacles start to appear in rapid succession you can see this person will lose faith easily and then as the cash flow suffers they will be frozen by the fear. Starting a business is not easy and it starts with a gut check. Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you have these four characteristics and if you do then go for it! If not, you need to re-think the situation. Remember the primary reason to start a business cannot be to make a lot of money. Money is the result of running a successful business. It cannot be the reason to go into business. 11/07/2010 07:32 PM CFO Services - Selling Your Company to Employees - As a Part Time CFO I often get involved in exit planning and exec... http://ow.ly/19QX3v 10/26/2010 08:37 PM CFO Services - Explanation of Accrual Versus Cash Reporting - As part time CFO I constantly get asked the question a... http://ow.ly/19Ewhz 10/25/2010 08:39 PM Cash Needs - Author: admin Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 7:33 pm http://ow.ly/19Dle1 10/24/2010 08:31 PM Cash Needs When starting a business venture I have never seen an entrepreneur (including myself) estimate cash required for a venture any where close to what actually happened. The inherent optimism of being an entrepreneur automatically seems to dictate that cash needs will be underestimated. By the way, most venture capitalists, angel groups and private investors whom you generate interest to your venture know this. I have spoken with many investors and investor groups and they tell me they basically throw out the window whatever the entrepreneur projects for cash needed. The problem is that underestimating cash needs at the beginning of a business venture creates cash flow problems somewhere down the line. Because entrepreneurs always underestimate cash needs, the search for money needs to be consistent and continuous. However it is always wise to take the money you think you need and double it. It is also wise to have someone on your management team or better yet outside your management team who is good with numbers and forecasting challenge the entrepreneur’s projection of cash needs. I cannot over emphasize the need to overshoot your cash need projections otherwise you are almost certain to undershoot them. Even if your cash needs are conservative you still need to constantly look for more money. As I have said many times, since cash flow is the life blood of any business it is critical to make sure your cash supply is always right. 10/17/2010 11:25 AM Starting A Business When Starting a Business unexpected events can cause cash flow problems. All of the forecasting tools in the world is not going to catch this one. No matter who you are and no matter what business you are in, I am telling you that by virtue of the fact that you are in business something always happens in a business that you never expect. By the way, something unexpected usually happens more than once. These unexpected occurrences can put you out of business and they are inevitable. This is why your salary needs to be conservative; this is why you need to constantly cut overhead, this is why you cannot withstand slow paying customers, this is why you have to be on guard for employee theft, this is why you have to manage your debt and this is why you have to make decisions proactively versus reactively. 10/10/2010 08:30 PM What is Educational Marketing? http://ow.ly/19nSd6 10/07/2010 08:47 PM Do you keep growing your backlog? http://ow.ly/19lgJP 10/03/2010 08:52 PM Employee Theft or Embezzlement Let’s talk about one cause of cash flow problems that turns every entrepreneur’s stomach, I know it turns mine and that is Employee theft or embezzlement. Most business owners never think it can happen to them. Someone they trust needs money and has figured out a system for stealing and embezzling. It happens a lot more times than you think. By the way 80% of business theft is employee theft while 20% of business theft is customer theft. The key is implementing checks and balances and making sure one person doesn’t have too much responsibility. Here is an example: I had a client who really trusted their bookkeeper. This bookkeeper did everything. She did the entire bookkeeping job, made bank deposits, prepared payroll, recorded sales transactions, entered accounts payable, printed checks and prepared quotes. She had no watchdog, there were no checks and balances and she did everything. She just bought a new house and was having problems making payments on the mortgage. It appears she overpaid for the house beyond her family’s means and did not want to go into foreclosure. She understood that she literally controlled the company finances and the temptation to steal was building. The owner had two companies of which one was dormant. She began by writing extra payroll checks out of the dormant company. No one knew as no one audited or oversaw the dormant company. Then she got lazy and simply wrote checks to herself out of the main company account. The theft was discovered but not until several thousand dollars were stolen. Sometimes the temptation to steal gets too great and people with weak characters give in to the temptation. Never have any one person assume this much responsibility. Have a professional financial person, like a CPA or part time CFO review the books at least quarterly and implement internal controls to prevent theft and embezzlement. I know there is someone in your business that you entirely trust, unless it is a family member you can never be 100% sure that they are not stealing. I am not saying you go and assume everyone is stealing, but you must be aware that employees are human beings and if they are faced with a temptation to steal and they have personal problems where they need money. You simply cannot be sure. Other ways for employees to steal includes putting inventory in dumpsters and picking it up after work. Putting inventory in duffle bags, using dressing rooms as a tool to stuff product in a bag or inside clothing, wearing merchandise under other clothing, accepting cash from a customer and not ringing it into a register and throwing away a sales slip. You never live long enough to see all the ways an employee can steal, but I have seen a lot of them. Get the necessary controls for your business to reduce employee theft. 09/12/2010 08:29 PM CFO - Profit Does Not Equal Cash Presentation - Author: admin Posted: Sat Sep ... http://ow.ly/18YILp Cyber CFO Show The Cyber CFO is Michael Barbarita of Next Step CFO. My main Objective is to provide you the listener with useful business information from the perspective of a Chief Financial Officer to help make your business improve cash flow and increase profits. This Podcast was created using www.talkshoe.com 09/12/2010 06:30 PM EPISODE26 - Cyber CFO Show 21 CFO services -Two rules of business that you must remember. There is no state of neutrality and Profit does not equal cash 08/13/2010 05:00 PM EPISODE25 - Cyber CFO Show # 20 CFO Services - Understanding the risks of having and hiring employees and the value and importance of exploring other hiring options. 07/03/2010 10:00 AM EPISODE24 - Options For Troubled Businesses - Cyber CFO Show 19 CFO Services -This show explains some options for troubled businesses. After listening you still need to consult an attorney, but the show at least makes you aware of the possibilities when your business is distressed, insolvent or troubled. 06/12/2010 06:00 PM EPISODE23 - Running A Business Like A Business - Cyber CFO Show 18 Giving some tough love to the Entrepreneur who needs to run their business like a business. This is great also for first time business owners. 05/22/2010 03:00 PM EPISODE22 - Value of Business and Cash Flow Forecasting - Cyber CFO Show 17 Trying to wake up the small business owner to the value of business and cash flow forecasting. 05/16/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE21 - Overhead Calculations in Cost - Cyber CFO Show 16 Many Business Owners frequently overlook incorporating overhead and labor burden into their product cost calculations. This episode shows you how 05/06/2010 08:00 AM EPISODE20 - Risk of Employees Continued - Cyber CFO Show 15 The Risk of employees, Getting rid of sub par performers, providing incentives for good employees, information on benefits and the importance of an employee handbook 04/30/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE19 - Risk of Employees & Contract Manufacturers - Cyber CFO Show 14 Having employees and hiring a contract manufacturer 04/27/2010 08:00 AM EPISODE18 - Cash Flow Problems and Strategic Partnerships Cyber CFO Show 13 The Cyber CFO discusses other sources of cash flow problems and the value of forming strategic partnerships. 04/19/2010 11:00 AM EPISODE17 - Cyber CFO Interview WBNW The Cyber CFO, Michael Barbarita was interviewed on a local Business Radio Station WBNW 1120 AM on 04/16/10 04/15/2010 09:00 PM EPISODE16 - Unexpected Events - Cyber CFO Show 12 Underestimating cash required for a new venture, Unexpected events and Cash flow problems with fixed asset purchases. 04/14/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE15 - Employee Theft - Cyber CFO Show 11 Employee Theft or Embezzlement Information and examples of employee theft. 04/11/2010 06:55 PM EPISODE14 - Proactive in Discovering Cash Flow Problems - Cyber CFO Show 10 The importance of being proactive in discovering cash flow problems and dealing with too much debt. 04/09/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE13 - Know Your Competition - Cyber CFO Show 9 Know your competition and how to go about learning about and learning from competitors. 04/07/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE11 - The Business Plan - Cyber CFO Show 8 The Business Plan - What is needed as a bare minimum to manage your operations and how to get information on how to prepare a complete Business plan in order to raise Capital. 04/04/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE9 - Having an Advisory Board - Cyber CFO Show 7 Advantages of Having an Advisory Board for your business and who to have on your Advisory board 03/27/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE7 - Slow Paying Customers - Cyber CFO Show 6 How to handle slow paying customers and monitoring key expenses 03/27/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE6 - Inventory Can Kill You - Cyber CFO Show 5 Having too much Inventory and Controlling the Owners salary 03/27/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE5 - Finding the Right Suppliers - Cyber CFO Show 4 A Checklist on Finding the right supplier for your business 03/21/2010 10:00 AM EPISODE4 - Choosing A Business Partner - Cyber CFO Show 3 Information on what you should look for when choosing a business partner. 03/21/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE3 - Personal Liability Exposure - Cyber CFO Show 2 Information on Personal Liability exposure of a business owner 03/21/2010 09:00 AM EPISODE2 - Introduction Cyber CFO Show 1 Description of the Show and background of the host. Cyber CFO, Michael Barbarita Unable to open RSS Feed http://biznik.com/articles/starting-a-business.rss with error HTTP ERROR: 403, exiting Unable to open RSS Feed http://biznik.com/forums/starting-a-business.rss with error HTTP ERROR: 403, exiting Unable to open RSS Feed http://biznik.com/articles/business-plans.rss with error HTTP ERROR: 403, exiting YoungEntrepreneur.com Where young entrepreneurs meet and start-up. 05/18/2012 06:00 AM Is Pivoting a Smart Strategy for Young Entrepreneurs? The benefits of switching gears are being heralded left and right these days. And though it can be painful, it may be a strategy that businesses of any age can get behind. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 05/17/2012 06:00 AM Tumblr’s David Karp on Why NYC Beats Silicon Valley The microblogging-site founder dishes about the evolution of Tumblr and why he loves the Big Apple. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 05/16/2012 06:00 AM Online Education for Young Entrepreneurs: Worth Your Time? For busy entrepreneurs, an online degree may be a just-right option. But definitely weigh your options carefully. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 05/15/2012 06:00 AM Shaping Crowdfunding 2.0 As the crowdfunding industry braces for a massive shift, its players are seeking rules that will serve both to protect investors and entrepreneurs. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 05/14/2012 06:00 AM Entrepreneurship as a Career Choice for New Grads Gets Some Respect While the number of employed young people remains desperately low, some experts suggest entrepreneurship as an increasingly worthy option. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 05/13/2012 06:00 AM A Young Entrepreneur’s Best Friend is His. . . Mom? A helping hand from mom -- or dad -- can be vital for newbie entrepreneurs. Here are six ways to make your career in entrepreneurship more palatable to them. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 05/12/2012 06:00 AM A Young Fitness Business Inspired by Mom Giving thanks on Mother's Day -- and every other day -- is capitol for one young trep who looked to his mom for inspiration. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 05/11/2012 06:00 AM 10 Things Colleges Don’t Tell Young Entrepreneurs at Graduation A college degree can give grads confidence and poise. But it won't guarantee business success. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 05/10/2012 06:00 AM Mobile Roadie’s Co-Founder on What You Need to Know Now About the Future of Mobile Apps If the future of business is mobile, where are mobile apps headed? We spoke with the entrepreneur behind the first self-service app creator on the road ahead. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 05/09/2012 06:00 AM A Note to Young Treps: Put Down the Ramen When it comes to launching a business, you don't have to live so lean that you're having to sacrifice every nicety. Here are three tips for starting up with some cash in your pocket. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] The Financial Guru & Online Marketing Entrepreneur» Online Marketing Los Angeles The Financial Guru Learn how to market successfully online & offline to skyrocket your revenues! 09/30/2010 12:32 PM “REAL web site or FANTASY web site?” Recently, I stumbled across a newbie business owner offering a raving testimonial about working with a local young graphic designer, who recently built them a web site from scratch for what sounded like a very pretty penny. Importantly, this new web site had zero keywords, keyword site plan, keywords in the title tag, and keyword density. [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. 08/11/2010 04:22 PM 7 Tips To Being More Resourceful Have you noticed the great divide for entrepreneurs in today’s marketplace? There seems to be a bevy of entrepreneurs who are just trying to get by, unconsciously trapped in tough times and then bringing that reality to their business and life results. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are entrepreneurs who view today’s economy [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. 07/01/2010 01:26 PM 8 Tips To Copy That Sells For You Online marketing takes you from marketing one-to-one offline into marketing one-to-thousands online. Whether your business is service- or product-based, writing good copy that sells for your social media, e-newsletters, blogs, website, special promotions, sales pages, etc. is essential to get massive ka-chings (i.e., sales). These eight tips will ensure you get results fast. Before [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. 06/23/2010 02:59 PM Facebook Game Changer: Don’t Miss Out Business owners like you are excited about social media tools such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. But, the trouble is, with such explosive growth and widespread popularity, how do you get recognized among 500 million Facebook users and get a piece of the action to drive your business growth? The Answer: Set-up The Best [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. 06/09/2010 09:34 PM 4 Quick & Easy SEO Tips In today’s competitive business landscape, you need the internet to help you drive sales. Period! With that out of the way, it is imperative that the keywords you specifically choose are geared at serving two masters; the clients as well as the search engines. Keywords are the defining element of Search Engine Optimization. Your search engine keywords [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. 04/08/2010 01:09 PM Why These Top 5 Social Media Sites To Grow Your Business? As my clients know, I have been hesitant to recommend going gangbusters when it comes to social media sites to grow your business. Why? It is often difficult to cut through the noise of social media to ensure you are getting the maximum return on your time (ROT) and return on investment (ROI). It also truly depends on [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. 03/30/2010 03:58 PM 8 Reasons To Add Video To Your Marketing Strategy If you are still scratching your head and wondering about “online video,” especially given the amount of time it probably already takes to run your existing business–check out the following eight compelling reasons to make a little time to produce and post videos on your website. 1. Video Is A Minimal Cost. With flipvideo.com in full [...] No related posts. 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Start-ups must apply the same logic to be successful in today's ever changing environment. 03/06/2012 10:37 AM A Boost for Your Keyword Tool PPC Research – iSpionage Go beyond Google Keyword tool and find out what your competitors are doing on all the search engines. Research ads and keywords and track competitors. 10/04/2011 06:10 PM Can You Make Your Product Relevant to Different Customer Niches? Many tech focused entrepreneurs believe that their product is made for one thing. That it can only satisfy the needs of one niche. In may ways, this is a good thing. It makes the entrepreneur think about how to service that particular customer group with regard to their specific situation. It also gives an unambiguous [...] 09/22/2011 07:29 AM Earning Through Investment If you’ve lost your job, but you’re keen to start making money, then you don’t always need to start your own business company or organisation. Indeed, not everyone is suited to the role of an entrepreneur, which can be essential in ensuring that any business is a success. However, there are other options available, such [...] 07/12/2011 11:41 AM Why You Want People to Hate Your Product Art is subjective. Not everyone will like your art but some people may. These people will identify with your product and hold your product as a badge for their own self image. 06/21/2010 10:43 AM Advertising Explained for New Entrepreneurs Advertising has lost it's sparkle. Talkvertising is the key 06/02/2010 10:24 AM It’s Not About Being Perfect Perfection is not what it's about. It's all about making progress. That's the key. 05/27/2010 08:29 AM Are we too hard on Facebook? The criticism of Facebook resulting from the recent uproar over their privacy policy is unfair and undeserved. 05/25/2010 11:32 AM New Ebook – The Rebound My new ebook called "The Rebound: The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Business After You have Lost Your Job."