Prospective Profitable Start-ups for the Entrepreneur in Helena Montana
Introduction
Three businesses that have the capability of becoming profitable here in the Helena area are a moving services business, a franchise brokerage firm, and a lansdscaping design and outdoor décor business. In general Helena's economy, with a current population of 28,190 could benefit with the addition of new businesses (UsCensusBureau, 2010). Throughout this research paper I will research in detail the specifics of each business venture and choose which business would fit my needs and goals.
Three Business Ideas
Entrepreneurs recognize opportunities and create their business from these opportunities. Use your imagination. Pin-point 3 local or global opportunities and research them all. Explain what opportunities are behind your business ideas. Look into their competition and feasibility. Explore their real-life financing options, existing competition and strength and weaknesses.
Being an entrepreneur comes with no guarantees that you will be successful at the business venture you choose. You may experience the independence, satisfaction, financial independence, and better self-esteem if you are successful, but you risk failing and must overcome obstacles, work long, hard hours, and experience financial insecurity. High failure rates have become accepted as an inevitable cost of entrepreneurial activity. There are many people that go into business for themselves and fail, and few that succeed. A businesses failure can be due to many different reasons. To name a few are loss of energy, interest, aspiration, and a lack of human resources or experience in a particular field, (Samuels, 2008). Going into an excessive amount of debt too soon and a lack of general business knowledge in order to secure business contracts can be disadvantage for a new start-ups ability for success. These are a few of the reasons to weigh going into business for oneself very seriously before taking actions to become a business owner and further becoming an entrepreneur.
One such local business opportunity I have seen and experienced a lack of in the Helena area is moving services. There is a high demand in our area for a service that does just that, help consumers move. As a start-up it would require minimal initial investment. Several websites offer free registration for moving companies to obtain referrals for new local business. For example UHAUL, a well-known name in the moving industry, offers moving labor help to their customers on their website. They give these referrals to local moving businesses. In the Helena area they have two such businesses they use for these referrals. Consumers would benefit from an additional company in the area to provide moving services. Local rates for moving services range between sixty and ninety dollars per hour with a two man crew. This service could be more profitable if additional movers are hired for several jobs at a time and the billable hours increase per move. Additional services such as packing and unpacking, and cleaning can also be provided at hourly rates. Through U-Haul's referral service, moving help.com, there is no initial investment needed as they allow usage of their moving trucks and equipment at the cost of the consumer that is moving. Even if the client wasn't found through U-Haul's website it would still be profitable to simply rent the equipment from U-Haul for a potential moving job. It would be profitable to also purchase moving equipment such as moving trucks, not necessary for the company to operate, but an attainable goal. This would broaden its customer base and allow the company to hire more employees to provide services to a broader customer base. There are many areas for growth with this business idea. One such area to branch off of moving services is cleaning services. For the entrepreneur that would like to be involved with an already established brand there is franchise moving company opportunities available through several franchisors nationally.
My second business idea is to become a franchise consultant, also known as a broker. I'd like to manage franchising for clients in Helena in order to bring more businesses to the area. There are currently no franchise brokers operating out of Helena. The competition would be on a national level. This in itself would give me a profitable advantage. At the same time I would be helping promote new business in our area and build Helena's economy by creating new jobs and new places for consumers to keep their money in the local community economy.
Although the economy may have not done well over the last several years some industries continue to thrive and are not affected by the current state of the economy. More reasons why a franchise brokerage firm would succeed here. For this business venture I will need a professional office space to operate from. The space would need individual areas for a team of franchise brokers to operate from, including a conference room for staff meetings and meetings with potential clients. Obtaining business investors or a business loan to cover the upfront investment is necessary to become a franchisee for a franchise brokering company such as VR Business Brokers. The upfront costs associated with this business venture are between $100,000 and $150,000 dollars. Becoming part of a franchise would provide my employees with training and other benefits such as national marketing, advertising, and public relation tools.
Another benefit to using an already established franchise broker company such as VR Business Brokers is that they have a large network of well-established brokers to work with. Not only can they help through advising, but can help gain new business. Services my company would provide to small and mid-sized businesses would be coaching for those looking to buy a franchise and helping them to select the right franchise opportunity for them. Helping new owners learn how to buy a franchise and help others go into business for themselves through franchising. There are literally thousands of franchises available to choose from for a potential new business owner. Each franchise provides training programs and mentoring to help guarantee a new franchises success. This business may include some travel. Business dealings are best handled in a face to face setting. The broker may have to travel to different franchise headquarters for meetings to handle business dealings on behalf of the prospective franchisee. The brokerage will provide a full menu of franchise brokerage services, most services would be commission based. An area for future expansion with this business idea is to help small businesses to develop their own franchise.
My last business venture would be to expand upon my current business. I own and operate a successful tree trimming and removal service that would benefit from expansion with a landscaping design department. My company gets requests from current clients concerning many aspects of landscaping and landscape design. Our expanded services would include other services such as outdoor holiday decorating. Professional installation and removal of outdoor holiday décor. The landscaping design details such as residential and commercial lawn maintenance would be subcontracted out for a small fee. I would have a small crew for labor to perform duties associated with outdoor holiday decorating. This business idea would have several departments but be very profitable in the Helena area, because there is not much competition for professional services that provide holiday decorating. Fees would be based on an hourly basis.
Best Business Idea
What business idea emerged as the best? Continue to explore your best business idea. What do you need to grow and go? Set goals for your business? Where will your business be in 1 year and in 5 years?
All three of these business ideas have the potential to become profitable. The most profitable with the least startup costs is the moving company idea. This company has the little competition and offers room for future expansion in many areas of the company.
Licensing, insurance and becoming a corporate entity are a few things needed to get the ball rolling for any new business. I would register my selected business name through the Montana State department registrar; this will also tell me if there was another business in the area with the same name. Before conducting business I would request a business tax id, or EIN number, from the IRS. An EIN number is an identification number that is the same as a social security number for a business, (Mariotti & Glackin, 2010, p. 264). With the help of my personal accountant I would begin doing business as an LLC. In the textbook Entrepreneurshipf, an LLC is defined as "a form of business ownership offering tax advantages of a partnership as well as limited legal liability,"(Mariotti & Glackin, 2010, p. 315). My accountant would file self-employment taxes and pay the IRS quarterly. The next step is to speak with my insurance agent to update my current business insurance policy by adding my new business.
Checking into small business funding available from lending institutions is next on the long list of things to do to get any small business up and running. Even though I may not need much of a small business loan to get started with this moving business, a business loan would help to cover expenses and other costs associated with starting a business. The accessibility of small business funding has made it easier than ever for new businesses to get started. This may be due to the accessibility of funding for new businesses through financial institutions. The United States federal government has recently decided to give new business owners financial help getting businesses started. In September of 2010 the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act was signed into action. It raised loan limits and has given businesses across the country more financing options through their local financial institutions. According to an article in Entrepreneur magazine by Gwen Morgan this has resulted in SBA loan values increase of twenty percent and a thirteen percent increase in loans given, (Moran, 2011). This is an added benefit available to any new business owner in order to help them get off to a successful start.
Conclusion
After thorough research on each of the three fields I have chosen, I would start a moving service. A moving service in Helena wouldn't have much competition and have low start-up and overhead costs.
Works cited
Mariotti, S., & Glackin, C. (2010). Entrepreneurship (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
MORAN, G. (2011). SIGNS OF LIFE. Entrepreneur, 39(7), 78-80.
Samuels, L. B., Joshi, M. P., & Demory, Y. (2008). Entrepreneurial failure and discrimination: lessons for small service firms. Service Industries Journal, 28(7/8), 883-897. doi:10.1080/02642060701882098
U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). State and County QuickFacts; Helena, MT. Retrieved on December 2, 2011, from quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/30/3035600.html
Introduction
Three businesses that have the capability of becoming profitable here in the Helena area are a moving services business, a franchise brokerage firm, and a lansdscaping design and outdoor décor business. In general Helena's economy, with a current population of 28,190 could benefit with the addition of new businesses (UsCensusBureau, 2010). Throughout this research paper I will research in detail the specifics of each business venture and choose which business would fit my needs and goals.
Three Business Ideas
Entrepreneurs recognize opportunities and create their business from these opportunities. Use your imagination. Pin-point 3 local or global opportunities and research them all. Explain what opportunities are behind your business ideas. Look into their competition and feasibility. Explore their real-life financing options, existing competition and strength and weaknesses.
Being an entrepreneur comes with no guarantees that you will be successful at the business venture you choose. You may experience the independence, satisfaction, financial independence, and better self-esteem if you are successful, but you risk failing and must overcome obstacles, work long, hard hours, and experience financial insecurity. High failure rates have become accepted as an inevitable cost of entrepreneurial activity. There are many people that go into business for themselves and fail, and few that succeed. A businesses failure can be due to many different reasons. To name a few are loss of energy, interest, aspiration, and a lack of human resources or experience in a particular field, (Samuels, 2008). Going into an excessive amount of debt too soon and a lack of general business knowledge in order to secure business contracts can be disadvantage for a new start-ups ability for success. These are a few of the reasons to weigh going into business for oneself very seriously before taking actions to become a business owner and further becoming an entrepreneur.
One such local business opportunity I have seen and experienced a lack of in the Helena area is moving services. There is a high demand in our area for a service that does just that, help consumers move. As a start-up it would require minimal initial investment. Several websites offer free registration for moving companies to obtain referrals for new local business. For example UHAUL, a well-known name in the moving industry, offers moving labor help to their customers on their website. They give these referrals to local moving businesses. In the Helena area they have two such businesses they use for these referrals. Consumers would benefit from an additional company in the area to provide moving services. Local rates for moving services range between sixty and ninety dollars per hour with a two man crew. This service could be more profitable if additional movers are hired for several jobs at a time and the billable hours increase per move. Additional services such as packing and unpacking, and cleaning can also be provided at hourly rates. Through U-Haul's referral service, moving help.com, there is no initial investment needed as they allow usage of their moving trucks and equipment at the cost of the consumer that is moving. Even if the client wasn't found through U-Haul's website it would still be profitable to simply rent the equipment from U-Haul for a potential moving job. It would be profitable to also purchase moving equipment such as moving trucks, not necessary for the company to operate, but an attainable goal. This would broaden its customer base and allow the company to hire more employees to provide services to a broader customer base. There are many areas for growth with this business idea. One such area to branch off of moving services is cleaning services. For the entrepreneur that would like to be involved with an already established brand there is franchise moving company opportunities available through several franchisors nationally.
My second business idea is to become a franchise consultant, also known as a broker. I'd like to manage franchising for clients in Helena in order to bring more businesses to the area. There are currently no franchise brokers operating out of Helena. The competition would be on a national level. This in itself would give me a profitable advantage. At the same time I would be helping promote new business in our area and build Helena's economy by creating new jobs and new places for consumers to keep their money in the local community economy.
Although the economy may have not done well over the last several years some industries continue to thrive and are not affected by the current state of the economy. More reasons why a franchise brokerage firm would succeed here. For this business venture I will need a professional office space to operate from. The space would need individual areas for a team of franchise brokers to operate from, including a conference room for staff meetings and meetings with potential clients. Obtaining business investors or a business loan to cover the upfront investment is necessary to become a franchisee for a franchise brokering company such as VR Business Brokers. The upfront costs associated with this business venture are between $100,000 and $150,000 dollars. Becoming part of a franchise would provide my employees with training and other benefits such as national marketing, advertising, and public relation tools.
Another benefit to using an already established franchise broker company such as VR Business Brokers is that they have a large network of well-established brokers to work with. Not only can they help through advising, but can help gain new business. Services my company would provide to small and mid-sized businesses would be coaching for those looking to buy a franchise and helping them to select the right franchise opportunity for them. Helping new owners learn how to buy a franchise and help others go into business for themselves through franchising. There are literally thousands of franchises available to choose from for a potential new business owner. Each franchise provides training programs and mentoring to help guarantee a new franchises success. This business may include some travel. Business dealings are best handled in a face to face setting. The broker may have to travel to different franchise headquarters for meetings to handle business dealings on behalf of the prospective franchisee. The brokerage will provide a full menu of franchise brokerage services, most services would be commission based. An area for future expansion with this business idea is to help small businesses to develop their own franchise.
My last business venture would be to expand upon my current business. I own and operate a successful tree trimming and removal service that would benefit from expansion with a landscaping design department. My company gets requests from current clients concerning many aspects of landscaping and landscape design. Our expanded services would include other services such as outdoor holiday decorating. Professional installation and removal of outdoor holiday décor. The landscaping design details such as residential and commercial lawn maintenance would be subcontracted out for a small fee. I would have a small crew for labor to perform duties associated with outdoor holiday decorating. This business idea would have several departments but be very profitable in the Helena area, because there is not much competition for professional services that provide holiday decorating. Fees would be based on an hourly basis.
Best Business Idea
What business idea emerged as the best? Continue to explore your best business idea. What do you need to grow and go? Set goals for your business? Where will your business be in 1 year and in 5 years?
All three of these business ideas have the potential to become profitable. The most profitable with the least startup costs is the moving company idea. This company has the little competition and offers room for future expansion in many areas of the company.
Licensing, insurance and becoming a corporate entity are a few things needed to get the ball rolling for any new business. I would register my selected business name through the Montana State department registrar; this will also tell me if there was another business in the area with the same name. Before conducting business I would request a business tax id, or EIN number, from the IRS. An EIN number is an identification number that is the same as a social security number for a business, (Mariotti & Glackin, 2010, p. 264). With the help of my personal accountant I would begin doing business as an LLC. In the textbook Entrepreneurshipf, an LLC is defined as "a form of business ownership offering tax advantages of a partnership as well as limited legal liability,"(Mariotti & Glackin, 2010, p. 315). My accountant would file self-employment taxes and pay the IRS quarterly. The next step is to speak with my insurance agent to update my current business insurance policy by adding my new business.
Checking into small business funding available from lending institutions is next on the long list of things to do to get any small business up and running. Even though I may not need much of a small business loan to get started with this moving business, a business loan would help to cover expenses and other costs associated with starting a business. The accessibility of small business funding has made it easier than ever for new businesses to get started. This may be due to the accessibility of funding for new businesses through financial institutions. The United States federal government has recently decided to give new business owners financial help getting businesses started. In September of 2010 the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act was signed into action. It raised loan limits and has given businesses across the country more financing options through their local financial institutions. According to an article in Entrepreneur magazine by Gwen Morgan this has resulted in SBA loan values increase of twenty percent and a thirteen percent increase in loans given, (Moran, 2011). This is an added benefit available to any new business owner in order to help them get off to a successful start.
Conclusion
After thorough research on each of the three fields I have chosen, I would start a moving service. A moving service in Helena wouldn't have much competition and have low start-up and overhead costs.
Works cited
Mariotti, S., & Glackin, C. (2010). Entrepreneurship (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
MORAN, G. (2011). SIGNS OF LIFE. Entrepreneur, 39(7), 78-80.
Samuels, L. B., Joshi, M. P., & Demory, Y. (2008). Entrepreneurial failure and discrimination: lessons for small service firms. Service Industries Journal, 28(7/8), 883-897. doi:10.1080/02642060701882098
U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). State and County QuickFacts; Helena, MT. Retrieved on December 2, 2011, from quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/30/3035600.html