Youth CEO Clubs
"When the Student is Ready, The Teacher Will Appear!"
For Ages 7 - 18
Copyright 2008 Angels Press. All Rights Reserved
Youth CEO Clubs
Cathy Harris, CEO
P.O. Box 870849
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
Phone: (770) 873-2072
Website: http://www.YouthCEOClubs.com
TOP 12 BUSINESS MYTHS
1. You can’t start a business without a lot of money:
Remember that over 90% of all businesses are started with private sources such as divorce settlements, child support payments, unemployment insurance, 401K's, etc. While the amount of money varies depending on the type of business (part-time, seasonal, moonlighting, etc.) you are trying to start, the average entrepreneur starting a one-person business plans to get underway with about $5,000, but can easily start a business with less than $500 or $100 on a shoe string budget.
2. There is grant money out there to start or expand a business:
We've all seen the headlines: "Millions in free government money for your business." Late-night infomercials, reference guides and websites promote the availability of grant money to entrepreneurs for starting and expanding businesses. Does it sound too good to be true? Well, it is! Generally, cities, counties, school systems, and other non-profit entities are the ones who get grants. In addition, some federal and state agencies award a limited number of grants for very specialized business activities dealing with scientific research and development.
3. You can get grant money to start a non-profit corporation:
There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to non-profits and grant money and if you decide to move forward with this venture go in with both eyes opened. Only certain groups are getting this grant money and they are not African Americans. Everyone has great ideas, but the reality is if you open a non-profit, the chances of you getting grant money is very slim. An even if you receive some grant money, it’s like winning the lottery, there is no guarantee that you will ever get it again. Your goal should be not to open a non-profit but to open a for-profit (Sole Proprietorship, Limited Liability Company, Corporation, Partnership) get a niche market and cater your services or products to a target market. The key to get angel and private investors involved is to write a terrific business plan.
4. There is grant money for women who want to open up businesses:
If you seriously think someone is going to give you money because of your gender then you are sadly mistaken. The Small Business Administration or banks will not give money to women or men unless they meet a certain criteria or have built personal relationships with these people and/or both. They might have programs that cater to women, but again, this money is only going to certain women who meet their criteria. General lending criteria for the Small Business Administration (SBA) (www.sba.gov) include: 1) outstanding credit history (FICO/Credit Score of over 700), 2) cash flow adequate to service the debt, 3) collateral, 4) equity, 5) character, and 6) experience.
5. Business plans cost a lot of money:
Actually you can write a business plan for free by using the internet, reading books, attending low-cost seminars and workshops for $40 to $60 through the Small Business Administration (SBA) or SCORE (www.SCORE.org), a group of retired executives who work with the SBA as counselors or mentors to businesses online.
6. You have to have a college degree to open up a business:
Many people think people with college degrees are the only ones that can start businesses. If they had conducted their research, they would have known that even young people as young as 5 years can become a business owner. Many cities are creating “Youth Entrepreneurship Clubs” or “Youth Business Districts” to get youth thinking about entrepreneurship. Business training is already offered in private schools.
7. You have to clean up your credit before you open a business:
It takes at least 2 to 3 years or longer to clean up your credit. So you definitely do not want to wait that long to start a business. Meanwhile while you are building and growing a business, you do need to start to clean up your credit by ordering your credit reports from the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) at www.annnualcreditreport.com Remember you might have to make phone calls and write letters to fix your credit. It’s estimated that 79% of all credit reports have some type of errors, over 25% have major errors and over 30% have accounts opened that should have been closed.
8. If you build it they will come:
The movie Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner, illustrates one of the biggest business killing myths. Many business owners believe that once they open the doors to their business, then customers will simply pour in. This typically doesn’t happen. If you do not market and sell your services, not only will they not come, but they won’t even notice. Remember as a solo business owner, you can run a business without employees but you can’t run a business without customers. Marketing drives customers to your business.
9. Do what you love and the money will follow:
I don’t care how passionate you are about a particular business, unless somebody’s going to want to buy what you’re selling, there’s no point in doing it. The level of passion can also be a problem when it comes to raising capital, since it can lead to unrealistic expectations. People think because they have a good idea, the money will just pour in. But you also have to have a good network and be able to attract investors just as you would customers.
10. You’ll miss the security of a job:
Is owning your own business less secure than working for somebody else? Jobs don’t necessarily provide more security. According to the latest statistics the median length of time workers had been with their current employers was four years. When you compare that to the fact that only about half of new employer companies will be around for more than four years, self-employment doesn’t look so risky. No one can longer make the statement that they have a safe job.
11. If it’s such a good idea, somebody would have thought of it already:
Uncertainty is a big part of starting a business. Closely related misconceptions include the one that says you must keep your business idea secret for fear of copycats. That leads new entrepreneurs to be overly protective. They don’t want to write down their idea because they’re afraid somebody will steal it. But you’ve never seen it happen. It takes a complicated operations plan to make a product into a stream of revenue, and that takes a long time. No one can whip that up overnight.
12. Now that I have my own business, I won't have a boss:
When you open a business your customers, also called clients and patrons, will become your boss. There will be deadlines and meetings that you will have to pay attention too if you are going to be successful in business.
