I've decided to start my own business

[Babalonian]

Accounting, leaning towards project accountant. My CPA license is pending. Passed that in September.

If you're certified or pending in the state of California, drop me a PM.  I'm a small fish, but lazy and would much rather throw you the bones than some place like H&R Block. 

[Dichotomy]

Hosting is NOT expensive, and if you look online you can find website templates for under $100. Once you get a domain, you have a built in email - and with how cheap these steps are, I'd really recommend going for the professional feel they would give.

My business is also in the professions, and like I said I started mine from scratch. I'm not an accountant, but I find myself wondering if you could even go without the costs of an office at first - play up the personalized, customized service you give and the fact that you give "house calls" at their places of business.

But I have no idea how that would go over, and I don't know if that'd make things feel more fly-by-night. I do know that in my line of work, there are a few doctors whose entire practice is based on house calls - and what they lose in volume they make up for in lower overhead.

What he said.. I grabbed a couple of domains this weekend for $45 and got unlimited hosting for $8.95 a month.  Hostgator has a really intuitive website builder.  I hate to keep pimping them but I've been really happy with them for 7+ years. 

[RightF00T]

or www.overnightprints.com..........  Any other place might give you the same quality but take a little longer.  Prices are good at both. 

Co-sign....

[MarineUS]

Just started my own as well. woot
  

[mijoieau]

I run a few different businesses, the main trick is to be humble with cash as you dont and wont have any for a while but also dream your dream every night focus on what you want out of this and then let nothing get in your way.

You have to have a phone number get a VOIP as its cheaper and answer the phone you cant make money just hiding behind a computer you have to interact with customers.

If you can do the hard yards it becomes a dream in the end give it 3 years and do anything you can to make money just to start the business as an example i sold stuff i made in my shed on ebay just to pay basic bills, i made screen printing kits and printed t-shirts to start others into a business but it wasn't what i wanted or my core business.

The main thing is you have to live on F-all and know one day it will pay the bills but better than that it give you a life where you are the master and as an example of that i tell people to f-off instead of being told the same by a boss.
5 years into most of the businesses and now i  close down for 8 weeks for holiday and even after having to many i am off again in 2 weeks for 2 weeks because i want to.
Its not all about money its about owning your life and making your own future its not always fun but it always gets better.
Be positive and put in alot of time and stress and it will just happen.
Best of luck
forkit

[mijoieau]

also hostgator is a good host i have a reseller account and its dirt cheap.
Get VOIP its cheap.
Dont worry about business cards unless you are out and about networking with people instead spend your money on a site or better still learn how to make one yourself and then spend money and time on SEO for the site and rank well with google.
Business cards, mail outsetc are old school i find that cold calling and ranking in google will beat business cards hand down or any other old school marketing method.
But the main part is being confident no matter how young you are and also doing a good job as word of mouth is the most powerful marketing on the planet next to ranking in google.
The best advise is learn from your mistakes and take them on the chin but never beat yourself up for fU$% up just move on and kick some ass.
forkit

[Raptor]

I make and order the business cards for my flight department from vistaprint.com

Used Vista Print all the time at United Way. best prices, just have to wait for them to arrive. If you want them now then pay a little more for Kinko's. I made cards at home a few years ago for parent's business, but I did have some issues with printer not aligning exactly with cards if you use a color other than white as background.

[CAP1]

After 2+ years of being unemployed it seems the only way. Further I'm looking forward to it and I'm excited to do so. My family and friends, including some online, have encouraged me to do so. What I would like is a suggestion on where to get business cards and for those more savvy suggestions for a letter of introduction.


Thanks all in advanced.

 for business cards, you've got a couple of options.

 you can make your own. they sell card stock, and there are programs to do them.
 try vistaprint.com. they're pretty good, and seemed reasonable when i got mine there.
 local print shop should be able to help you too.

 for the letter of introduction.......if you have microsoft office on your computer, you should be able to search for a template.

[NormH3]

  for the letter of introduction.......if you have microsoft office on your computer, you should be able to search for a template.

If you don't want to put out for the expense of Microsoft Office, Open Office is a good, free alternative. It's available for PC and MAC products and is compatible with MS at least through version 2007.

www.openoffice.org

[Spikes]

Get some business cards, but put most of the money into a website. Websites are the drive for todays businesses, everyone has a computer these days. Finding products, store hours, etc is all easily done on websites. If you'd like some help making one I'd be glad to help.

[sky25]

Good Luck to you Sir.. Starting a business can be challenging and at times frustrating, but the rewards will come if you put your heart and mind into it..

[Denholm]

Go for it Getback.... I know you want a TilDeath computer.

[ariansworld]

Accounting, leaning towards project accountant. My CPA license is pending. Passed that in September.

I hope you are ready to put in REALLY LONG hours.

[mensa180]

Getback my dad has been a self employed CPA for decades, just recently retired.  I'll PM you his some contact info, I'm sure he would have some advice.

[Getback]

Wow folks great suggestions! You folks are the best. Arian, I wish I did live in CA but I live in Indiana. I don't mind the long hours. I studied as much as 20 hours per day working towards my CPA certification. So the drive is there. I've yet to come up with a name for my business. I could use Bennett Accounting services but that doesn't emphasize my strongest skill, problem solving. I'm heading to the Thesaurus now.