Startup Advice

  Where to Get Business Startup Advice When You're Really Serious

If you look online for business startup advice, you'll find a huge array of articles that give basic tips. These are fine for people who just have a passing curiosity about what is involved in starting a business, or who intend to start a hyper-local type of service like cleaning houses or doing a few lawns. However, if you're ready to get serious, or to expand your one-person lawn mowing operation into a service with a crew, you'll need far better advice than these sites provide.

At this point, it's time to seek startup advice from consultants who specialize in this area. Consultants may operate as individuals or be part of firms that serve new business owners. Sometimes, these firms focus on consulting alone, but in other cases, their main focus can be venture capital, payroll handling, or some other business-centric service. In any case, they should have a stake in helping you and your business do well.

The focus of a consultant's startup advice may depend on which aspects of business his or her firm deals with, so if you have a need for a particular type of advice, it's a good idea to look for an expert who works in that area. However, if you're looking for a broader range of advice types, an independent consultant can be better.

Some specific things you may need startup advice about include finding good employees, handling regulatory requirements, where to get funding, and how to effectively handle marketing. There are consultants for pretty much any aspect of business, but as a startup, these are likely to be on the top of your list of needs. Make sure you have a good handle on them and other basics before you move onto things like which colors are best for motivating employees.