Starting a Business During a Pandemic
The pandemic has undoubtedly brought with it a lot of sadness and hardships; I have been no stranger to that. But, where there has been struggle, there has also been growth and opportunity. While you wouldn’t think a pandemic to be the ideal time to materialize your dreams, for me it has proved to be the perfect time to launch my own business.
For years I have had big visions of launching my own business. That dream even led me to buy my website domain and work on a logo a few years back, but as usual, timing played its part and I ultimately decided I wasn’t quite ready. In the world of event planning, there is so much knowledge to gain and experiences to be had; I wanted to feel fully ready before venturing off on my own.
When starting your own business, you can take a leap of faith and hit the ground running, learning as you go. Or, you can develop a solid foundation and skillset before deciding that you’re going to go for it.
Personally, I chose the latter, not that there's anything wrong with learning as you go! Learning is not linear and I can only hope to continue learning for the rest of my life.
When it comes to starting your own business, there is no rule book. While exciting, it does not come without fear and intimidation. Making decisions on your own can be nerve wracking and it’s hard to know what steps to “follow”. While I don’t have the perfect equation of what you need to do to start your own business, I have learned a thing or two along my journey thus for. I hope these steps can serve as a guidance for you.
Step 1
Make the decision to go for it. Understand that once you start, there will be little time to slow down. So, determine that this is what you want and leave no room for regrets.
Step 2
File your LLC. To me, this always seemed like a very daunting task. You can go to your local government’s website and they will guide you through which forms need to be submitted. Personally, I had my accountant, Gollob CPA, file my LLC for me (took a lot of work off my plate and I knew he would do it correctly). He submitted the necessary paperwork and made it much easier for me. BUT don’t forget (at least in the state of NY) your LLC needs to be published. So, after you become a registered LLC and get your EIN number, you then need to publish your LLC. Again, your state will determine where your LLC can be published. I had to reach out to my county and they told me specifically which newspapers I had to publish in.
Step 3
Open up a bank account under your business name! (This was advice from my accountant). I found Chase Bank to be super easy to work with and they walked me through all the steps. When you have your business, it is really important to keep finances in order and organized for tax purposes.
Step 4
Know your strengths and weaknesses. I have zero skills in branding/logo/website design. I joined Ladies Get Paid and posted in their “recommended vendors” section for a website/logo/branding company to help me out. I made sure to interview at least six different companies. When you are spending money on your business, you need to make sure it is money well spent. I landed on Lisa Rothwell from Glow Branding- we spoke the same language in terms of how we like to get things done, our expectations for responses. Our voices and images aligned and I knew it was a good fit.
Step 5
Hire a lawyer to work on a client/service agreement for you. This is costly but you want to make sure you and your clients are both protected. I worked with Abe from Lichy Law- they specialize in startups and small businesses. He was so easy to work with and took the time to explain the details of the contract to me. You need to understand everything you are putting out there for your business.
Step 6
Let your colleagues in the industry know that you are starting your own business. Personally, I wanted to share the news firsthand and gain any insider information- things they wish they had done differently when they first started, what are rookie mistakes they can help you steer away from, all that jazz. I am SO lucky to have built wonderful relationships and friendships with other planners and vendors in the industry- they helped me tremendously and I am forever grateful. I’ve always felt there is enough business to go around and we are all unique. I want my colleagues in the industry to do just as well as me :)
No matter what- you’ll always feel overwhelmed by going off on your own but hopefully it will feel like you are living your authentic life. If you make a decision on something that you later want to change, you can- so don’t spend all your time trying to perfect everything at the start. You have the ball in your court to make any and all decisions and that should feel liberating.
Best of luck on your new endeavors and YOU GOT THIS!!!
