Updated September 19, 2023
For most of my life, I’ve heard the phrase “…living the American dream.” Ever wondered what that dream is? Google the phrase, “What is the American Dream?” and you’ll get about 14,500,000 results. Ask someone and you will get as many different answers as the number of people that you ask. If you ask an entrepreneur, they will almost always include in their answer – OWNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS. Each year many individuals embark on this trip that will take them through every emotion they have plus some they may not know they have.
According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), over 627,000 businesses start each year while approximately 595,000 businesses close each year with only 51% of those start-ups surviving the 5-year mark (some “experts” put the failure rate as high as 80%). Why is the failure rate so high?
Another internet search will provide you with more results than there are humans. For the most part, you’ll find a common theme: lack of research, failure to plan, and finally, too much emotion. An entrepreneur will often have so much excitement over a business idea that they will fail to logically think the process through; instead, they go from a business idea to signing an office lease without ever thinking of in-between steps. Add to that our rapidly changing world that in recent years has seen supply-chain issues, inflation, rising interest rates, increased IRS scrutiny, and labor shortages, and you can see how critical it is to build a solid business plan with the expertise of a CPA.
Over the next few months, we will walk you through this process. We will review the planning necessary to start a business, discuss the various entity structures with the pros and cons of each as well as the “ugly” side of owning a business – the administrative side. I’ve never met a business owner who enjoys this, but this this the quickest way to become a failure statistic.
While we walk you through these steps, please feel free to contact us directly to discuss in totality. It always sounds easy, but it hardly ever is!
Let’s get started now, with Step 1 to owning your own business.
At Lesemann CPAs, our mission is to assist you in getting your business started and guide the entrepreneur as it grows and prospers.
