Parents With Disabilities: Launch Your Startup Business

A startup business can be very stressful. Launching a company takes commitment, and if you're a parent managing a household and disability, it can be doubly challenging. Your business’s success involves balancing your time and taking care of yourself, which means addressing your physical and mental needs. If you don’t, you may exacerbate your condition, putting yourself in the position of being unable to take care of your business or your family. By focusing on your health and reducing stress and anxiety, you'll be energized and can look forward to growing your business. This step-by-step guide from the Erie Chamber of Commerce discusses how to create a great business plan, what financial assistance is available, and other recommendations to help make running your business successful.

Why Set Up an LLC? 

Many new business owners opt to set up their venture as a limited liability company (LLC). There are many advantages to forming an LLC, including tax benefits, less paperwork, ownership flexibility, and personal liability protection. States have different regulations around forming an LLC, so check the rules in your state before moving ahead. 

Step-by-Step Guide to Launching a Startup Business

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is one of the best business resources for people managing disabilities. The staff can help you take advantage of the special programs available.

Step 1:  What Type of Business Is Right for You?

Demographic information has a direct impact on the type of business you launch. Learn more about the demographics in your area. Ask yourself these questions:

• Type of business: Online or brick-and-mortar business?

• Demand: What's the demand for your product/service?

• Location: Is your customers’ location important?

• Market saturation: How much competition will you have?

• Market size: Is the market large enough to support your product or service?

• Pricing: What are your competitors charging?

Good resources for this information are widely available. Start by visiting the following websites:

• USA.gov Statistics

• Statista

Step 2: Write Your Business Plan

The backbone of any company is its business plan. It dictates how the company will operate. Full Scale explains that your business plan should detail how you’ll structure your business, marketing strategies, funding options, and if you’ll be taking on employees. You can use a template to get started. 

Step 3: Estimate Startup Costs

Knowing your startup costs and break-even point is critical to success. This information also enables you to:

• Price your products and services more competitively

• Make smarter business decisions

• Catch overlooked expenses

• Mitigate risks

One area where you don’t want to pinch pennies is with your company's accounting software. You’ll want to spend money where it counts, and software that makes your business easier to manage by conveniently recording your transactions definitely does. You can even use the software to automate certain practices, saving you time as well. And the software can grow with your business, taking on functionality and users as required.

Step 4: Market Your Business

Your venture will be dead in the water in no time without a good marketing strategy. The world needs to know you’re in business, so be smart with your approach. Look for opportunities to save money, and don’t be hesitant about using old-school strategies. Business cards, for example, are still a useful tool for marketing yourself and your business.

Step 5: Fund Your Business

How you fund your business has a direct impact on how you structure and operate your business. For additional information, check out these links:

• Fund your business

• Lender match: Lenders who offer SBA-guaranteed loans 

Step 6: Stay Organized

Managing a new business is hard work, but having the right tools can make a big difference. With the variety of online options available, you can easily keep track of crucial documents and other information related to your business. Digitizing records is a great way to stay organized and efficient, especially for entrepreneurs who are always on the go. PDF tools are incredibly useful for streamlining tasks (like filling out forms) and creating documents that need to be stored securely (like invoices and contracts). Digital files also take up less space than paper versions and are easier to access at any time. With PDF tools, you can edit, rotate, and even compress documents. Take a look here for a variety of helpful PDF editing tools from Adobe Acrobat. 

Launching Your Startup Is Possible

Parents with disabilities interested in launching a startup business have more options today than ever before. Don’t forget to factor in a business plan and a good marketing strategy for your business. The SBA has many programs to help people managing disabilities make the most of business ventures.