Unlocking the Entrepreneurial Spirit

One thing about Entrepreneurial Spirit is the risk that it involves.

While the United States laws are more .......... liberal for Entrepreneurship as opposed to so Italy for example.

If you started a business in the U.S. you choose what type. 'S', 'C', 'LLC' and so on as to what responsibility.

And as all U.S. Business owners you keep what they say an arms length away, and by this, you do not treat it personally, even though as a Entrepreneur, you do. Its yours, your baby.

But by keeping an arms length away, protects your personal property, if the business venture fails. Even though allot of entrepreneurs has allot of there personal resources ties up in this. If it fails the creditors can not go after your personal property that is not tied to the business if you declare bankruptcy, with the exception of employee payroll and taxes. But are separated from the creditors.

As I understand it, in Italy that is not the case. You as the business owner are held personally responsible for the liability. That is a big difference.

In my opinion, the biggest draw back that kept people from starting their business in the U.S....... at least 10-20 years ago was insurance.

I think the internet has helped a great deal in encouraging small business enterprizes.
What puts most peopleoff expanding their kitchen table enterprize I'd guess is taxes, taxes and taxes, oh and beurocracy and maybe taxes too.
Del

As a former business owner for 42 years; self employment is a euphemism for unemployed at least in the initial year.

You should also select the type of business you want, proprietor, partnership, or incorporated (limited). The incorporated or limited company will limit your liability and is usually the way to go. However, most money lenders will ask you to put personal material like your house as collateral. They seem to want to do that even years after being in business (rates are much lower when a loan is secured). I have bought and paid for my house three times. You will want to expand at some point and that will take capital and cash flow and hence the need for a bank. By incorporating, you limit some potential law suits and provide protection. However, be sure to insure your company whatever its form.

I did enjoy the freedom of self employment but it does take much more work than one thinks. You will find your work week extends beyond any set hours and will likely involve 80 hours in the first few years but after a while you may get to relax at a mere 60 hours. Be prepared to wear many hats and some you never thought of before. Also remember, you may lose some of the fellowship you enjoy working for someone else. That will come back after a few years in business. If you have a good idea and are prepared to put in the hours, I would not fear failure. Have a contingency plan. Do not expect to be a success right away and those first years can be a killer. I happen to have had a very supportive wife during my initial years and I decided to keep her. Nah, I would have kept her anyway.

By the way, I did not read the rest of the post as it contained "Malware" warning from Google chrome.

Thanks for sharing your story

I've been getting the same warnings using the latest version of Firefox from phys.org. They've just started popping up today, so I'm not sure what's going on over on their site.

However, most money lenders will ask you to put personal material like your house as collateral.

They will loan you 33% of your collateral, My credit rating was 75? something, rarely borrowed, (Student Loan). I had borrow $140,000.00 had to put up $350,000.00 worth of property, as well as on top of that putting a lean on my Porsche. Yes, the interest rates were fantastic, with that kind of security

What I was po'ed about, the girl I was dating at the time, her dead beat, jobless brother, was not only able to borrow money for a house with next to nothing down, but was also able to borrow another $30,000.00 to build a garage for his car.

Well, he put gravel down, where he was going to build it and gambled and drink the rest away, After 5 years, he dropped over dead at 42 years old, (of which I had predicted). His sister settle with the bank for $0.15 on the $1.00 on his home loan.

That was a late 1990's Government program of "a home for everybody" whether you can afford it or not.

What allot of people don't releaize is the employee taxes that the employer is responsible for as well as insurance. Depends on how you run your business, allot business owners try to operator it as a one man show. But the first few years, your not doing it for the money.

Yes, the banks are just legal loan sharks. I had one bank call in my line of credit just before the big collapse. I was strung about $250,000.00 at the time but the money was secure and was used against good jobs that paid very well. I had never defaulted on a loan nor missed a payment. The bank earned about 12 grand a month from my business. I think the bank knew about the collapse and was just calling in all loans. I was given exactly 30 days. As I dealt with this bank for many years, I was more than slightly pissed. I paid their loan off and kissed them goodbye. I found another bank that fell all over themselves to get my business. Sometimes it is better to create more than one avenue just in case some P...ck wants to show his might. I was lucky I had resources to back me up. Got over the issue and later sold my business. I still own the building and have long term lease on it. Retirement is good but all the years play hell with one's health. I am trying to enjoy what's left. We seem to have avoided the housing bubble. Starting a business is difficult and you learn a lot on the fly.

Somethings about personal bankruptcy seem very unfair. if you borrow money, you have an obligation to pay it back. A lender who has no idea how his money is spent seems a poor guardian.