Now is the Best Time to Start a Business says Robert Tuchman

This is a guest post by Robert Tuchman.

The task of starting a new business can be daunting.  It takes a lot of time, responsibility, and effort.  And with the state of national economy, starting your own business can be even harder.  In this tough economic climate, there are a few things you can do to ease the financial burden and accomplish your entrepreneurial goals.

One thing you can do to brace yourself is to go back to your suppliers—to your telephone provider, landlord, car dealer—and renegotiate.  Go to the people you are paying out to, and renegotiate on the contracts you had made with them.  See if they are willing to cut you some slack.  Although they are dealing with the same slow-down as you are, you will find that they are more willing to do you a favor than lose you as a customer.

I cannot stress enough the need for products you are selling to be presented in more detail.  You must make the clients understand who you are and what your product is. Market better!  Understand where people are coming from: be compassionate with their concerns.  Be willing to work out payment plans for potential clients.

Save money using technology: take advantage of email and video conferencing.  You should email documents rather than sending them via snail mail.  This will save you in postage and in paper.  Also, instead of driving or flying to meet with a client or vendor, you should videoconference with them.  Both of these will save you time and money.

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Road Trip Discussed: 4 Days and Counting!!!

When it came time to plan out this trip I had many options. I could have went to the west coast and visited some friends or even took a road trip on the Pacific Hwy (would have taken forever, but who cares), take an exotic trip to a beach town in Mexico, trip to Canada or visit some friends in Austin, and so on. Something about the east coast intrigued me and now, just 4 days away, will be my reality.

I still have much planning to do. I have to get my rental car situation figured out, determine the gear that is going with me and what is staying behind, figure out what I will be wearing, who numbers I have to gather for emergency purposes, and what I’ll be doing in New York. I have time to ponder those concerns.

This trip is to be planned out more than I would like to. I realized that by talking to a couple of friends and girlfriend this past weekend. This convention goes against my ‘winging-it’ ways, but will be good and prudent for a change. The reason why there is more planning is due to the constant movement I have to do, in order to reach my final destination that is 6-700 miles away.

The breakdown of the trip:

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What I see… My Apartment

It was a bitter sweet feeling, when I woke up early on a Saturday morning in late November of last year. I knew this was to be my last time with roommates. I knew that I will be in a place where I could learn about myself, take my writing to a new level, and grow. Besides, I could be butt-naked and enjoy my girlfriend without the added pressure of other people to worry about.

Damn, this door represents so, so much.

Move-In Day – Uhaul stops, my friend and I get out, I look around and smile with excitement. I see an older gentleman of 50 or so, who, is watering his plants. He looks puzzled and confused, he doesn’t make much eye-contact, but is aware of my presence. I go up the stairs, I have this smile on my face, I go to greet him – and the fucker shafts me. He looks me dead in my face and proceeds to water his plants…

2 Days Later – Afterwork I’m eager to get back home. I was ready to shout to the world that I was living by myself. I get off the bus, I walk 4 minutes or so to my apartment, and instantly am greeted with more neighbors. Another older guy of 50 or much older said his name, where he lived, welcomed me to the apartment and neighborhood…mentioned something briefly about his partner. I saw other people from time to time during that first day. I didn’t think much about it…

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