Are You Ready to Start a Business?

The secret is timing, hard work and smart partners. “Using that formula, I've either founded or funded over 80 companies, and none have gone bankrupt. Most have done very well.” – Terry Matthew

1.       ARE YOU BETTER OFF WITH A JOB?

·         Over the lifetime of a business: 39% are profitable, 30% break even, and 30% lose money, 1% undetermined  --Wells Fargo/NFIB study, using U.S. Census Bureau data

·         Job hunting resources: See Richard Bolles           http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/

2.       DO YOU HAVE MASTERY OF THE SKILLS NEEDED?

·         10,000 Hours (about 5 years)      http://www.psychologytoday.com/em/85976

3.       HAVE YOU DONE YOUR RESEARCH AND DO YOU HAVE A PLAN?

·         Business plan, marketing strategy, cash flow projections, etc.

·         Have you accounted for all of the expenses of self-employment?: taxes, health insurance, short and long-term disability, double retirement contributions, etc.

4.       WILL YOU BE IN THE RIGHT LOCATION?

·         Best city, very best retail location, best web traffic

5.       QUESTION: How much does it cost to fail in business?

·         ANSWER: The sum total of your life savings and/or inheritance.

·         Figure out how much it’s going to cost to actually be financially successful in a business, not just how much it costs to set up the business.

6.       WHAT DOES A FRANCHISE COST?

·         Franchise information   http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/rankings/lowcost-115390/2012,-1.html

·         Best and worst franchises for 2012  http://www.inc.com/articles/201101/the-best-and-worst-franchises-to-own.html

7.       HOW BIG DO YOU NEED TO GROW TO BECOME PROFITABLE?

·         Number of units, locations, employees

8.       ARE YOU WILLING TO LOOK AND PLAY THE PART OF A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS OWNER?

·         Industry standards of dress: see Work Wear at the Wall Street Journal http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/category/style/

9.       HAVE YOU SET ASIDE ENOUGH CASH TO FILE BANKRUPTCY, IF NEEDED?

10.   IF YOU SUCCEED, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PROTECT YOUR MARKET SHARE?

RESOURCES

ONLINE

Starting and managing a business            http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/

How-to guides                  http://www.entrepreneur.com/howto/startyourbiz.html

LOCAL

Albuquerque Small Business Resource Directory http://www.cabq.gov/econdev/pdf/BusinessResourceDirectory2010.pdf

City of Albuquerque small business support     http://www.cabq.gov/econdev/smallbusinesssupport.html

WESST Enterprise Center    http://www.wesst.org/enterprise-center/

ACCION New Mexico/Arizona/Colorado   http://www.accionnm.org/

ABQ: Greater Downtown Neighborhoods

ALBUQUERQUE

Downtown Neighborhoods

Greater Downtown Albuquerque has around a dozen neighborhoods, depending on how they are defined—West Park, West Old Town, Old Town, the Downtown Neighborhoods area, Sawmill, Wells Park, McCellen Park, Santa Barbara/Martineztown, Huning Highland, South Broadway, Barelas, Raynolds Addition and Huning Castle (Country Club).

McCellen Park remains a neighborhood mostly in name, only. The area began to turn commercial with the original Route 66, which ran north/south from Santa Fe to south of Albuquerque, following the Rio Grande, in the 1920s. Downtown it ran along Fourth Street.

In the 1930s Route 66 was realigned to run east/west on what is now Central Avenue. It continued to run through McCellen Park and encouraged more commercial development. But it was the building of the freeways, I-25 and I-40, with the nearby interchange and subsequent industrial development, that seemed to end the residential appeal of the neighborhood.

Eventually the actual park, for which the neighborhood was named, was replaced by the federal courthouse. The building sits back from the street to mimic a park feeling. A controversial statue of a pioneer woman statue was moved to the side and back of the site.

The area is now mostly occupied by businesses and government buildings related to the courts. With new apartment buildings and condos being built in the core of Downtown, theorectically the neighborhood could be revived in a new form.

ABQ: Cities as a Center

ALBUQUERQUE

Cities as a Center

In the past century Downtowns have gotten a bad rap. In many mid-sized and smaller cities around the country, like Albuquerque, the central core became a dumping ground of abandoned buildings and a concentration of social services and the court system. Downtown was left to the undesirables.

Despite all the gains produced by the internet, there still is no substitution for innovation among people in face to face contact with each other. The most vibrant atmospheres are created when people exchange ideas. People need to talk with each other. This is still best accomplished in cities.

Top American cities have strong and diverse economies, a diverse set of economic anchors, world connectivity, and status as a magnet for the best and brightest of all ages. Dense cities are the greenest places in the U. S.

Cities are export entities—they exist because they provide people a way to make money. Residents of the same place buying and selling things to each other will not produce a city. Cities are born from intercity transportation—a major airport, an interstate highway line, a train link, and a port. (Improving these links is the quickest way for a city to generate economic growth.)

Main Street is the economic engine, the big stage, the core of the community.

Why does this matter?

Because cities that embrace improving their central core aren't just improving a single neighborhood. Investment into better infrastructure, improved public spaces and multiple forms of public transportation is going to bring long-term benefits to the entire region.

An ideal Downtown is the central meeting space for the entire city. Residents from all walks of life feel comfortable in the space. Which, in turn, leads to increased information exchange, the true building block for economic improvements in the twenty-first century. Innovation is shared and new ideas are incubated. Real growth is created.