subject: WHAT THE HARVARD SCHOOL OF BUSINESS DOES NOT TEACH YOU—THE STEPS TO STARTING A SMALL BUSINESS [print this page] Law schools, colleges and business schools all over this country teach business and theory of business, important stuff no doubt. But when you get ready to kick off a new venture, do any of them teach you the steps to take? Do you know the actual practical steps to take?
I teach at two local colleges and am blessed to get the opportunity to teach a course which is close enough to this topic that I can not only teach the core material but to actually teach them how to actually start a business. I mean the down and dirty 1-2-3's of the process.
Most people simply go to an attorney or accountant and pay them for their help. But let's think about that? Have they ever been in business? These guys are professionals, not businessmen. What experiences have most of them had actually starting a business? Most have no such experience. Then why do we tend to think they can help?
They have expertise but not in what you really need. Anyone can form a corporation or LLC or set up a set of books, but few can do all the things and have all the knowledge truly necessary to effectively start a new business.
What really should happen is that someone who has personally formed and started new businesses and have worked in those businesses and made them successful should be the type person you work with. Does this sound crazy or does it have a ring of common sense?
Well I have been an attorney for 29 years and also an accountant. Speaking from such a position, I am pretty well informed to tell you that unless you have worked in many small business start ups, you may be able to talk the talk, but walking the walk will be hard. There are so many day to day issues that will come up that the so called experts will be silenced. Only those that have walked the hot coals of a start up know what to expect and what to do.
So seriously consider who you use as your sounding board when you begin this process. Get legal help from attorneys, tax and bookkeeping help from accountants and business help from business people.
For more practical advice and direction on how to start up a new business or work through problems with and existing business, check out our free blog articles at
