The Business of Starting A Business

For the past 6 weeks, I've been working on establishing my own small, home-based business.  I want to make teddy bears.  It's pretty simple.  I will never make a lot of money.  There is a set amount of bears I can make in a week.  I will not hire others to sew for this business.  It's just me and that's it.

I am a rule follower (for the most part).  I try to do the right thing.  Following the rules and regulations for small businesses is the right thing, even if the rules and regulations are inane.  I've spent more time in the last 6 weeks filling out forms, figuring out what forms I need to fill out, and trying to get affordable product liability insurance than I've spent sewing bears.  Grrrrr.  I've learned much.  More than I want to know, really.  I have searched for but not found a Step-by-step guide to starting a business.  For example: which do you do first, open a checking account or register your business with the state? (You need to register first so you can then get an EIN number from the IRS that you need for your checking account, but that means you have to use your own money,  not a business account, to pay the registration fees. But all the advice says, from the beginning keep separate accounts and don't use your personal account for business expenses.  It's to protect you in case of a suit, that your business and personal accounts are clearly distinct.  I know this now but as I was going through the process it was quite frustrating.)  Is registering with the state the same as completing a "Doing Business As" (DBA) declaration?  If you sell online, what taxes are you responsible for?  None of these questions have a direct answer.  And how exactly do you classify sewing teddy bears as keepsakes?  Are you making toys?  And while I'll probably make less than 200 bears this first year, I have to have product liability insurance because we live in such a litigious society.  Those darn button eyes are such a choking hazard.  You'd think putting a warning on them would be enough, but unfortunately probably not.  That's really discouraging, as I see my business as a ministry.  Yes, I make a profit.  But less than you think (especially once you calculate in the fees associated with every registration).  But the money alone would never motivate me to work as hard as I have.  I would have given up weeks ago if I didn't believe I was providing a true service to people.

One thing that keeps me motivated is the positive response I get from just about everyone I tell about my business.  I'm working on completing an order that will bring me to a total of 10 bears sold.  (That's in addition to the original 8 bears I made for my family).  I have 4 others who've expressed a real interest.  And I haven't really done any advertising, per se.  I do have my website up with some pics at  Blessing-Bears.  I've attended free seminars on starting a business (less helpful that I'd hoped) that provided some basic information.  I've created my logo:

and my business cards.  So overall I'm pretty pleased with where I am.  Especially since I've kept up my volunteer hours at my church.

Another thing that keeps me motivated is the bears themselves.  They are all so darn cute.  And each has a definite personality.  I use the same pattern, but somehow (do to the differences in material) some end up larger than others.  Some bears just demand to have more stuffing.  Can't explain it.  I just know.  It's hard to package up the bears and mail them back after spending time with them.  But I do smile thinking of the comfort/joy they will bring to others.