Texas 7-Step; How to Start a Business in Texas

What every start-up needs to know in the state of Texas.

Congratulations, you finally decided to start your side business or go at it full time.  It is so exciting and a tad overwhelming especially when you don’t know where to start.  Walking into the country clerk’s office with a business name in my head and an application and a numbered ticket is pretty exciting to me, like the birth of a newborn.  Whether you’re an "entreprenerd" like me or just need to get your business rolling I have compiled a helpful list on starting your new business in Texas.  

Photo Credit: vintageamericanatoggery.blogspot.com

Don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly if you have any questions or need to know what agency to contact etc.  As a matter of fact, I am adding more details on my website for you. www.Austinsva.com, if you need info on something not listed here, let me know so I can add it to my resource list.

Texas Step 1:

Once you have chosen a business structure, register your business with the Texas Secretary of State.  This step is for limited liability companies, corporations, limited partnerships, professional corporations, nonprofit corporations, professional associations and registered limited liability partnerships.  You will be able to search for the business name you wish to use here.  It is very important that you do a search and pay for your name if available.  For more information visit SOS Texas http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/forms_boc.shtml

Texas Step 2:

File a dba, Doing Business As, certificate with the Texas Secretary of State and County Clerk offices.  In some counties you have to file with either the State or County.  For more information, check out the SOS Website. http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/forms_boc.shtml

Texas Step 3:

Apply for an EIN, Employer Identification Number.  This can be found at www.IRS.gov, you may do the application online or by phone.

Texas Step 4:

Taxes Taxes Taxes.  Depending of the type of business you are running, you must register for several business taxes in the state of Texas.  In Texas we have Sales Tax Permit, Franchise Tax, Employment Taxes, and we have local taxes.  You will be able to consult with a Comptroller Agent at http://www.window.state.tx.us/contact.html

Texas Step 5:

Licenses, Permits, Registrations on a state, county and local official websites must be consulted in order to determine if your business needs a permit to operate in your area.  For example electricians and electrical contractors must be licensed to operate in Texas.  Food vendors must have permits, and day care centers must be registered.  Visit TDLR for licensing information on licensing and regulation http://www.tdlr.texas.gov/.  For local and county permits and registrations contact the nearest Small Business Administration.  www.sba.gov

Texas Step 6:

If you will be hiring employees, contractors or anyone at all, make sure to become familiar with Texas labor laws as well as the federal laws. In Texas, employers must register with TWC, Texas Workforce Commission and report new hires, paid wages and pay taxes for unemployment.  For more information contact TWC at http://www.twc.state.tx.us/twcinfo/contact-us.html.

Texas Step 7:

Set up a business bank.  This step is essential for every business everywhere or ever size.  At the end of the year your life will be much simpler if your business accounting is separate from your personal accounting.  Most banks offer business accounts as well as personal accounts.  You will need a copy of your State or County business certificate of formation or a certified copy of your dba record as well as your EIN.

Photo Credit:newmillenniummerchandise.com

Resources and Great Information:

http://www.texas.gov/en/discover/pages/topic.aspx?topicid=/business/start

http://www.texaswideopenforbusiness.com/small-business/start.php

http://www.traviscountyclerk.org/eclerk/Content.do?code=R.13

http://www.traviscountyclerk.org/eclerk/content/images/pdf_tc_rec_dba.pdf

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/customers/bemp/start-expand-your-business.html

And as always, don’t forget that a friendly Austin’s Virtual Assistant is here to help.

Cheers to your success.

Nancy Valdez

www.austinsva.com

What’s your worth?

How to charge for your services/products and stay competitive in the market. 

After all the marketing and preparation you finally have interested leads who are begging you to sell them a product or provide a service for them.  Your foot is in the door and beyond but when it comes to setting a fee, how do you know what to charge?  You don’t want to sell yourself short and you don’t want to charge too much either.  Ideally consumers shop for the best services rather than by price, but realistically only a few consumers shop by quality.  Many consumers are bargain hunters.  Of course this is different for every single industry and it doesn't apply to everyone.  But the question still stands, how do you set a rate/fee/price?  Of course you can do your research and see what your competitors are offering, what your current customers are willing to pay and how much demand there is for your product or service. 

How to figure out what to charge for a service?  In my opinion it is a little bit more confusing and nerve-wrecking to figure service fees because there is no obvious expense to cover.  When selling products you first have to cover production, packaging, etc but with a service where is the start line?  I have found a very interesting and helpful forum with valuable information for those of you who are starting up or reinventing their business.  http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?389195-How-to-determine-what-to-charge-a-client

They bring up:

• Estimating the scope
• Fixed price vs hour by hour
• Figuring out the hourly rate
• Methods to figure out the hourly price:
• Value based pricing
• Result based pricing

I’m very interested to know, as a start-up, what helped you decide what your rates/price/fee would be?  Did you have to adjust your rates over time?

~Till next time,

Nancy Valdez

www.AustinsVA.com

Are You Afraid of Commitment?

Are You Afraid of Commitment?

When do you know when you are ready to hire an assistant or recruit a business partner?  Is your business suffering for not having an assistant?

As much as we love to hear love stories or love dramas, we aren’t asking you whether you are afraid of committing to a love partner.  Have you been putting off hiring an assistant?  Maybe you don’t know a thing about vetting and hiring, or maybe you don’t know about payroll taxes etc.  Here is what some business owners have to say about finally hiring someone to help.

“This is a hard lesson to learn, especially for women because we tend to think we can 'do it all'. Best decision I ever made was to get help! My assistant is invaluable, I wouldn't go back for anything.” Marnie Clark

[On hiring an assistant] “…I held back for years and when I finally let go of the fear of the expense I experienced the Aha moment!” Crystal Leochko

“I'm currently breaking myself trying to be a single mum and run a cleaning business by myself. I clean for 37.5hrs or more six days every week. I know how hard it is. But i also know i need help. Would appreciate some advice on how to allow myself to trust others to do just as good a job as me. Oh, and ive been an admin person but worked my way up through various roles in fleet management, an account executive and account management, and now business owner!” Samantha Harris

I have recently first hand experienced this myself.  I thought it was time for me to listen to my own advice.  Austin’s Virtual Assistant is not my first business.  I’ve had a couple of businesses before and I knew then as I know now that there are certain tasks a business owner must absolutely delegate in order to grow their businesses.  At one point I had my 5 year old niece, 3 year old daughter, a puppy and a husband as well as 2 small businesses to handle mostly on my own until I finally decided to hire someone to help me.  My assistant practically paid for herself in the first week.  I remember my first tasks to her was 1. advertising, 2. marketing and 3. taking messages from customers I wasn’t able to speak to immediately.  After 2 months we were able to move out of our dusty garage and into a very nice, very real office.  It was amazing.  We were finally able to have meetings and have customers visit whenever they liked.  We were even able to create 2 more positions and hired more people.

Now that I am a single mother and redesigning my little business, I had recently hit my limit and thus it was time for me to hire someone to help.   There are PTA meetings, volunteering at school, juggling multiple clients, raising my child, and running my household either something gives or someone helps.  I chose the help.   Luckily for everyone reading this, there are a few options when looking for help:

•  Hire an employee
• Outsource to a contractor/consultant
• Work with a Virtual Assistant

An employee is someone you hire and your business is responsible for withholding taxes.  You may pay your employee hourly or by salary.  You are responsible for providing your employee with equipment, supplies & materials to perform the work and reimburse for business expenses.

A contractor or consultant takes care of their own taxes, expenses, and overhead expense.  Contractors or consultants tend to stay within their expertise.  These contractors or consultants may fall in the professional category.  Accountants, attorneys, business coaches, graphic designers, marketing agencies etc are some of the services you may contract out depending on your type of business.  Contractors usually charge per project but some may charge per hour.

A virtual assistant is also responsible for their own taxes, expenses and overhead expense.   Every type of business benefits from having a Virtual Assistant on speed dial.  Not only do Virtual Assistants are savvy and also business owners, but Virtual Assistants only charge for actual work performed.  Depending on the type of work, Virtual Assistants either charge per project or per hour.  Virtual Assistants each have their own niche but also offer a variety of services outside their niche.

Whoever you decide to work with, make sure to make a list of tasks you need to delegate.  Use your assistant wisely.  Remember that in order to make your business grow you, the owner, need to focus on the money making tasks while your assistant works on research, advertising, marketing, filing, etc.

Don’t be afraid of commitment.  Once you hire someone you will see the difference and you will start seeing your productivity double.  If you want to dip your toes before committing, a Virtual Assistant is a safe bet.  There are no contracts, no commitments when working with a Virtual Assistant.  If you have a leaky faucet, you call a plumber, if your lights go out, you call an electrician, if your business is stuck, you need a Virtual Assistant.

To learn all about hiring and working with contractors visit www.sba.gov, to learn more about working with Virtual Assistants, go to http://austinsva.com/FAQ.php

Cheers to your growing business.

~Nancy Valdez

AustinsVa.com

Know Where You Stand

Know Where You Stand

Your business is more than likely listed in several directories such as Yahoo!, Google and Yelp, but is all the information on those directories correct?  Are your customers able to reach you from any given directory? 

Whether your business has been around for a while or have just started, you have probably listed your business in at least a handful of directories.  Directories such as Google Places, Yahoo! & Yelp are very helpful to a small business, it’s often free or low cost and helps connect your customer directly to you, that is if your correct contact information is listed.  There are a few things to look for when listing in a directory, or updating your listing:

1.       Is your business accurately depicted in the listing?  Many directories only allow a small blurb about your company; do you have the best blurb for your company?
2.       Is your phone number listed and correct?
3.       Is your website listed?  Is it spelled correctly?
4.       Is your contact name or contact person correct?
5.       Is your address correct?
6.       Do you have any reviews positive or negative?  Have you addressed the reviews/comments?
7.       Have you listed in directories that are industry specific?
8.       Are you listed in the proper category?

As your business grows you will face many changes.  Don’t forget to update your directory listings as soon as possible so that your customers can reach you specially if you have moved locations or added a new telephone number.

One of the ways we like to keep track of where we are listed is to keep a list of directories’ websites along with our username and password hint on a spreadsheet for easy access.  We also do a Google search of our business and any business we virtually assist to make updates or changes on listings that were previously posted.  Some companies will post your listing in their directories for free for the chance to sell you an ‘upgraded’ listing.  Those listings are great because your business has free exposure; just make sure that they have the correct information.

Since the world wide web is huge there is a possibility that your directory listing maintenance will take some time to clean up but don’t worry, it is worth it in the end.   This maintenance can be a yearly task and if you keep on it, it shouldn't be too much work.  It is important that a customer’s first impression of you and your business is a great one so make sure all of your entrances are clean, complete and accurate.

Don’t worry if you don’t have time to clean or update your directories all at once, you can take it slow or you can hire someone to do that task for you.  There are also several websites that can guide you in the right direction for a small fee.  Our Direct2me service runs a report of your existing listings in the major directories and we update all the information on those listings to reflect your current and correct information.  We also list you on the directories you aren't yet listed on.    

Don't be the guy who lost a customer to a wrong number, below is a starter list of directories you MUST join.  Whether you hire us to help or not, find a few moments to browse through our resource lists at www.AustinsVa.com.  Austin’s Virtual Assistant is here to help, give us a call whether you have questions or would like to schedule a consultation…or just to say hi <3

~Nancy | Austin’s Virtual Assistant

10 Directories You MUST Be Listed in:

1. Google
2. Bing
3. Yahoo!
4. Yelp
5. Merchant Circle
6. LinkedIn

7. CitySearch
8. Mapquest
9. Biznik

10. Manta

What directory has generated the most leads for your business?  Please share with us on the comments below.

Nobody Move!: A Hamster on the Run

My daughter was given a very cute little Hamster, we had him for 1 day then he ran off.  Maybe he missed the petshop, maybe there was something he just had to see in the next room.  We aren't sure where he is but we are trying every trick in the book to find him.  When I was on the 2nd room with my ear pressed to the floor trying to hear his little claws scratching away, I realized that looking for a tiny hamster in our 1444 sq foot house is like looking for my next customer in the World Wide Web.

I have a clear picture of who my target market is.  I know where they live or work or what they need and want.  The only thing I constantly have to figure out is; what will capture them this year?  Many industries have to keep changing the way they capture their target market's attention, then convert them into a sale.  When your target market is the world, just like searching for a hamster one room at a time, it might be convenient to target your market one small part of the world at a time. For example, for me, my target market is Texas.  Why Texas?  Well, as a native of Texas, I am more familiar with Texas laws, taxes and regulations.  I think having a sidekick with such background is essential for my Texas customers.  Am I open to potential clients from other parts of the world?  Absolutely.  But when it comes time for me to take action and go out and search for new clients, I start with one room at a time, with Texas.

So far searching for the correct lead is time consuming and we have to try several different formulas to find success.  What worked for us two years ago no longer works this year.  We try many different methods of marketing albeit all within a small budget.  Many factors have to be considered when searching for the little hamster.  Do you want to be loud (can you get away with being loud?) or would that scare your lead away?  Do you want to be passive?  Or would that bore your lead away?

Sometimes it feels that looking for potential customers is much like looking for a tiny hamster, the trick is to have lots of patience, time and help.  The good news for my daughter is that we found the hamster. How did we find him? We stopped looking, went to bed, carried on with our day and right before bedtime the next day, he comes running out from under the bed. It took a few minutes to corral him back to his cage but this incident gave me the motivation to stop looking so hard for my next customer.  Now that I have a bit of time on my hands I will carry on about my business, update old profiles, network with peers and neighbors and just have fun. Who knows, maybe my next customer will come running out of their office and into mine.

How do you market yourself? Do you constantly change the way you market your business? What has been proven the most effective method of marketing for you?

~Til Next Time,

Nancy Valdez

Austin's Virtual Assistant

Spring E-Clean Up

     Spring is coming up...how do I know?  Well aside from the violent allergic reaction I have in Austin to the Cedar pollen and the calendar indicating that it is now February, I know Spring is coming up because of the huge amount of electronic 'clutter' I have piling up on all my devices.

     Every year come Spring I purge my e-docs.  Sometimes I am amazed at how much clutter I have saved twice or even three times!  I have at least 500 gigabytes worth of duplicate documents on my PC and backup drive.  Those are my files alone not including customers and past customers.  I actually keep all of those files separate so they don't count.  I also have a million pictures that my 5 year old daughter has taken over the past year.  It is so hard for me to delete even the blurry repeated half -faced selfies she takes cause it is so darn cute...but do I really need 35 of the same picture?  Back in the day we were limited to 25 pictures, unless you had more film.  How does one find time to sit and select a few pictures to keep when your phone/camera holds millions of pictures.  Right now I am transferring 2,305 pictures with the intention of erasing the blurry ones, the repeats, and the fat-angled ones.  But is that a waste of time?  Is is worth de-cluttering my PC?  Is it better to buy another external drive and save the pics?  What is the purpose of saving all the pictures, will anyone sit down and go through all the pictures we've collected in the past 5 years?

This is picture 1 of 15, almost exactly the
same except an centimeter different.

     I think common sense says to only keep the pictures that you actually want on the spot and delete the ones that you don't need on the spot.  Around here we have a set policy on how to name documents and files.  It is so easy to pull up the search function and type in a keyword and pull up the correct document.  Although I am tempted to de-clutter on a quarterly basis rather than a yearly basis.  It may take a few seconds more to save documents and files properly on the spot but in the long run it is very much worth it.

     As for your documents and other files, how do you stay in control?  Do you print and file paper documents or is everything electronically filed?  Do you have a system?

Thanks for letting me rant. In the time that I wrote this blog I have about 1200 pictures more to transfer. :/
2014 Resolution: Only keep the pictures I absolutely have to keep and delete the rest.

~Nancy Valdez
Austin's Virtual Assistant