Before starting your own embroidery business (or any new business), you should have the answers to several important questions. Am I ready, willing and able to step out on my own? What makes my business unique? What is my target market? We would like to help you answer these questions and many more. The employees at MESA Distributors combine over a hundred years of experience in the embroidery industry, in every facet from selling machines to running their own businesses. Our staff knows how to run an embroidery business from top to bottom, so we decided to bring you the benefit of our expertise!

Small Business Start-up Basics

Since you're here, we know you're ready. You've chosen the type of business. The first step is learning what you need to know to run your own business, such as tax laws for your state, the best way to market your company and how to acquire financing. Here are some great resources for small business basics:

• United States Small Business Administration - Everything from planning and marketing to legal and tax issues for anyone wanting to start a small business.
• IRS Small Business Resources - Lots of tax information, forms and start-up help
• BusinessTown.com - Another great site that covers every topic a small business start-up might need

The most important (and most avoided) part of the start-up is the business plan. It is the blueprint for how your company will run. A business plan can help you see where you are, where you want to go, and what you need to do to get there. A little foresight and action before the fact can help eliminate many of the problems a business owner faces each day. Two helpful sources for information about writing your business plan are:

• Businesstown.com's Business Planning - includes how to develop, create and use a business plan
• SBA Business Plan Basics - the why, how and for whom a business plan is created as well as sample business plans

Before you can complete your business plan, you'll need to know the basics of an embroidery business. Knowing what size machine, where you'll put it, how many embroiderable items and what supplies are needed will help to pinpoint starting costs and base price of your finished product. The next page should help you complete your business plan.

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