Business Start Up Costs

A recent report from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that 1/3 of all new businesses fail within the first two years, mainly because the owners did not correctly calculate how much it would take to start the company and keep the doors open long enough to start turning a profit.

When starting a business, proper funding is paramount.  The Small Business Administration, SCORE, and other entities who help entrepreneurs, make templates available to help you estimate start up costs, as well as the various fixed and variable costs of operation.

These groups also suggest you take six months of operating costs and add that to your estimated start up costs to determine the amount of equity or funding you'll need before you open your doors.  It's important to make that capital available before you open the doors if you don't want to be part of the statistic mentioned above.

For a basic start-up cost estimate template click here.

For a 12 month operating and cash flow projection click here.

For more information on how you can start your own business visit our section on Business Formation.