1. Why do you want to start a business blog design business? Do you love blogging? Do you write well? Are you a techie? Tired of setting up your friend's blogs for free? Whatever your reason, give it a lot of thought but don't talk yourself out of it. It doesn't matter if you're NOT a graphic artist or a tech wiz, you can always learn or hire someone.

2. Will you write a business plan? Do you need one? Technically, no. However, you might want to create one to keep yourself on track. If you're planning to obtain any type of business loan, you will definitely need to have a business plan. Figure out your legal structure. Is this going to be sole proprietorship (work by yourself) or are you going to be in business with your spouse or friend (a partnership?) You can settle these things in your business plan. Down the road, you may want to get your legal structure filed with your local officials. Feel free to contact a lawyer if you think you need to and can afford a consultation.

3. What types of things will you need help with? Chances are, you're going to have to do some things that you're not good at, or just plain don't like. Some sources of help can be outsourcing business tasks to a VA, hiring a small business accountant, your bank manager, government organizations or an attorney for legal stuff like whether to incorporate or not.

4. How will you finance your business? Like most, I don't have money in the bank to spare but I've learned not to let that stop me. Some options to keep you going the first few months include money in the bank if you have it, grants, loans from family or a bank and - you guessed it - initial client contracts. Yes, you can simply charge up front for services, either a percentage or the entire fee, when you get a new client.

5. How will you establish your client base? With web 2.0 and social networking all the rage, traditional offline networking seems a little old school, but it's definitely not. Traditional networking still has many benefits to the local business person. Join your local small business organization and attend luncheons and meetings. Also take advantage of the many web meetup organizations that are meeting all over the country. These are great places to meet people in business who may need your services, or can connect you with others who do.

So there you have it. Those are the top things I considered when I decided to give business blog design a go. I'm sure you can come up with others. Just make a list of whatever is on your mind, then make another with the pros and cons to each thing on your list. This exercise will help you to see all angles clearly and weigh your options thoroughly so that you'll be able to know, without a doubt, whether starting a blog design business is for you.

Photo courtesy of david9wong

So you've decided to start your business blog design company. Now what?

Where will you set up your work area? How many hours will you schedule to work per day? What time of day (or night) will you be working? Who will watch the kids?

This easy to follow checklist will help you get started in the right direction. Of course, it's not all inclusive so feel free to adjust it to suit your own particular needs.

I know it looks like a lot of work, but it can be done in steps, a little at a time. Check off each task as you complete it.

___ Design an office space at home. Get everything together for your office or workspace that you might need. Perhaps you need to clear out the nook in the kitchen or you'd like a desk with plenty of workspace. To keep an inventory and records it might be nice to have an office area with someplace to keep files such as a 2 drawer cabinet or portable file box.

___ Choose a name for your business. Also think about how you want your logo to look. Have you thought about branding? A tagline? Once all this is in place, or at least your name, you may need to go to your county clerk or official and register a fictitious name or DBA (doing business as) for your business. Usually registering a name is no more than $10-$50 depending on your state.

___ Get an EIN number. This keeps your social security number secure. Getting an EIN number is pretty easy. You can simply apply online at the Internal Revenue Service. Answer some questions, then after all validations are done you'll get your EIN immediately upon completion. You can then download, save, and print your EIN confirmation notice. You get your number immediately but, it does take approximately 2 weeks to get into the permanent records.

___ Open a business checking account. Open a small business checking account online that offers additional features, like free online banking, bill pay, and balance transfers. By doing this, you'll totally keep your personal and business expenses separate.

___ Put your business plan in writing. You can find books on business plans, information on the Internet or locate your local SCORE chapter for assistance. Basically a business plan helps you set your goals. What do you want from this business? Is it just part-time for a little extra cash or for hobby? Or will this business to keep a roof over your head and put food on the table? You make the final decision on how far you'll go. Creating a business plan is your personal decision and is NOT a factor of how successful you'll be.

___ What do you need to do now? Check your list...you have your home office area set up. You have your business plan in place so you have your goals set. You went to your county and got your fictitious name (DBA) registered. Now you're ready to start working with your marketing plan. No matter what, you'll need business cards. Will you have a brochure? A presentation CD? Promotional merchandise such as magnets, pocket calendars, small highlighters? Flyers, door-hangers? Notepads, pens, customer thank you gifts, etc? You'll want to order any stationery, brochures or merchandise that you need to get your business going.

___ Set up your new business blog design company website. Of course since this is your business, you'll want to have your own company website. Include such information as services you offer, rates per hour, package deals, etc. Be sure there is a contact form or support desk setup so potential and current clients can reach you easily. This is one of your best selling tools so, make it professional and useful at the same time. And for goodness sake, don't forget to create your own blog to share the importance of business blogging with your clients!

_____ Keep accurate records. Check the local laws for your city and state and file your taxes on time. Here is a simple bookkeeping method. You must:

= Keep accurate records and receipts for all money taken in (income) from your business i.e. the sale of your product or service, all commissions and affiliate income.
= Keep accurate records and receipts for all expenses.
= Keep a mileage log for your car whenever your travel is business related.
= Keep accurate records for family employees.
= Keep records for the part of your home you use for business.
= Keep records for as long as they are important for any tax law. This is usually the later of: 1) 3 years from the return due date or the date filed,
or 2) 2 years from the date the tax was paid. Check your local laws.

Don't let all of the information in this checklist overwhelm you. Most states are patient and understanding. You can usually work while working on your paper work. This gives you a chance to make money while getting ready for business.

Photo courtesy of Dan Eriksson

What Will You Learn When You Enroll In Blog Evangelists And Blog Theme Bootcamp?

During Blog Evangelists you'll get:

- Instructions For Doing Research On Your Local Competition
- Step By Step Directions For Setting Up Your Local Website Design Business
- Real World Tips & Tactics For Breaking Into The Local Small Business Market
- Fresh Local Blogging Ideas To Use In Your Market, Week After Week
- Step by Step, Precept upon Precept Wordpress Theme Design Tutorials
- Small Business Website Development Tips

At Blog Theme Bootcamp you'll learn:

- How to create a theme from scratch.
- How to recreate an HTML website as a new Wordpress theme.
- How to edit existing themes to create the look you want.
- How to work with Widgets.
- And much, much more!

Click my favorite link below to join me at Blog Evangelists today!

Meet Your Teachers:

Lynette Chandler, of Tech Based Marketing and Creator of Blogging Starter Pack. Lynette has been teaching business owners how to create and benefit from blogging for many years now. She is thrilled to be able to help you take this great business tool out into your local and niche business communities.

Kelly McCausey, successful internet marketer and home business coach. Kelly has been teaching home business owners how to add blogs to their business with great success and, this year launched a local blog design company.

She has been taking great notes every step of the way and can't wait to guide you through the creation of your own local blog design business.

Between the two of them you are without a doubt going to get a powerful education in both the technology side and the business side of creating your own business blog design company.

Coming Soon!

Update: I am now working on my new company website, Railroad Web Solutions - Moving Small Businesses... to somewhere more profitable... :)

I have a lot of trouble with thinking up taglines so if you can come up with a great one, please feel free to leave me suggestions in the comments area below. Thanks in advance!