At one point in our lives, just about everybody starts to dream about the perfect home, or car, or vacation. What would it look like? How would it feel? What would we do there?

We grab a notepad and a pencil and start jotting down notes; sketching out some ideas of how it looks; annotating it with callouts for colors, textures, features, and benefits.

The truth is, anybody can draw up a design for a house. You don't need a degree in mechanical engineering. You don't need to have a contractor's license, an electricians license, or be an expert in how to pour cement or install plumbing. You just need a DREAM!

You're reading this book, presumably, because you're interested in starting a business, and you're curious what you need to do to turn it from a dream to reality. If you HAD a degree in accounting or tax law or business finance or marketing, you might not be very motivated to read a simple ebook about this subject. So I assume you don't - like most business owners.

Well, I've got a B.S. in Math/Computer Science, and I've been self-employed in various capacities for 20 years now. I'm probably what would be called a "serial entrepreneur". Along the way, I've had some wonderful successes, and some experiences that didn't work out very well. I'm not rich yet, and I'm not famous yet - hopefully I'll attain one of those some day.

But more importantly, I'm happy. I enjoy the freedom that I have working for myself, and I often choose that freedom over better income or a more stable work environment. As I write this, I'm in the midst of a divorce because my wife simply cannot deal with the ups-and-downs that running your own business can produce. My income typically has varied between zero and $15k a month. My present goal is to develop multiple sources of income and raise that to an average of $5k or more per month by the end of this year (2007).

My professional background is that I design and develop software. Projects can be quite profitable for a while, and when they end, the income stops. I'm tired of that treadmill and am making some changes to shift my efforts from programming to a variety of other things.

Anyway, I'm no CPA or lawyer. I'm somebody who's worked for himself for 20 years and I've been through the ringer a few times. The information I'm sharing in this series of lenses is intended to be like a sketch of a house I'm thinking about building. You might have sketched such a dream home before. And I'm sure you're not silly enough to believe that you could build it all by yourself - not that it's impossible, but very few people are truly capable of it.

In particular, what I offer here is a GUIDE. It's NOT intended to be legal advice in any way, shape or form. It's just my opinions, informed by experience, and nothing more. Just like you don't need to have a contractor's license or architectural degree to sketch a house, you'll probably hire them when you're ready to actually build it. In the same respect, don't take anything I've said here as "truth". It's a general guide. Contact a CPA, tax lawyer, business advisor, and/or financial advisor when you're ready to get down and dirty with anything. These guys have spent YEARS of their life honing their skills. USE THEM! The worst thing you can do is be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Do NOT be afraid to spend some money with these folks. It will save you a TON in the long-run if you end up doing something wrong.

And no matter what else you may do with your business ... HAVE FUN!

One of the things that most people need to work on is how to manage their credit profile. This is particularly acute when you run your own business. It's also important if you want to have a separate business entity with its own credit profile.

If you'd like to get some information on how to improve your own credit, please subscribe to my free newsletter where I outline a very effective credit repair plan. Click here to subscribe now!

If you've already got an average FICO score that's above 700 and you'd like to look into establishing a $100k, $200k, or even higher credit line for your business, click here for more info.