Starting a business is never easy. A friend, a few years ago, decided to start up a store in his small town. He jumped through all the hoops, got the proper permits from the local authorities, borrowed money, and invested what little he had. Within a few short weeks of opening, another store selling the same products opened up down the street. This store was funded by a big corporation and was part of a chain of stores. Not long after that, internet commerce started to pick up and people were buying his products from big internet stores. His big plans were destroyed. And although he still made enough money to keep afloat, it really wasn’t worth his time.

The biggest mistake to make when starting out is to start out too big. You could think that you have some great idea. And you might be right. But other people probably have that idea too and, chances are, they are better funded and organized. They might also be working with professionals who might understand the world of government permits, employment law, and the tax code much more than you do. You don’t want to end up investing your precious time and money on something that might easily flop.

But if you start out small you won’t lose a lot of money. You will invest pocket change. And as you make more money from your plans you can have more to invest in better plans. This chapter starts off with some simple ideas you could start today and then moves onto more complex ideas. Everything discussed is something that someone of reasonable intelligence would be able to do.