Hard economic times are good times for CPAs.  Why?  Because its a good time to start a small business.

I've had three people call me for small business consultations in the past two weeks.  They are all sole proprietorships looking to start very small, one person service businesses. Two of them are homeschooling families! Here's some smart things that they are doing:

• Consulting with a CPA (me!) to understand record keeping, taxes, how to pay themselves and how to minimize taxes
• Consulting with a small business attorney about business formations (partnerships and limited liability companies) and contracts with others.
• Choosing a service business so there is no inventory to manage
• Launching a website for publicity
• Running the business from their homes
• Avoid hiring employees to keep costs down, paperwork down and to keep the business manageable in its early days
• Writing a business plan to think through factors that will determine their success or failure such as
  • Who will be your customers?
  • How will you reach your potential customers?
  • What price will the customer pay?
  • What profit do you need?
  • What are your expenses?