Can You Start In 30 Days? How long does it really take to start a business? Our Experts tell all.

How long does it really take to start a business? Our expertstell all.

Time is a fickle creature. Depending on the situation, the clockis either our friend or our enemy. As the modern world careensahead at an ever-accelerating pace, however, one truism remainsconstant: Time waits for no one.

Consider the case of someone who has a sure-fire small-businessidea, but not very much patience. Whatever the reason--our would-beentrepreneur may have recently retired, been downsized or even wonmillions in the lottery--he or she sincerely believes there'sno time like the present and is determined to get the business offthe ground and running in 30 days.

Possible or impossible? Not surprisingly, it depends on whom youask. Someone like Bob Adams, who has started more than a dozenbusinesses throughout his career as an entrepreneur, gushes like afountain with refreshingly positive thinking on the subject. Infact, he doesn't believe in waiting at all.

"If you don't set a date and start to do something,it's going to be really hard," says Adams, author ofAdams Streetwise Small Business Start-Up (Adams Media Corp.,$16.95, 800-USA-JOBS), a how-to guide that covers everything frommarketing to money matters. "You have to do something thatsets you in irreversible motion."

Adams speaks from considerable entrepreneurial experience: Whenhe was still a college undergraduate, he successfully opened upseveral businesses with little or no capital, and usually in lessthan a week's time. He went on to graduate from HarvardBusiness School, but Adams says he has learned just as much in the"school of hard knocks." In 1980, he started Adams MediaCorp. in his basement apartment with a $2,000 investment; today,it's a $10 million publishing company based in Holbrook,Massachusetts.

There are those, however, who react differently than Adams tothe notion of starting a business in 30 days. These voices ofcaution say they have seen far too many start-ups crash back toearth rather than shoot into orbit, primarily because the owner orowners weren't fully prepared.

"I would quote Octavius, who once said, `Hastenslowly,' " advises Regina Tracy, executive director of theResearch Institute for Small & Emerging Business, a think tankin Washington, DC, that studies the role and impact of smallbusiness on the American economy.

"Unless entrepreneurs have been thinking through theirideas for a long time and have an informal business plan in theirheads, they need to manage their enthusiasm and theirexpectations," Tracy explains. Professional concerns aside,she concedes that she understands how some would-be business ownersmay prefer to throw caution to the wind. "I don't knowthat I'd go out and start a business tomorrow, but I havethought about doing it."

Clearly, certain types of businesses will lend themselves betterto an accelerated start-up than others. For example, a"micro-enterprise" operated out of a home can, forobvious reasons, be up and running far sooner than one thatrequires a storefront or manufacturing space. Likewise, services--acatch-all term for a wide range of businesses from computerconsulting to plumbing--will be far easier to start than anyproduct sales operation, which must rely on a large inventory tomeet anticipated customer demand.

From his desk in the Microenterprise Division of Boston'sJewish Vocational Service (JVS), a nonprofit, nonsectarian agencythat provides small-business owners with training, technicalassistance and access to capital, George Craddock offers a welcometo those seeking "micro loans" of $25,000 or less. In1995, JVS was named sole micro-lender at the first U.S. One-StopCapital Shop, a small-business lending program funded by thefederal government's Small Business Administration (SBA) inconjunction with the city of Boston.

"My immediate reaction is, Tell me more, I'm allears," Craddock explains. "I want to hear what analysisthey've applied to the idea."

Craddock's reactions will vary according to the nature ofthe business proposal being presented, but would-be entrepreneursrarely find him pessimistic. "We are so supportive ofbusinesses, it's very rare that we do--or need to--discourageanyone," he says proudly. "Helping businesses to getstarted is what I love to do, but I want people to sit down anddeal with reality. If someone wants to open a hair dressing salon,I have to ask, Have you figured out how many heads of hair you haveto cut every month to pay for the rent and the electricity in theshop?"

Entrepreneurs in the first stages of starting a business need anally, someone with whom to brainstorm. And while Craddock willinglyplays that role, entrepreneurs may find a close friend or familymember will do the same. To be worth much of anything, however,feedback should not always be what the prospective business-ownerhopes to hear. Recently, for example, an inventor proudly toldCraddock about a patent he had received. The inventor wanted a$7,000 loan to begin manufacturing the new device, but Craddockinstead encouraged him to pursue licensing as a more viableoption.

With everyone from pizza makers to sign painters, Craddockprobes carefully to learn about their plans for marketing,packaging and pricing, as well as what they know about theircompetition. "Everyone thinks they're either the first orthe best, but there is always competition out there," Craddocknotes. "If entrepreneurs haven't given consideration tothe competition, it's a red flag to say they need to take sometime and snoop around in order to see how other companies in theirfield advertise or market the same sort of product."

Essentially, Craddock coaxes his applicants into articulatingthe outlines of a business plan, which they will eventually expandand commit to paper as part of their loan application. If thatsounds like a guaranteed way to slow down the start-up process, thefollowing case of Carnot Sylvestre illustrates that a littlepaperwork needn't kill a dream to open a business.

Sylvestre approached Craddock for a micro loan on a Friday,wrote up a business plan over the weekend and filed a completedloan application on Monday. Two weeks later, a JVS committeeapproved a loan for $15,000, and Sylvestre opened his business--alarge-format graphics shop near Boston's Symphony Hall--justdays later. Altogether, Sylvestre estimates, he invested $45,000 inhis business.

"I was determined to open my business whether I got theloan or not," admits Sylvestre, who runs PosterGraphix withhis wife, Sylvia. Before visiting the JVS Microenterprise Division,which he learned about at the local Department of Commerce office,he had already chosen his storefront space, and had received loansfrom family members to purchase the necessary operating equipment.Sylvestre had also applied for a loan from his local bank, but thatapplication was declined. "I was very disappointed then, but Icouldn't give up because I have two kids," he says."I had to go on with my dream or else get a job."

For those just as firmly determined to start a businessimmediately, Adams counsels that they consider a part-timecommitment. "It's psychologically easier that way,"he explains. Many of his own business start-ups, says Adams, wereseasonal, such as a bike-rental operation he started onMartha's Vineyard for a summer while still in college.

"If your involvement is only part-time, you can take yourtime and make small mistakes," says Adams. In addition,choosing to go part time may mean you can get started sooner thanyou could making a full-time commitment.

Entrepreneurs with a 30-day start-up goal may find that suchbusinesses won't fit into so-called "incubationprograms." Several incubation-program directors from aroundthe United States who also serve on the board of the NationalBusiness Incubation Association express concern about moving soquickly. "Would you want your son or daughter to get marriedin 30 days? Starting a business is the same--it's not somethingyou do lightly," says Della Clark, president of thePhiladelphia Enterprise Center. "I don't even want to workwith that kind of entrepreneur. That approach tells me theydidn't do any strategic planning."

At Chicago's Southland Enterprise Center, Roberta DeYoung,the incubator's director, strongly agrees. "If I weredrowning in my business after six months, I'd hate to find outthat I could have gotten my supplies a lot cheaper," shenotes. "My job is to see that people get off on the right footand that they do their homework."

At the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Business Development Center,a business-incubation center jointly funded by River ValleyPartners, the Tennessee Valley Authority and sevseveral area banks,executive director Joe Schultz practices what might be called"tough love" for small businesses.

"We expect our companies to grow and create jobs,"says Schultz. "We're not looking for someone who justwants to create a job for himself." With the responsibility toserve as an engine of economic development, Schultz's agencyexpects applicants to come prepared with a serious business planand realistic expectations. "A lot of people aren't readyfor that. They think it's a nuisance or they think it's therunaround."

Of course, determined entrepreneurs will forge ahead. Thoseenrolled in the "sooner than later" school will bedelighted to hear Adams cheering them on. "There's nosecret or magic to starting a business," declares Adams."Everything's simple when it comes right down toit--I'm convinced of it."

Indeed, any business who expects to open up shop in 30 dayswon't make it to the next month without enthusiasm, along withrequisite amounts of capital and good business organization."That's the small businessperson's gift:enthusiasm," says Tracy. "It's always important totemper it, but there are instances when enthusiasm will carrysomeone through."

When asked to explain the theory of relativity in alayperson's terms, Albert Einstein replied that if a man sitson a hot stove, a minute can seem like an hour. On the other hand,continued the pioneering physicist who lived in an age that hadnever heard of "political correctness," if a pretty womansits on the man's lap, an hour will seem like a minute.

The theory of relativity applies equally as well to anyonechoosing to start a new business. Every entrepreneur eventuallydiscovers, for example, that bills from suppliers always arriveinstantly, while payments from clients can seem to take forever toarrive. The time it takes to achieve success is relative, too. Forsome, it can happen in a month, while for others it may take amonth of Sundays. In either case, the owner will need plenty ofbalance, forethought and enthusiasm.

Fast-Start Top 10 Questions

As part of a 12-week "Start Smart" seminar, PaulaMannillo of Boston's Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) outlinesthe basic steps to starting a business. Whether you can get it alldone in 30 days or 30 weeks, she explains, you and your businesswill face these important questions before you ever make adollar:

1. What kind of business are you starting? This questionsounds obvious, maybe, but you must decide everything about yourproduct or service in advance--from who will make it to who willbuy it.

2. What's the business structure? If it's a soleproprietorship, you may need to register an assumed name (see #4).If it's a partnership, you will need a lawyer to prepare awritten partnership agreement. If it's a corporation, you mustfile documents of incorporation with your state's secretary ofstate office.

3. Have you picked a location? Try to see your locationthrough your customers' eyes. Depending on your business,location can be either absolutely critical or entirely unimportant.Where will your mail be sent?

4. Have you chosen a name? Every baby needs a name, asdoes every newborn business. If you are doing business under a nameother than your own--for example, as "Smith'sDesigns" rather than simply "John SmithDesigns"--you must file a business certificate or "doingbusiness as" (d.b.a.) form.

5. What's your number? Will you have a businesstelephone number or will you use your home phone? Tip: Do not allowchildren to answer a business phone; instead, use either ananswering service or an answering machine.

6. Have you unraveled the red tape? Check with yourstate's division of registration to determine its permit andlicense requirements. Also call your local licensing and zoningboards to learn what their requirements are.

7. Are you ready to pay your taxes? Alas, it'sinevitable. Call the Internal Revenue Service (800-829-1040) for afree copy of their "Small Business Tax Kit" andPublication 334, The Tax Guide for Small Businesses.

8. Are you covered? Contact an insurance agent to findout what coverage you may need in the following areas: liability,casualty, workers' compensation, health and disability.

9. Do you know who your customers are? Define yourmarketing plan. Analyze the competition. Price your product.Determine distribution. Budget for advertising.

10. Do the numbers add up? Set up a bookkeeping system.Open a business checking account. Determine the capital necessaryto open and operate your business in the initialstages--before you can count on profits.

Contact Sources

Adams Media Corp., 260 Center St., Holbrook, MA 02343, (800)872-5627.

Chicago Southland Enterprise Center, 1655 Union Ave., ChicagoHeights, IL 60411, (708) 754-6960.

Jewish Vocational Service, 105 Chauncy St., Boston, MA 02111,(617) 451-8147.

Philadelphia Enterprise Center, 4548 Market St., Philadelphia,PA 19139, (215) 895-4000.

PosterGraphix, 334A Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02115, (617)425-0390.

Research Institute for Small & Emerging Business, 722 12thSt. N.W., Washington, DC 20005, (202) 628-8382.