As a small business owner you are going to wear multiple hats. I am the ultimate believer in sweat equity and doing DIYs. My husband and I have almost gutted an entire house, moved ourselves, completed short sales and foreclosures, lived frugally, and much more! I am all for learning to do things myself and doing it cheaply in order to allow for quicker growth.
Unfortunately. I have also learned the hard way that there is a time and place for everything. While there are many things that are cheaper and easier to do myself, there are many more things that are worth hiring someone for. We have a lawyer do our wills instead of using Jag, we hire a CPA to do our taxes even though I have the background to do it myself, and we use a realtor when we could easily not use a buyer’s agent.
As a small business owner, you will want to hire out sometimes. Here are 9 professionals that you should have on your business team. They are an integral part of becoming a successful small business owner. While many are free, even those that aren’t are still irreplaceable as team members.
9 Professionals for Your Business Team
Authors Note: Some of these people may not applicable to your business team as they might be niche or lifestyle situational.
1. A Lawyer.
At this time I have two lawyers and soon I will have three. I have a lawyer who I use with my real estate holdings, another one for my blog, and soon I will have a third for estate planning. While this has not been the cheapest of relationships, the protection in doing it has definitely been worth the price.
2. A CPA.
Even though I have the background to do my own taxes, I hire a CPA. A CPA, in my experience, is invaluable. There are lots of amazing legal loop holes in the tax code and my CPA finds way more money than she costs me. It is also a nice protection because she signs her name to the taxes, accepting responsibility.
3. A Bookkeeper.
The IRS requires you to pay your taxes quarterly if you are self-employed. As you become more and more profitable, a bookkeeper is going to be important to helping you figure out what payments you owe and to help keep your books in order.
4. A Financial Planner.
Since you will no longer have any work benefits (stock sharing or other benefits) when it comes to retirement, it is very important that you are adequately saving for all of life’s other expenses.
5. A Mortgage Broker.
As a small business owner qualifying for a mortgage is going to be much harder than if you were employed. Start working with a broker as soon as possible to make sure your taxes and other indicators look good enough to qualify for a loan.
6. Insurance Agents.
As a real estate owner, my insurance agent is one of my key assets. Having someone where I can walk into their office at anytime or give them a call on the phone has been key. They have helped me figure out what liability I need to have on each of my homes and what I need to protect my business. You are going to want to make sure you have an agent for your business and you personal life OR that you find one for each. Just make sure you cover both.
7. Health Insurance.
You are going to want to find an insurance agent that can help you figure out what will work for YOU. It will also be important that you have a great person that can advise you what you need to offer as you grow in employees.
8. A Primary Bank.
I have learned that having a great bank that you have developed a relationship with and that is close to home is very important. Personally, I LOVE navy federal. I made the mistake of switching from them and am now proceeding to switch back. You want a bank that will waive all the fees on your accounts and that has great customer service.
9. A Credit Card Relationship.
I love putting all my purchases on my credit card. We have gotten free clothes The Loft by using our loft card and free hotel rooms with our American Express Hilton (they do a 0% for military that is amazing). I have found that I have many expenses for my companies, from repairs for my rentals to hosting fees for my blog. Putting everything on my credit card not only makes it easier for me to keep track of my expenses at the end of the year, it also allows me to earn free things.
What professionals do you use in your business or on your business team? Did I miss any?
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