Retail

Carol, welcome to the AllBusiness Blogspace. As a web-based, home-based retailer, I will be sure to read this blog on a regular basis!

This is really serious stuff and for a lot of people a real wind fall. However you should be putting up CAUTION signs all over the place because over 80% of the people that jump into this will loose their retirement all together and have nothing to retire on. This because chasing rainbows usually catches lead pots and when most people jump into a scheme they are usually chasing rainbows and without a whole lot of realistic planning or insight as to where they are going with their business or how to get there. Fischer himself said it "IF they stay with it" and that is a very big if and gamble. As a consultant an a accountant I am constantly trying to help pull people out of the hell hole they fell into when they take this step. I primarily consult in customer service development, but in close to 30% of the businesses I work with I end up doing it all. My advice is unless you have an extremely well laid out business plan with all the analytics in place don?t do it. I mean market analysis, competitive analysis, customer analysis, SWAT, growth and financial analysis (prepared by an independent accountant not a partner), labor analysis, production analysis, cost analysis, strategic goals as well as short term goals, etc. Is all the above necessary? Yes, if you want a chance at surviving. Even if it is a hole a wall mom & pop store all these things need to be considered. If you aren?t willing to plan for success, don?t start, and unless you are willing to write off the investment don?t start, which means if it?s your retirement this should be the very last direction anyone should go and only with the deepest and well planned considerations. .

I certainly agree with Mr. Whelan - a new business endeavor is not to be taken lightly. We always advise clients to consult their accountants before making any decisions and to carefully evaluate the viability of their business idea or franchise. It?s a part of the BeneTrends process as much as the legal paperwork is. Our economy?s future depends on entrepreneurs and small businesses, so we take great care to recommend the BeneTrends plan only to serious entrepreneurs. This method is not the only option for everyone, but it?s a strong one for many entrepreneurs for a number of reasons: ?One of the top challenges is lack of working capital in the early stages. Using retirement savings vs. getting a bank loan enables you to put that money into running the business in those critical first months. There?s no added burden of a monthly loan payment, so there?s more available cash until your business is profitable - something we all know doesn?t happen the day you open the doors. ?Consider that defaulting on a bank loan can be even more damaging than depleting savings. Not only has your business failed, but you could also lose the assets you used as collateral for your loan ? not to mention the damage to your credit. ?People spend months, years, even decades on their business plans, yet the average person spends only hours on their retirement plans. Starting a smart business enables you to make the most of your retirement funds by investing them in yourself rather than just a fluctuating stock market. Research indicates that of the people who actually save for retirement, the average invested is only 6.8 percent of their pre-tax salaries ? this approach allows individuals to set aside more money for retirement that ever before. ?Your ROI in a business can be much greater than the retirement plans offered by most organizations, giving you more control over your retirement. Plus, setting up a dedicated retirement plan for your new business is part of the BeneTrends plan. Starting a business is a major decision, regardless of how you decide to finance ? and we make it our responsibility to help our clients understand that. We?re advocates for the entrepreneurial spirit, and it?s our mission to help our clients stand among the millions of successful businesses started each year.

I appreciate the responce, however ivesting in ones self historically has proven to be a disaster for most. Like suggested above in my first comments this is an option for only a handful of people that most should certainly walk away from. There are many other safer ways to develop your retirement than to gamble with what you have. If you do everything right in your bisuness planning and your business development the best chance of success is about 50%. Most people are at about 20% chance of succeeding in their sought after venture. Millions of successful businesses started every year is a very misleading number and stands on the edge misrepresentation. If a million business start in the US this year roughly 20,000 will be in existance in 4 years. The idea of a million businesses started each year has nothing to do with the ones that people fail at win loosing their retirement funds. And, you are just a small fraction of that million I would say less than 1%. Now I'm not saying you do poor work by any means. In fact you probably do excellent work, but the percentage of successes of over all businesses started is very small. If you are interested in Mr. Fosters program check it out, but before you put your retirement on the line you may want to check out the probabilities with an independent account or business adviser.

When I was in the retail jewelry business in the early 80's my store made 26% of its profit in December. 13% in May. It wasn't just Mothers Day, it was also graduation, and I suspect tax refund time. Valentine's Day wasn't that big for us because we had only completed inventory two weeks before and weren't restocked. I suspect merchants have now learned to be a little more agile when it comes to inventory and are better able to restock for Valentines Day.