Have you ever wanted to be able to increase your intake of quality real estate leads while spending less on advertising?

1. Sole proprietorship: This is the easiest to accomplish from a legal point and requires the least investment of time and funds to do.  However, it should be noted, that sole proprietors accept all business related liabilities at a personal level.  To put this in another way, in the eyes of the law, the individual and the business are for all intents and purposes the same entity.  So, for example, if in the course of your business dealings you come under legal scrutiny for any reason (being sued by a client, for instance), resulting litigation may be able to hold your personal finances and assets as damages to the plaintiff in the case.  To put it bluntly, you are putting your butt on the line when you engage in a sole proprietorship.
2. Partnership: This approach is similar to sole proprietorship, but involves two individuals who share legal and fiscal responsibility for the business together.  This partnership can be instituted in a variety of ways and typically involves the interested parties negotiating a contract that elaborates legally on the particulars of the partnership “deal”.  For example, there are “silent” partnerships, which involve certain parties within the contract holding all legal obligations but not participating in the actual running of the business.
3. Corporation: A corporation is the most legally and fiscally complicated method of starting a business, but has its benefits as well.  When a business is incorporated it becomes a legal entity of its own.  Incorporation allows for businesses to take greater strategic risks than sole proprietorships and partnerships because they provide for a legal and fiscal layer between the corporate entity and the individuals involved in the business.  Under normal circumstances, someone starting out in the consulting world will not have the need or the resources to incorporate, but it is common for consulting firms (such as Booz-Allen-Hamilton, for example) to establish their business in this manner.
   
   

• Build a thorough business plan. It is crucial to have a sound business plan from the very beginning of your consulting endeavor.  A good rule of thumb is: If you can plan for it ahead of time, by all means do so.  This includes, but is not limited to:

1.     Pre-establishing your strategic approach for running the day-to-day aspects of the business.  This includes considering items such as: Securing a business credit card, establishing standard hours of operation, deciding whether or not to invest in purchasing certain tools as opposed to renting services or tools (like choosing between buying a laser printer or using a service like Kinkos).

2.     Marketing your business.  Deciding how to market your business in the most cost effective way possible.  Will you need business cards?  Would it be in your best interest to hire someone to design and develop a website for you?  How about radio or television advertisements?  Newspaper ads?