The best Mastercard for taking care of business

With United Texas Credit Union’s Mastercard BusinessCard, you can get all your personal and business financial needs met in one place, with no annual fee to worry about.

Accepted worldwide, our card comes with new and updated small business benefits to help you meet your everyday needs and grow your business’s online presence. Whether you’re looking for enhanced security, essential productivity solutions, or great savings, we can help you do more. Check out the benefits at https://mastercard.us/businessoffers.

In the old days, you could find a job, stick with it until your 65th birthday, cash out that pension and call it good. In today’s economy, the kind of built-in security and stability people used to count on has achieved unicorn status. It’s nice work if you can get it, but the reality is that most people will probably work for themselves at some point. With all the exciting and creative ways you can do that, starting your own business might be the best choice for you. But there’s only one way to find out…

Here are some questions to ask yourself before hanging out your shingle:

What’s the plan?

If you don’t have a well thought-out business plan, you don’t have a business. It can seem like a tedious task, but take the time to think through the details. Do you have capital? A marketing strategy? How about a sales strategy? Once you’ve thought through the nuts and bolts, find a clever entrepreneur friend to look it over and provide you honest feedback. Oh…and don’t forget the exit strategy, just in case.

How will you manage?

Bosses are a drag, right? But for some of us, the only thing worse than having a boss is being a boss. Which kind of person are you? Before you quit your day job, find out if you’re a detail-oriented self-starter who can set your watch by your internal clock or if you’re the type of person who thrives with a little more direction.

What do you know?

It’s one thing to have passion. It’s quite another to have expertise. Make sure you possess the latter before you start selling your goods and services. There’s no shame in taking the time to turn that passion into mastery, either. Just take an honest assessment. Would you pay you to do the work you do? Then do it!

Where is the money?

Did you know that most small business owners don’t really start making money until year three? Experts say you should plan to make less than your previous job for at least the first year. With this in mind, make sure you have enough cash to cover inventory, staff, technology, insurance and all the other costs that might sneak up on you between your launch and your first windfall.

Do I have what it takes?

Startups are notoriously hard work. If you’ve got the money, the skills, the temperament and the plan necessary to start a business and keep it running, make sure you’ve got the stamina too. With a little elbow grease and a lot of optimism, you could make your own dreams come true. Good luck!