Opening a Business: a Dream Becomes a Reality

It all started when...don't you just love stories that begin with "It all started when"? But it all started a few weeks ago when I learned that my daughter would have to sell $300 worth of advertisements for the booster club for John Carroll Catholic High School. I decided immediately that if I had to purchase $300 worth of ads myself I was certainly going to get something for my money. I decided to create a business card for my nonexistent tutoring business. However, after many hours spent going to local businesses and asking favors of friends and family, it seemed that we had been able to sell all of our ads, and I was not going to have to come up with any of the money myself. Unfortunately, one of the promised businesses had not returned the information sheet or the money, so, as the due date drew nearer, it looked like I would have to spend about $50 after all. I remembered my idea of creating the business card. I worried for an instant about creating a card for a business that did not exist, but it was my money and my advertisement, so who would it have been hurting? Besides, I have tutored before; maybe I could actually turn it into a legitimate business.

Late one evening, I sat down at the computer, went to Microsoft Publisher, and opened a page for the business cards. As if my fingertips had a mind of their own, I instantly typed "Literary Geniuses Tutoring" at the top of the business card. I started beaming. "What a perfect name" I said to the computer screen. With a name that awesome, I decided I really had to go for it. The next morning, I asked a friend of mine her thoughts on the matter, and she said that her husband created business cards for a business he ran on the side, and she had created some for herself for her calligraphy business. Another friend of mine who owns a gymnastics gym told me that it would be in my best interest to create an LLC and get a business license. How long would that take, I wondered? After my friend filled me in on some of the paperwork requirements and the procedure, I went home, logged into the Alabama Government website, printed out the necessary forms, drove to the bank, and then the courthouse. By that afternoon, I was the proud owner of Literary Geniuses Consulting, LLC. The business cards are made and printed, as are some fliers, and it looks like my dream of running a legitimate tutoring company have taken off. Now, if only I can find a client or two....