A Start Up Life

Here’s an update on life and the prospects for the coming year:

Last year I became the stunningly beautiful, pregnant woman poring over materials engineering textbooks that I set out to become. I made it to the end of school just in time before our son was born. The next phase is to start our businesses and begin to raise the little guy.

Sara, my sister now pregnant with twins, has started a Professional Voice Lessons & Singing Performances business in Quincy, Massachusetts. Meanwhile, I am about to launch Quantum Tutoring, a tutoring business specializing in teaching science and math to high school and college students in Champaign and Urbana, Illinois. We also intend to start a business together with the help of our husbands, but we still can’t let you in on the secret of that one just yet.

I am the only one out of school. Sara and her husband are finishing up their undergraduate degrees in Vocal Performance/Education and Literature, respectively, and my husband, Scott will start his masters in Electrical Engineering. So while those guys are finishing their education, I get to do most of the business-related work.

So what do two engineers, a literature guy and a singer know about business? Well, we know more than when we started last year. This blog will continue to document the discoveries we have made and the sources that have helped us to get this far.

See how far we’ve come:
About Us Summer 2006

Have you ever wanted to start your own business? Don’t know how? Neither do I, but I’m about a month ahead of you on research. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

1. Read everything you can. I mean EVERYTHING! Any advice you can get from anywhere will help you learn to select what is good advice and what is bad. In no time, you will know more than most of your friends.
2. Seek advice from others. Take advantages of any opportunity to talk with executives in companies, people just starting a business, people who grew their business from a startup to a mature company, and even those whose business failed.
3. Budget your time. If you want to start a business, you have got to find the time to do it. Use your lunch breaks at work, while you’re waiting in line at the store, anytime to make plans for your business.
4. Budget your money. Personal finances are directly connected to starting your own business. Learn to budget your money and control your spending, so you can invest in your business.
5. Becoming financially independent is easy. I knew nothing about finances a month ago. Now, my husband and I know more than the average Joe. The average person knows so little about finances you’ll be way ahead of the game in very little time.

Want to learn more about starting a business? Stay tuned as I continue to update you on the progress my family and I have made with our own.

Learn more about what my plans are here.

Hi! I’m Cat, and this is going to be the busiest year of my life. If all goes according to plan, by this time next year I will have my master’s degree, a fledgling business and possibly a child.

I am a 23-year old, recent college graduate in Chemical Engineering, and I’m starting an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering this fall. My husband Scott will finish his B.S. in Electrical Engineering next June, so I have one year to finish my masters before we move across the country for his graduate school.

My sister Sara is an undergraduate student of Vocal Performance and Education, and her husband Jon is an undergraduate Creative Writing major. Scott and I were married last December; Sara and Jon tied the knot last February. We’re all young and just starting life. They are our business partners. So what do two engineers, a writer and a singer know about business? Absolutely nothing!

One fateful day about a month ago, we came up with a brilliant, fun and exciting business idea while vacationing in beautiful Fort Bragg, Ca. That’s why we started our quest for knowledge about how in the world you start a business, how you make people realize it exists and what you do once you’ve got one.

We’re complete novices. If you’re a novice too, I want your questions and feedback on what you’ve tried in your business. If you’re an expert, I want your advice! I’ll keep you posted as we go along.

As for the child…well we’ll see what happens with that. I’m not expecting one yet, but Scott and I have talked seriously about that being in our near future. I have to laugh every time I think of myself as the stunningly beautiful, pregnant woman, poring over materials engineering textbooks, while making calls to potential clients!

Join me for the journey.

P.S. I want to help you learn everything we are about starting a small business. You can learn as we make mistakes so you don’t have to.