about $40 million in assets from cli-
ents she brought with her from a
wealth management firm; today, she
manages about $200 million. She’s a
fee-only planner who charges between
0.5% and 1% of assets for financial
planning and investment manage-
ment. As her business has grown, she’s
been able to hire two other financial
advisers and a director of client ser-
vices, and she is preparing to addanother adviser to her team.
Myers, a certified financial planner,
put herself through college and earned
an MBA from George Washington
University, in Washington, D.C. She
worked as a partner with a wealth
management firm for 10 years before
launching her own business, and dur-
ing that time, she saved about half of
her income. “That allowed me to get
through a lean period,” she says.Launching a successful business can make you a millionaire, but the path to wealth will
take dedication and hard work.Create a business plan. It should outline the type of business you want to launch, your
competitive strategies and your goals. Also include the company’s organizational struc-
ture, start-up costs, projections for sales and profits, and a break-even analysis. You can
find more information about creating a business plan at the Small Business Administra-
tion website, http://www.sba.gov.Find the money. Your business plan will help you figure out how much money you’ll
need to launch your venture. If you need to borrow and can’t get a traditional bank loan,
consider a Small Business Administration loan. These are loans issued by banks but guar-
anteed by the SBA, which reduces the lender’s risk. To find lenders that offer SBA-guaran-
teed loans, go to http://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/lender-match.Ask for advice. Don’t overlook sources of free help from veteran entrepreneurs. Your
alma mater’s alumni network is one potential source of mentors. You can also get advice
from 10,000 small-business volunteers through Score, a small-business nonprofit sup-
ported by the SBA (www.score.org). Score also offers free business tools and free or low-
cost workshops across the U.S.Take advantage of tax breaks. Starting in 2018, small-business owners, sole propri-
etors, freelancers and people with side gigs can deduct up to 20% of their qualified
business income—net income after they’ve claimed business deductions—before they
calculate their tax bill.
If your total taxable income—which includes interest and dividends, as well as income
reported on Form W-2 if you also have a regular job—is less than $160,700 on an individual
return or $321,400 on a joint return, you can deduct 20% of your qualified business income
no matter what type of business you’re in. Once your qualified business income exceeds
those levels, however, the tax break may shrink or disappear.
For example, in an effort to prevent affluent professionals, such as doctors and law-
yers, from gaming the system, Congress created a higher standard for professionals who
provide personal services. For these business owners, the deduction phases out once 2019
total taxable income exceeds $160,700, or $321,400 for married couples, and disappears
once taxable income tops $210,700 for singles and $421,400 for couples.How to Start a Business
DO IT YOURSELF