How long did it take you to prepare for the launch of your business?

Businesses aren't launched overnight. There's the research into business ideas, customer needs, and competitors. Then there's raising money, hiring staff, acquiring your office or shop, and completing the legal paperwork. How long did the whole process take you?

It took me approximately 9 months to get everything all in order (licenses, office, supplies, loans, advertising etc). It is exactly the reason why I call my business my baby, because it took me 9 months to get things just about perfect. Now I'm at the stage to where I'm watching it grow! Good luck to you!

I'm almost ready to start my business and it's taken about 6 months of planning, purchasing equipment and getting the paperwork out of the way.

Planning is the most critical of all.

It took me a few years to get it going real good.Now there is constant maintenance to equipment .I'm in manufacturing.

I had been working as an IT contractor for other companies for a while and when I decided to hang my own shingle it took about six months to get comfortable with the idea of hanging that shingle.

Most of it was easy enough to do. There are lots of services provided by banks and the governments (local and national) to help give you a guidepost to starting a business. Realitors can get you hooked up with an office or a store front. Insurance agents help get the insurance and disaster recovery stuff prepared.

So if you ever feel that you're alone in the universe when getting started, don't forget all of those services at your disposal. After all , you've paid for them and you pay for them as a consumer and a taxpayer. Take advantage of the help so you can focus on doing what you want to do with your business. Which is of course sell services or things. ;)

I would say the entire process from beginning to end took about a year to completely be off the ground but even still now a days there are a few lose end lingering but none of which me a nd my partner cant handle.

It hasent quit happened yet, but ive been trying for 12 yrs

Two weeks

It is an on going process; a project one might say.
The project started November 1st, and the launch of the business is scheduled to take place July 1st 2007

it took me two years... and then it all happened too fast... i did not want to start a business from scratch... i wanted to buy an existing business... so i'd search bizbuysell.com all the time, meet with biz brokers, meet with biz owners who were selling... then i got impatient and bought something that wasn't perfect... i happened very quickly because on two other occassions i moved too slow and was out bid... i figured at some point i just have to do it... i'm now on year three of running this thing and we're growing... but not profitable... it seems like the more revenue the more expenses... but it's fun

around 3 years