BENEFITS OF Getting ready for business

No matter what your financial goals are it will pay to put some basic pieces in place.
Some of these are optional as you are getting started but know you can come back here when you are ready!

Recipe for Starting a Successful Business

Ingredients:

A tour of the UBAM websites
A fun business name
Some basic business supplies
An understanding of our programs

Directions:

Read your consultant manual. This comes with your new consultant kit but is also available online. Consider bookmarking the link so you can find it easily. http://consultants.myubam.com/backoffice/assets/pdfs/ConsultantGuide2014.pdf
Go to http://backoffice.myubam.com/. Enter your consultant ID (ask your team leader if you are unsure of what it is) and your password (default is the last 4 of your ss#, you can change it at any time by clicking on the “forgot password” link on the sign in page).
Get to know the website features. Click here for training documents. Spend some time getting to know your way around. There are so many resources at your fingertips and you will want to make yourself at home! Here’s a great reference guide!
Choose a Business Name. You may choose to have a name for your business that you will use for your website domain name and business bank account. (This is optional, but it is a good idea to separate your business finances from your personal finances.)
Consider getting a domain. After you have some names in mind, you can go to www.godaddy.com or other domain service and put your business name in the “search domain” box at the top of the page to see if it has been taken. Once you have purchased your domain name, you will be ready to order your business cards.Alternately, Beth (our upline Director) York’s Husband, Jim works for www.jydhosting.com. Contact him directly at 720-840-6308. A domain name is provided for you free of charge with your website but it is not customizable. Your default website domain will be: http://(your consultantID).myubam.com
Order Business Cards. You can go to your back office> Resources>Miscellaneous>Business Supply Store. At the top and center of the page, choose preferred suppliers. Scroll down to Vista Print and click on it, business cards will be at the top of the order page.)

If you are planning to become an Education Consultant (working with schools and libraries), you may want to order education consultant cards as well. Education Consultants represent our school and library division, EDC Publishing and you are representing Usborne Books and More as a when you do home parties, recruit and do fundraisers for organizations other than schools.Two different divisions of one company, so two business cards are recommended.

7. Set up a Business Account (optional but recommended)

You may wish to set up a business bank account to keep your business finances separate from your personal finances.

You will need to check with your bank to see what is required to set up a business or DBA (doing business as) account. Some states may require you to register your business with the secretary of state (this is usually very inexpensive and easy to do online).

Check with your preferred bank about monthly service and other fees, how many transactions are included and if there are any minimum balance requirements. If you want to have checks written to Usborne instead of a personal business name (for example: Book Buddyz) or you personally, you can contact Heather Cannon at the home office (heather.cannon@edcpub.com) for a letter granting you permission to open a bank account in the name of and accept checks made out to Usborne Books.

8. Sign Up for Direct Deposit

It is recommended that you sign up for direct deposit so that Home Office can deposit commissions directly into your bank account. You can have checks mailed to you, but it takes much longer to get paid than if you have direct deposit.

Go to your back office>My Profile> Manage direct deposit

You may want to read the FAQ about direct deposit

You will need the routing number and account number for the account you would like your commissions deposited to.

Now you are ready to make some money!

9. Order Book Labels (optional but recommended)

All Usborne books come with a 50% replacement guarantee for the lifetime of the book. This means if for any reason the book becomes damaged (dog chews it up, drops in the bathtub, toddler colors on it with a Sharpie etc.) or is literally loved to pieces, Usborne will replace it for 50% of the original cost.

In order for your customers to get in touch with you in the event a book needs to be replaced (and hopefully to order additional books), it is recommended that you put a label on the back of each book as you sell it with your name, email, phone number and website address. Inexpensive labels can be ordered through Miles Kimball.

You can put the label on the back cover of the book over the edc website or in an empty space.

UBAM 106- Business Essentials