If the headline gave you the tiniest inspirational nudge, it did its job. If you’re over 50, reading the COVID-19 pink slip tea leaves, and thinking about starting your own business, you know you have more than three days to make a move. But some timetables are more critical than others. You can hold the hand grenade until it explodes, or you can throw it away before the five seconds elapse.
By the time you read this post, you will have roughly three days left in 2020 to establish your business. In this case, establish means getting your official DBA (doing business as) and opening your business checking account. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t decided what kind of business it’s going to be. The main thing is to open before the year ends.
Here’s why.
If you decide to become an entrepreneur, at some point, you’ll be sitting in front of a potential client. He or she will ask you this universal, deal-killing question…
How long have you been doing this? How long have you been in business?
(I’ve been trying to get rid of two clients left over from my consulting days, one for 18 years, the other for 20 years, respectively. I keep telling them I’m too old. I’m a full time writer now. Leave me be 
… They both give me the same answer: “In this day and time, it’s hard to find someone you can trust.”
You have to know how to do the work. But in a head-to-head gunfight at the O.K. Corral, trust will shoot down abilities every time.”
Faced with the deal-killing question, the answer sounds so much better when you say, “we started back in 2020 and have been growing since then.” Your DBA confirms that to be a true statement. This sounds so much better than, “Oh we just started a few months ago.”
Secondly, with Biden elected, and a new round of PPP and EDIL funding on the way, there may be a point in time when the computer’s AI screening algorithm will use longevity (year business was established) as a determining factor and push your business to the back of the line.
You don’t have to choose your precise business niche. If your name is Kathy Johnson, then establish yourself as KJohnson Enterprises or KJOHN Consulting. Your objective is to get on the books. Within one day, a company like LegalZoom can have you up and running for $100 plus state fees. Take your paperwork to the bank and open your account; normally a $300 minimum deposit will do.
Procrastination has no place in the new normal. Make a deliberate move toward taking control your future.
In this short week, you have three days to think strategically, three days to keep the grenade from exploding in your hand.
GOOD LUCK!
Leander Jackie Grogan,
Author of FIFTEEN CRITICAL INSIGHTS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS OVER FIFTY