Getting that Money. Bank Account Battles!

So it was that time to open our business checking and savings account. Excited step for us YES, but it had its problems. Remember when we mentioned making sure you have a hand ready for your legal team, yeah this was one reason that was said. Of course we are suppose to receive all legal documents in a reasonable time frame, but didn't happen.

Of course I emailed the banker asking what we needed before showing up and that didn't happen either. It took us about two weeks to completely finish this task, but well worth it since now its official, we are a business to be reckoned with.

Here is a few things we learned from the experience and what we made sure to occur for ourselves

1. If there are multiple partners try to choose a bank no parties have an association with to keep things fair
2. Make sure you all have government documentation ready
3. Make sure to have your company tax ID number with you in order to open a business account
4. Do know, all parties that will have their name on the business account must be present when doing this task
5. Have one banker handle everything, maintaining that relationship keeps you from repeating yourself to different bankers
6. Make sure there is online banking available. We joined Wells Fargo because we could do everything from check our balance to pay employees right from our account, plus none of the partners have them as a personal bank
7. You should open a savings just to start building security funding for rainy days
8. Have at least $200 ready to deposit in the bank so you could activate the account 

NOW MAKE THAT MONEY HONEY!

REMEMBER THE LAWYER AND GET A LAWYER TO WATCH THE LAWYER

When starting out as a business woman you realize the challenges of really keeping tabs on everything around you. As we were progressing with the website there was the need of legal documentation for our new born company Beau Exchange Inc. Here are a few things we learned as we were becoming Beau Exchange Inc.

1. Decide where you want to be in five years. This will help shape the next steps of your company's journey.
2. After the five year plan in place decide if its best suited to be a LLC, Incorporated C or S (free legal advice is available in Brooklyn at the Business Solutions Center on Bond Street)
3. You should by this point decide if you are a start-up that plan to have investors ASAP or sustain itself privately. If you are looking into getting angel investors many start-up get incorporated in Delaware due to the flexible bylaws there benefiting investors more than you, but it still looks attractive. NY really is a great place to incorporate when you are looking for government support. 
4. Once you educated yourself on what you wanted, interview lawyers. At this point lawyers shouldn't be able to feed you hopes and dreams because you are prepared with your A game. 
5. Find a lawyer that will be there through think and thin. That person is there to legally guide you through the growing pains of being a start-up.
6. If you end up with bad legal support at least make sure you cover yourself to prevent much damage and make it clear to them that you are not the one to mess with. 
7. Another thing that is creative is getting a law student that could grow with you as you all grow-up in the company as have them eventually be your permanent legal internal counsel 

A really cool blog that may be helpful is Tech Startup Lawyer.

BONUS: Once you get your tax ID you could get things wholesale, which is a great opportunity in NYC.

Then There Were Three

The idea of partnership is a significant topic among the start-up community. There are social networks dedicated to tech start-up founders finding complimenting partners to really set the innovation or the company off to the next level. Beau Exchange is the same. As we transition from a consulting company to an eCommerce marketplace plat for we needed someone who both balanced out the two other partners but also had an expertise in technology. Enter the British sensation Esther Obanero with years of tech experience, an MBA in information technology systems and the balance needed for the ying / yang duo.

If we learned anything, its that you need to make sure that the founders understand each other, respect one another and work in harmony. With that you could tackle the world with your individual strengths and superpowers and come together unstoppable.

You could find great working partners from old classmates, old co workers or even close friends. There are plenty of networking events to meet potential partners and check out Meetup.com to meet like minded people. Do know that you are practically marrying these people and know sometimes divorces are messy so make sure you choose the right people and actually like them. My partners and I may drive each other nuts, but I feel like we respect each other and have a great laugh talking about everything not related to BeauExchange.com

OUR WEBSITE CONSTRUCTION HAVE BEGUN!!!

Our website is on its way finally after months of planning. We are excited to get this thing on the road and will see  it created to perfection by the web extraordinaire Jeffrey Fernandez of Soniku.

We had a "...Coming Soon" page up for months, but with a clear vision for the company and the business model is simplified, we now know what we are offering to the world. We are change the way people shop online, but of course we have to be reminded that it takes baby steps and perseverance.

It will take a while to get up and running, but we've waited this long to make an idea into a business. We have no problem with patience. In the meantime checkout our twitter page, @beauexchange where we give info on a large variety of topics, giving you the ability to get educated on what gets in and on your body for beauty.

SO... MAYBE THE MBA WAS WORTH THE TIME AND MONEY

As we complete the business plan and investor presentation we mentally thank our professors, Stucke, Sherman, Ali, Benton, and Sand for the lessons they taught during our MBA program. We learned everything from Operations Management, Importing and Exporting, Accounting and even conducting a corporate meeting. The most important thing that was taught... expect people to get in your way, expect boulders and there will be doubt, but don't be bothered those who believe will come out at the other end a winner.

With the lack of sleep and constant anxiety right before presentations we are now prepared for the worst in the real world; if it be strenuous work hours, regular rejection, and continuous battles.

We were able to incorporate many business school models such as the competitive analysis, SWOT, Porters Five Forces, the four Ps and Blue Ocean (everyone's favorite). We wouldn't be boring investors with the details but proud to have the chance to actual use what we learned literally and not just indirectly in our heads.

Our official incubator is now WeWorks! Yaaahh!!!! We have chosen the space because of the dynamic atmosphere and the fact that its in SOHO and have a cafe next door.

https://www.wework.com/‎

We are almost complete with our Angel List profile and excited to launch soon! It is very detailed but understandably so. We plan to raise at least $150,000 to start the project and continue from there with the progression.

https://angel.co

There is still lots to do and more adventure to experience. Follow us on twitter to get the latest on Beau Exchange @BeauExchange

THE MISSION OF BEAU EXCHANGE

With the US ethnic beauty market saturated with multiple brands and constant innovations, Beau Exchange is a company that is dedicated to representing high quality products and their boutique beauty companies into the global beauty industry with 100% individual dedication for each client reaching every potential buyer possible in the global ethnic beauty market. The company provides a platform for supply and demand to interact with each other in order to build better communication for beauty consumption. Beau Exchange will provide opportunity for those entrepreneurs that can’t otherwise reach the global market and conduct customer relationship management. 

This blog is a virtual diary recording the journey of Beau Exchange and give the opportunity to look back at the beginning stages of this amazing venture.