Good afternoon.   I would like to thank boston.com for hosting this event, specifically Jesse Nunes.    My background is in Public Accounting and I am a partner at a audit and tax firm in Braintree.

Getting to Fred's comment, which  I have prematurely published.   When starting a business, the business start up costs are generally capitalized  and amortized over a period of 180 months.   These costs typically include the cost to incorporate, initial legal and filing fees, permits, etc.   Once your business   begins its operations (typically sales have begun) you can expense most  all of your business costs.    The biggest question is when do you think the business has begun operations, which is a bit gray.   When in doubt, I would assume operations have begun to get the deductions now as opposed to later.

I do not know the facts around your situation as some cases are unique.   That being said, most companies now are going with the LLC structure in setting up their businesses.   It gets the single level of taxation at the federal level and the liability protection that most are looking for.

Initial investments will typically come from personal investments, family and friends.   There is also an initial market from angel investors.   However, once your bring in angel investors, you  can  start to lose some control of the company (since these people will want to have some levels of protection).   Ideas and concepts will not typically get any financing from a bank.

Cheryl - Again all situations are unique.   The SBA has stepped up its lending to small businesses and is the first palce I would start.   We recently worked with Randolph Savings and they are doing a lot of SBA lending these days.  

If the SBA is not a viable option for your business, there is family and friends route.   Many business owners will use their credit cards  to help get the business going and may also tap into their home equity.   Another option that I have seen is persons borrowing from their 401(k) or using IRA to invest in their company.   All of these options though carry significant risk should the business fail.   So proceed with caution.

Successful business people that I have met have a continuing desire to improve themselves, their products and increase the value they provide to their customers.   To improve in all of these areas, I think you need to spend at least a half hour everyday trying to improve yourself and your business in these areas.   This is something I have started doing in recent years, and it has helped me greatly.   There are lost of great business books.   If you need some suggestions check out 800 CEO read.com   A couple of guys put together the best 100 business books.   They are arranged by category so you can choose the area in which you want to improve and read a few of the suggested works.   Will help you greatly.

Typically, you want to turn a profit by about the third year.   If you show three straight years of losses, you can expect the IRS to flag you for review.   The concern is whether or not you are really engaged in a business (to turn a profit) or are engaged in a hobby (soemthing for fun bit not necessarily profit).   That being said, if you are really attempting to profit and after three years you still have not made a profit, you should still consider pursuing the business.   Just understand that you will likely have to justify it with the IRS.   Not the end of the world, but just a consequence.

I suggest finding a mentor, such as family, friends and assosciates that have owned a business already.   They will be a source of great information.   Also, find a local chapter of SCORE, which helps budding entrepreneurs get their business going and will match them with a mentor.

Also, in Managing your Money, the section of boston.com, yesterday we published a checklist to help people start their own business.   You can check out that post, which will help you get the business going.   Good luck