At the Beginning of a New Business This is the very start of a new business. Money is probably tight. Basics are usually the objective. There may not be any employees. The focus is getting the business off the ground into profitability. This period could last one month or six or five years. At the Beginning Benefits that should be considered Discussion Medical Coverage Cobra is temporary at best. You are going to have to establish a medical plan sooner or later. It is a good idea to do it sooner since most situations are going require evidence of health to qualify for medical coverage. Today you are insurable, tomorrow you may not be. And it is likely individual medical will be cheaper than Cobra premiums. Besides you will have more options on the type of plan and costs. Small group medical could be an option depending on number of employees. In Minnesota, a group of two employees can qualify for medical. If you are going to be hiring employees soon, check out group coverage. Read about Health Savings Accounts as a low cost option. Life Insurance Your family is depending on you for income. What if you die prematurely? If you left an employer, you lost a portion of your life insurance as well. Term life is pretty inexpensive today to the point there is not excuse for not making sure your life insurance coverage is adequate to cover start up debts and family needs Disability Income The most basic of all coverage. However, as a new business owner you are not going to qualify for disability income until you have a year or two (depending on the insurance company and circumstances). You should review your disability income program PRIOR to leaving a job to start a new business. Long Term Care Long Term Care is asset protection. Even though we all need some long term care, this is a luxury at the beginning. If the income is there, definitely price it. Again you have to qualify for it so you need to be insurable. Purchase it when you can. Be sure to read the section here about long term care. Prepaid Legal A must for all new businesses. You are going to have: Lots of questions, legal and not Contracts to get reviewed A new will Collection letters and calls Maybe a corporation Prepaid Legal can save you thousands of dollars in legal expenses over having to hire an attorney. Pay a monthly membership fee rather than an hourly rate. Retirement Plan Even though is may sound premature to start a retirement plan, consider doing one at the beginning. You very well may have some rollover pension money from a prior job that needs to go somewhere. New employees will appreciate a tax qualified plan to use so it makes a nice recruiting tool. And the real nice thing about it is a plan like a Simple IRA will cost your business nothing to set up or administer so why not take advantage of it. Read about the Simple IRA by clicking here.