Every Monday on my Facebook page I host a chat called “Money Making Conversations.” People send me questions about how to grow their businesses and careers and I read and respond from 12 – 1 PM EST. Here is a recap of this week’s conversation:

I have an idea for a comedy show. What are the logical steps to follow? Do i consult a script writer, a producer or just a writer to develop the idea? Do i have to copyright it first? – Lekota-

Lekota,

You have to be able to turn your idea into a script, or at least an outline. If you do the outline it should include character names and descriptions. Once you have the outline or script you should register it with the Writers Guild of America. The fee is nominal, but doing so will protect your intellectual property.

Great Morning Rushion! Should I consider a line of credit during my start up phase? I am an author of children’s books and the line of credit would be for book printing and marketing. – Ronda

Ronda,

I would strongly recommend self publishing. You can still make money, and doing an E-book can help cut down your production costs. Here is a link to Amazon.com’s self publishing site to help get you started: http://amzn.to/1DsKD92

I own a small cleaning company (we detailed your car once) How should I go about getting cleaning contracts? I’m based in Chicago and I do janitorial, mobile detailing, carpet cleaning, and snow removal. – Jeff

Jeff,

Before you look to expand, I would look at improving customer service experience. I enjoyed your work, but have not heard from you in a long time! There may be others out there like me who may need work done on their cars but you have not contacted.

What is the best legal structure for opening a restaurant? My restaurant would have a family environment and be a sit down restaurant. The menu would vary from breakfast,lunch and dinner. Everything would be made to order. How would I determine my start up costs and other expenses? – Crashena

Crashena,

You absolutely need a business plan. Your business plan will include things like doing a competitive analysis to see what other restaurants you will be competing against, how much you can expect to make, etc.

This article from my hometown Houston Chronicle also has some good advice on the different legal structures for opening a business plan.

I run a business making baked goods but still work my regular job full time. What would be a good way to get start up capital for my business? – Janet

Janet,

Before you open a store front it is essential to have a business plan. This will help you determine whether or not you will make enough revenue to support the store front. You also will have to continue improving on your design skills before you open one full time!