Business booster: Laughlin Asso. takes pain out of starting a new business

Starting a business can be a daunting task.

Coming up with an idea is often the easy part. Setting up an office, phone lines, desks, business licenses, and all of the other myriad things needed to get started can suck the energy from would-be entrepreneurs.

But a new breed of business service providers is helping manage these tasks.

Laughlin Associates, long known in Carson City as a company that offered

incorporation services, has opened their doors to local businesses who can take advantage of the multitude of services they have available under one roof.

"We've always offered a virtual office for small business owners, most of those residing in other states," said Brent Buscay, VP of operations for Laughlin Associates. "We are expanding this to the local market."

Laughlin is offering a package for small businesses that for $175 a month, they get pretty much everything someone needs to get a business off the ground. That includes a part-time office space, access to conference rooms, copiers and WiFi Internet connection, a mail drop, a phone number with a live receptionist who answers with your company name, voice mail and other business services.

"The downside of starting a small business is the overhead," Buscay said. "We can eliminate the overhead by using shared office with shared employees. For a small business, we can offer everything they need at a low cost."

While the current economic downturn may have scared some away from starting a business, Buscay said it's actually a good time to start a business.

"There's no jobs, people have always had their dreams, there are recession-proof ideas out there that you can start a small business and get out there and start making some money," Buscay said.

Having the basic business infrastructure is just one part. But a business that needs more than the basics can get pretty much anything they need in one place.

Laughlin can also help with incorporation and filing business licenses and other paperwork. They have lawyers and accountants on staff to help with legal and tax issues. Their marketing team is available to help publicize your business. An in-house graphic designer can help create printed materials, which they can produce in their full-service print shop. And they can even build your business a Web site.

"If you need it and it revolves around business, we can provide it," Buscay said.

They also have a staff of business consultants, mostly former business owners, who can help entrepreneurs deal with the details of operating a company.

"They deal with entrepreneurs daily, so they see the trends of what's going on, what works and what doesn't," Buscay said.

Laughlin also contracts with other businesses like insurance companies to provide services at a lower rate to their business customers.

"If you want to start a new business, you need to think about being able to run the business and making money and not have to worry about all the overhead, and running around to find everything you need to put a business together," Buscay said.

"Nobody has an excuse for not starting a business."

- Contact reporter Kirk Caraway at kcaraway@nevadaappeal.com or (775) 881-1261.