4 steps to starting your own business

Before you ditch your job to become your own boss, remember this: Entrepreneurship is time consuming, stressful and draining - and that's before you even launch. Take these steps first; then you can walk out the door.

Keep your benefits coming
Keep your benefits coming
Don't forget to hold on to your health insurance; under COBRA rules you can extend corporate coverage for 18 months on your own dime. By then your company should be robust enough to afford a policy. Once you hire one person, you'll qualify for a group policy, which is almost always cheaper than an individual plan. You can leave your 401(k) behind at your former employer, but you may want to roll it over into an IRA. Then when you open your business' retirement plan, you'll have a relationship with a fund company or an investment manager.
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Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.