Tell me again the business you are in?

Q. I am a former contractor with a business guiding homeowners through the remodeling process. I help clients figure out if their dreams are feasible, then help them develop a budget, define the scope of work, interview contractors and monitor the work as it progresses. The problem is that there’s no generally accepted name for this service. Few people know it exists. I call it “remodel coaching,” “facilitating” or just “hand holding.” But without a name, it’s hard to know how to promote the service. Any suggestions?

A. Your situation reminds me of other emerging services such as life coaching or personal organizing.

Today it’s not unusual to run into people who have hired a coach to help them meet their career goals, or an organizer to help keep their personal affairs in order.

“This person has a winning idea in a category that doesn’t yet exist,” said Philippe Becker, who runs the San Francisco marketing firm Philippe Becker Design. “In our world of branding, that is both the greatest opportunity and greatest challenge.”

You’re right that you need a catchy, descriptive phrase for what you do. Ask friends to help brainstorm a bunch of possible phrases. Narrow them to a few top choices.

Then create your own informal focus group to test the phrases. Marty Neumeier of Neutron, a design and branding think tank in San Francisco, suggests calling up about 10 past and potential clients.

“Tell them, ‘Here are four ways I can describe myself. Which one catches your interest?’ ” Neumeier said. “Then ask why that particular word resonates with them. Ask which word would cost the most and which would deliver the most value.”

There’s more to this choice than simply describing your service accurately. It may be that clients would be willing to spend $100 an hour for “dream home consulting,” but only $20 an hour for “remodel hand holding.”

“You’re in a new space, which gives you an opportunity to charge a premium if you do it well because there’s no competition,” said Neumeier.

Once you’ve figured out how to describe what you do, it’s time to spread the word.

I asked some veterans of the coaching and organizing professions what they did to acquaint people with their once-unheard-of services.

Pam Richarde, past president of the International Coach Federation, said coaching schools used newspaper and magazine coverage in the early 1990s to let people know about their work.

“Media was a big part of it, and then defining ourselves by creating a code of ethics, exams and systems of credentials,” she said.

And Barry Izsak, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers, said his colleagues did a lot of word-of-mouth marketing in the early days.

Remodel coaching is novel enough that, especially in our housing-obsessed region, it seems like a natural for news coverage.

So consider hiring an experienced publicist to help craft an approach to the media. Or get some free PR help from your local Small Business Development Center. (See www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/sbdc/index.html for a center near you.)

And do word-of-mouth marketing among allied professions. Who do homeowners talk to when they’re thinking about remodeling? Real estate agents, hardware stores, contractors, architects, interior designers, neighborhood associations … let all these people know about the service you offer.

I bet your business takes off like wildfire among the many homeowners who feel overwhelmed by the cost and complexity of a major remodel.

Q. I am interested in starting a business exporting used cars to China and other countries. Do I need a license? How do I get started?

A. You don’t need an export license to start selling items overseas. But there are some other, bigger things you need to figure out — such as how to ship those cars to China, how to distribute them over there and how to ensure that you get paid for them.

Let’s start with shipping. Your best bet is to work with a freight forwarding company, which will handle the U.S. customs paperwork and shipping for you.

It costs about $3,000 to ship one car from California to Asia in a 20-foot container, or $4,500 for two cars in a 40-foot container, according to Michael McCaffrey, owner of the Burlingame freight forwarder McCaffrey International.

Among the paperwork you’ll need is the original title to the car and a copy of the driver’s license of the person you bought it from. This is to prevent people from shipping stolen cars overseas.

On the Chinese side, you’ll need to line up a trustworthy distributor, importer or agent to sell the cars and handle that country’s paperwork.

Cars are more complicated to export than some other items because most countries have their own environmental and transportation standards for vehicles. So make sure that you understand the rules in each country.

Finally, you’ll need to figure out a payment system.

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One common approach is a letter of credit from your foreign buyer. But for a small shipment, a letter of credit may be too costly.

“For smaller shipments, the buyer can remit half the cash via a telegraphic transfer through his bank, then you ship the car, and then you send documents requesting the other half of the payment,” said Hank Weiner, a trade expert with SCORE in Oakland. “That way, each side bears a little bit of the risk.”

Want to learn more about exporting? The U.S. government has a Web site that offers a great introduction, www.export.gov. California has a similar site, www.tradeport.org.

Your local SCORE chapter, community college or Small Business Development Center may also offer export training.

Q. I’m a longtime employee and manager of a small family-run retail business, a sole proprietorship. The owners are in their 70s and would like me to take over the business eventually. For now, they’d like me to become a part owner. How should we structure things so that I don’t become entangled in their personal finances and liable for their debts?

A. There are several routes you could take to transfer this business. But there’s one route you should avoid — entering into a general partnership with the current owners.

With a general partnership, you would be liable for all business debts incurred by your co-owners. And creditors also could go after your personal assets.

Instead, here are some less-risky ways to transfer this business:

*Asset sale. Rather than selling you the business as an entity, the current owners would sell you its assets such as inventory, equipment and customer lists. The advantage of an asset sale is that the buyer is not liable for debts incurred under the former owners.

*Turn the business into a limited liability company (LLC) or an S corporation.

This would allow the owners to sell you chunks of ownership over time, or give you shares each year as part of your compensation.

But keep in mind that sharing ownership can be messy — especially if you and the other owners disagree on management style and strategy.

It may be wiser to buy out the current owners in one fell swoop. If the price is more than you can afford, look into formulas such as providing a limited down payment followed by a percentage of profit over the next few years.

The owners should consult with an attorney or accountant about what would work best for this specific business.

You should also find your own attorney to review the plan.