Simple Actions to Commencing Your Small Business
Yeah, sure it’s simple, and needless to say, that title is a little tongue in cheek. It takes a lot of hard work to obtain an enterprise off the ground. But, it’s worth every hour I’ve spent getting to where I am now.
When I decided to start my conversation and image consulting venture, I tried hard to find a fantastic startup guide. I couldn’t find any that had all the steps. So, I chose to compose one. So far, it’s mostly just the bare-bones outline (which is long enough as it is) you see in this content.
I’ll be adding to it every week or 2, and writing more detailed articles on all of the steps, so try to stop by and check it out from time to time. Ok, i’ll know how I’m doing. Shoot off an email to me if I’ve forgotten something or you have questions.
Before you decide to spend so much as a dollar, converse to a few experts. Go to the library or get on the web and research, research, research. Take a little time to make sure entrepreneurship is right for you.
Create a pro and con list of business ownership, and evaluate yourself honestly. The amount of characteristics do you have in common with prosperous entrepreneurs? Is your financial position strong enough? Do you have the crucial technical and management skills?
You’re not going to be the perfect entrepreneur. Nobody is. But in order to make yourself the very best entrepreneur you can be, consider ways to compensate for almost any weaknesses you might have.
I’m from Canada, so the government agencies I’ve mentioned in this guide are Canadian, but really, it might be used by anyone. All you have to do, if you’re from somewhere other than Canada, is learn where you must find some of the things I’ll talk about. Some of the steps may be slightly different, and you may not have to worry about things like GST for example, but I’m sure you’ll find this discussion helpful all of the same.
These steps to starting a business are in reasonably good order, but you might find yourself varying from it under your particular circumstances. That really isn’t a big deal, as long as you get most of it done. One can find some steps you’ll be able to skip as well, but please don’t skip any of the “big ones”, which I’m sure you’ll pretty much figure out from taking a look at the list.
So, assuming you’ve done your evaluation and you still want to begin a venture, take a deep breath, and let’s get started.
1. Conduct a feasibility study of your business. Describe your typical customer, your product and your competitors. Who will your suppliers be? What will you charge for your product? How will you market your product? These are just a few of the questions you have to answer.
2. Write a complete business plan for your corporation, using the information you gathered from your feasibility study. This vitally important, often overlooked stage must have to add a description of your company, its goals, competitors, market, financial information, and of course, how you intend to meet your goals.
3. Get your financing in place. There are actually several ways to finance your venture, from your own savings to personal credit cards to bank loans. Should you need credit, know your enterprise plan from front to back and maybe even sideways.
4. Decide what kind of structure your corporation will have. From a legal standpoint, one can find three fundamental choices, sole proprietorship, partnership and incorporation, each with advantages and disadvantages.
5. Choose a name for your enterprise and check on name availability. Naming your enterprise is highly individual, but it’s the 1st thing associated with your enterprise, so choose your name carefully. You’ll need to do a NUANS (Newly Upgraded Automated Name Search) report, which checks your name choices for uniqueness against a database of other business names. A reserved name is valid for 90 days.
6. Decide whether you want to register federally or provincially and register your business. In the event you register federally, you’ll also have to register provincially, which almost doubles the cost. You really do not have to have a lawyer process them for you, but it may be a good thought to at least consult with one. You can certainly get the forms from your local government office, have them faxed to you or download them. You can certainly fax or email printed copies, or complete the forms online
7. Contact Canada Revenue Agency Enterprise Window for your business number, and to register for GST/HST, payroll, corporate income tax and import/export (if applicable). You might also contact the CRA in the event you need general information about enterprise expenses. Chances are you’ll have to collect GST, but you may want to register for a GST number even if you really don’t have to collect it because of input tax credits.
8. Decide whether you have to collect PST. If you do, you have to submit “Registration as a Vendor” documents with your province.
9. Determine whether you’ll find special permits or licenses in your municipality. It’s highly unlikely that your municipality does not have special permits or licenses.
10. Develop the marketing materials you decided on in your enterprise plan. They should include at least a company identity package, press kit and internet site. Your identity package is your logo, enterprise card and letterhead. A press kit might include letters of introduction, biography sheets, press releases, articles and a brochure. In today’s electronic age, printed materials aren’t enough. You need a web site that looks professional, matches your printed material and has great copy. You’ll also want to make sure it’s optimized for search engines.
11. Set up your venture financial institution account and record-keeping system. Your banker will need to see your incorporation documents, and you should probably setup a lot more than one account so you can certainly keep track of your finances better. Record-keeping is required, and can be done manually or with a pc plan.
12. Purchase insurance. You will find several different types of insurance, but most likely your enterprise will need at least one. As an example, if you’re going to have employees, you need to contact the Worker’s Compensation Board. Depending on your type of enterprise, you might want to contact them even should you really do not have employees to insure yourself.
13. Contact potential creditors and set up credit terms. You should have researched suppliers when you were doing your feasibility study. Now is the time to contact them.
14. Decide where your business am goin to be located. Lease your business’ space. Alternatively, you could choose to start your enterprise from home if it’s feasible. You’ll find advantages and disadvantages to starting your business from home. You have tax write-offs for example, but sometimes your image suffers.
15. Purchase supplies and office equipment. You’ll need too a lot of things to list here, and obviously, each enterprise has different really needs. You might need a fax machine and printer. You’ll possibly need a pc. You’ll certainly need paper, pens, pencils and a calculator.
Congratulations! Go out, buy yourself a bottle of champagne and celebrate. You’re about to embark on a most exciting journey. And may I be the first to wish you good luck and prosperous times in your enterprise venture.
As promised, here’s my email address so you might ask questions, make comments or add steps to my list. Or, if you want, you could just drop me a line to let me know how your small enterprise is doing. I’d really like to know.
The author is the founder of nyc internet advertising company and A NJ SEO services firm. For more on small businesses, visit the author’s blog.
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