Starting a Company in any Economy
Further on down you will learn the steps required to starting a company, first I would like to say a few things.
Starting a company can allow you to provide for your family and if you work hard can do so much more. You should ask yourself why you want to start a company. If the reasons you want to start a company are to get rich, yet you have no idea what kind of company to start then you better do some research before getting into business for yourself. Over the years I have seen many people start a company in an industry they are familiar with and yet still fail. The reason 80% of all businesses fail within the first five years of starting is because they should have never started in the first place. The reasons they should not have started is because they did not know the amount of money they actually needed to start a company. They did not know the real profit potential that the business could make. They did not have enough drive, persistence, positive attitude or management skills to start a business. Maybe they did not have enough support from their family members. Whatever the case one of the first things you should do when you want to start a business is some soul searching. Will you do whatever it takes to succeed? Such as getting up earlier, going to bed later, turning off the tv, less dinners out, less vacations, less family time, and taking more risk.
Do you have what it takes to start a company and Succeed?
This is not something you will have to do forever, but if you do this for one year you could be well on your way to having the freedom others will never have. And keep it up for three to five years and you should be in a situation where you can plan bigger and better vacations than before, going to sporting events instead of watching them on tv, spending true quality time with your family and friends. If however after 5 years you look back and tell others how hard you worked knowing full well that most of those evenings everyone thought you were working you were playing solitaire then you are only kidding yourself. If you are that type get a job!! If you are not, let’s make some money!!
Let’s get on with starting a company today
Starting a company in your industry or business of knowledge is what most people do. If you are in an industry that would cost considerable amount money to get started or you just are not interested in working in that industry any longer then look for something you might find interesting and still lucrative. Throughout this website you will find articles on starting different companies. I try to research and write 1-2 articles per week so if there is not something on the site at the moment come back next week and take another look. Or if you want send me an email and I will put you on the list of articles to write. Over the last 20 years I have owned 7 businesses, some did ok, some did great, some failed. I have also helped dozens of people with their businesses so even if I know nothing about the industry you are in I am sure a little research will go a long way.
Every Company Starts the Same Way
It does not matter what industry you are in when you are starting a company you will find that most companies all start almost exactly the same way. Why do you think someone with a lot of business knowledge can open two completely different businesses and have both of those businesses a success?
First, decide on the business you want to start, do some or a lot of research depending on what you already know about the industry.
Second, find a lawyer that can help you with the legal side of the business
Third, Get a name for your business and register that name or talk to your lawyer about registration
Fourth, Talk to your lawyer about incorporating or sole proprietor and then register the business with the local authorities and the state or province if need be.
Fifth, Get all applicable insurances to operate a business in your industry. This includes liability insurance, vehicle insurance, bonding, and disability insurance. Your insurance company should know what insurances you need, but may not know if you require bonding or not. Ask your lawyer or talk with the city license department about this when getting your business license.
Sixth, Get a phone number, land or cell or both, get a website, or at least have a business email.
Seventh, Get business cards. Use your name phone number, website and email. Also explain a little about who you are and tell people how they will benefit by using your products or services.
Eighth, Start to network with everybody you know and meet. Also start building your marketing plan. With your marketing plan you can build out 3 months or up to 5 years. This is up to you. If you go out 5 years then start at where you want to be in five years. Then work back to 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, and 1 month. From there go forward again with what it will take to get you there. To be honest I have never made a marketing plan or a business plan. I do however create a vision of what I want and when I want it by. I find having a vision is similar to having a business plan, except there is more feeling and a stronger desire to succeed
Ninth, Hire people to do some of the work for you. This might be a hire step if you are in an industry or able to hire someone right away.
Tenth, market your business, test your marketing and track your marketing. Then tweak and start over. Whatever works best keep doing until you get to the size of company you want to have.
Eleventh, Exit. How do you want to get out of the business after you have started a company and ran the company for the time period you wanted to? There are a few options here, but I will keep this brief. You can sell, you can go public, you can sell to a public company, you can pass the business onto your kids, you can find partners that will run it and you can live off the dividends. By deciding in the early stages of starting a company you will have a much more focused plan, and that more often than not means more success.
Following all of the above steps should help you get your company started. Be in contact with city officials and your lawyer to make sure your industry does not have anything special that is required by law for you to operate.
Starting a home base Company or not
The steps I mentioned above work for both a home based company and for companies that have a location outside of the home. I did not get into to much detail with this step as I have found every city as slightly different rules and regulations on this. Talk with the town or city you live in to see what they require. In most cases I have found there is an additional license for home based businesses and normally not very expensive when compared with the main license. If you have a location outside of the home then you will need a different license. In the two cities I have had businesses in both required an occupancy permit. This was to protect the people coming to your business and was much more expensive than a home based license. This is all part of starting a company and there is nothing you can do about it, except be aware of these costs before starting. This is also another discussion for your lawyer.
Thanks for stopping by starting a company. Again, feel free to comment on any of the articles or message me directly, I would love to hear from you. If you need further help on starting a company or marketing a business check out my ebook. I will be starting to create videos soon to help you even further.
Thanks,
Kelly