Ten Things to Remember
for Starting a Small Business. |
| #1 The Business Plan |
| We have rated this number 1 on our list because
it is the first logical step that you need to take before starting
any type of business. It is also the most important step to
take. It can be time consuming to write a good business plan
but you must be prepared. Most financial institutions want to
see your business plan before they ever talk about the dollars
and cents of your business. |
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The same can be said for private investors too.
In today's world all investments are looked at carefully before
funding is approved. A good business plan will show investors,
employees and even your customers what your plans are for this
business. |
| Remember the business plan is the blueprint to
your business, not just a financial plan. It may change along
the way but the principal of your business plan should remain
similar throughout your many years of business. Below we have
added some links for helpful pages about creating business plans. |
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| #2 Choosing the Business Name. |
| It might sound funny that you don't need to pick
out your business name until after your plan is created. The
truth is that most businesses put too much importance on the
name. Some businesses are developed around a name but most successful
businesses are thriving regardless what the name of the business
is. |
| The other thing that becomes important about the
name of your business is the way in which you choose to register
it. If you want to start a home based
business in the basement of your house then the name can
be registered as a sole proprietorship at a reasonable cost.
Maybe you are starting a business using many different investors. |
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| If this is the case then registering the business
and incorporating it might be the best for your business and
all your investing partners. While the cost of incorporating
is not as expensive as everyone thinks there is still a process
that needs to be followed for incorporating your business. The
name of your business is very important but not as important
as the structure of your name. Below we have added some links
for you to have a look at. We hope that these will be helpful
when picking a name for your business. |
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| #3 Leagal Advice |
| While we have our list numbered this does not
reflect the steps that you need to take to start your business.
For example if you create a business plan that involves 20 investors
you will need to have legal advice before you do many of the
other steps listed here. It is very important to get some legal
advice for your business regardless what you intend to do. |
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In some cases you might get some advice that will
make you change you business plan. Maybe there are some laws
that prevent you from having a home based business in your area.
The lawyers in your area are familiar with many different aspect
of the laws that govern us. |
| Your lawyer might be able to provide you with
some helpful advice in regards to funding and grants that you
might not know about. I know that the legal aspect of your business
is where you can save some money especially during a startup
where funds are needed elsewhere. But you must not overlook
the fact that good legal advice costs money and at the end of
the day it is very valuable. |
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| #4 Financial Advice |
| Good financial advice might just be the difference
between success and failure as a small business owner. You need
to seek out good advice that you will use and follow. Many times
you have heard other say that times were tough the first 2 to
5 years of business but we survived and built a successful business.
The truth is that tough times do pass but not without some type
of financial plan. There is no plan that suits everyone so you
will have to do a lot of homework on this as you go along. Below
we have provided some links that we thought might help. |
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| #5 Banking and Financial Support |
| You will notice that we have provided some links
to some banks when we covered tip #4 about financial advice.
It is important to remember that financial advice and financial
support are 2 very different things. |
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When we start to talk about the financial support
we are talking about the funds that are backing your business.
You might have a private investor, maybe the bank is backing
your business or maybe you have saved enough to back the business
on your own. Any method you choose you need to have the financial
support and money in the bank to cover expenses as your business
begins to roll. |
| Most of the banks understand how important small
business is and they all have very good small business managers
that will help you out. Credit cards and chequing accounts all
become something you use every day. Use caution and make sure
you pick the bank that will be behind you when times are tough.
You will also want to get to know the small business manager
at your bank. People like this can be a great resource for you
to bounce ideas off and talk about new strategies. |
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| #6 Insurance |
| Depending on your new business venture the requirements for
insurance can be very different. If you are planning on quoting
on jobs and doing work in the public then you might be required
to have a set amount of liability coverage. If you are working
from home and you visit customers online the requirements could
be much different. I have always found it best to use a broker
to handle my business needs. They farm out the quote to many
different providers and generally then can get you a better
deal. Make sure that you go over your business plan with your
broker so they can help you make the right decisions for coverage
for your business. Also you need to do a review of your coverage
and what you are paying every year. This is very important.
Your business is growing and the needs change over the course
of the year. If you take the time to review your policy and
the premiums that you pay you can save thousands over the years. |
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| #7 Business Equipment & Supplies |
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More coming soon |
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| #8 Know Your Competition |
| More coming soon |
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| #9 A Good Marketing Plan |
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More coming soon |
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| #10 Know & Understand Your Customers |
| More coming soon |
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Copyright Littletowns
2003 |
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Last modified
1-mar-12
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