How To Start A Business 101

How to start a business 101

If you want to officially, legally start your own business but don’t know where to start, here are the basic steps:

Define your business Niche, industry, higher goal/your “why”. You need to get clear on what you want to achieve with your business and what it should look like.

Market research Research if there is a need for your products/services, study your competitors, create a ‘persona’ or ‘avatar’ of your ideal client in order to understand their journey. The user journey formula is simple: client’s xyz issue -> your solution for their issue -> reaching their end goal = happy client.

Business strategy After you’ve done market research, and before registration, it’s the perfect time to create a business plan. This is the concrete step-by step plan for your business. Small goals, big goals, a calendar for the whole year.

Legally register your business The process, costs & documents required for this will depend on each country so check your local authorities for this. Now is also the time to decide what legal body you want to choose for your business: Sole Proprietorship, LLC (limited liability corporation), etc. Do your research on the differences between each, and find out what is best for your business to begin with. You have to decide for yourself.

Research your tax obligations For better or worse, it’s your responsibility to be well informed. Remember that any registered business has to pay taxes on their earnings, from 10% up to 50% depending on country.

Accounting Use an accounting service, hire an accountant, or do it yourself. Just be smart about it, this is important. The only way you should go the DIY route is if you literally have less than 10 transactions per month and have a simple business.

Business bank account You should create an account for your business. And yes, your personal bank account needs to be separated from your business one, no questions asked. Even though the laws are different in each country and some don’t require it, in the long run it will save you loads of trouble to keep clean, organized bookkeeping. Plus, depending on your local banks, you may even find advantageous offers that include healthcare, billing services and other perks.