Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 6: Determine the basics
• Part 2 of 6: Writing a business plan
• Part 3 of 6: Legal aspects
• Part 4 of 6: Take care of your finances
• Part 5 of 6: Marketing
• Part 6 of 6: Launching your business
• Tips
• Warnings

Do you also dream of having your own company? Finally being your own boss, being able to determine your own destination --- or who knows even being at the top of an entire industry. Is it hard? Without any doubt. Is it challenging? Certainly that too. Do you need to be rich and well-educated and do you need an endless resume? Absolutely not! Can you do it too? According to the magic 8-ball, a toy that is used to predict the future, the answer is always "Yes!" So how do you do it, how do you make it work? Plan, plan and plan more! There are several ready-to-use and extensively tested ways to get you started in your own business, so get started today!

To step

Part 1 of 6: Determine the basics

1. Think about what you want to do. It could be a product you've always wanted to make, or a service that you think could benefit people. It may even be something that people do not know they need because it has not been conceived before.
   • It can be useful - and fun - to have an informal brainstorming session with a few smart and creative friends. Start with a simple question like "what are we going to make?". The purpose of a brainstorming session is not to write a complete business plan, but simply to get some ideas. Many of those ideas will go straight into the trash, and others will not be really original, but there are always a few that you can do something with.
2. Set your goals. Do you want financial independence, or do you want to sell your company to the highest bidder? Do you want something small and well-organized, something you enjoy doing and that provides you with a stable income? These are things to determine at an early stage.
3. Think of a name that works. You can even come up with a name before you have decided exactly what to do. A good name can even help you determine exactly what kind of company you are going to set up. As your plan grows and things begin to take shape, you may come up with the ideal name, but don't let that stop you from coming up with a name in the early stages - choose a name to use during the development process. plan; you can always change it later.
   • To spice things up, you can use the Beatles method. They often used a funny name for a song until it was finished. Such was the working title of the song Yesterday for example "Scrambled Eggs".
4. Determine what kind of team you will work with. Are you going to set up the company alone or with one or two good friends? Collaboration can be very useful because people always inspire each other to new ideas. The sayings “Two can be more than one” and “The whole is more than the sum of its parts” certainly apply to this.
   • Just think of well-known, more and less recent world-famous success stories of duos like John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Bill Gates and Paul Allen or Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Much of their success has been due to the great teamwork, which brought out the best in both individuals, and they have all become billionaires. Do you become a guaranteed billionaire by partnering with another? Not that, but it certainly can't hurt.
5. Choose wisely. Choose carefully the people with whom you will set up the business. Just because someone is your best friend doesn't mean you can work well together as business partners. Start your business with someone you trust. When choosing your partners and staff, the following things are important:
   • Does the other supplement your weaknesses? Or do you both only bring in one particular skill? In that case, be careful because maybe too many people are busy with the same thing, while other things are left behind.
   • Do you generally agree with each other? Disagreements about details are inevitable, and sometimes even useful. But disagreeing on the essentials, that is, the primary objective of your company, can lead to irreparable conflicts. Make sure your team is as committed to the goal and willing to work as hard as you are.
   • If you are inviting people to an interview, try to learn more about how to discover the real talent behind all those degrees and titles or someone's lack of them by reading in. People often have innate talents that do not correspond directly with the traditional educational paths they have taken (or not); feeling whether there is a “click” (whether you are close to each other) and whether someone perhaps has hidden talents is therefore just as important as his or her qualities on paper.

Part 2 of 6: Writing a business plan

1. Create a business plan. A business plan (or business plan) helps you determine what you will need to start your business, be it a large or small business. It summarizes the essence of your company in one document. In addition, it helps investors, bank personnel and other parties who may be interested in your business to determine how best to help you and whether or not your business will be viable. Very useful books have been published on how to write a business plan that accurately describe the most important parts. Use at least one of these books as a guide (you can find them in bookstores, libraries and on the internet). In summary, you should at least include the following elements in your business plan:
2. Short summary. You must at least include a number of basic elements in your business plan. Describe the global concept of the business, how you will finance it, how much funding you think you will need, its current status, including legal status, the people involved, a brief description of the history of the business, and any other information that will make people believe in the success of your business.
3. Company description. Here you describe your company in more detail, and you describe the position of the company within the overall market. Who will your customers become, and how will you market your product? If you have chosen a particular business structure, such as a limited liability company, a private company, or a sole proprietorship, please state that and explain why you chose that form. Describe your product, its main features and why you expect people to buy it.
4. Name a number of marketing strategies. To be successful you will have to get to know “your” market, so you have to spend a lot of time analyzing who exactly will be interested in your product and how you want to get them to pay you their money. How big is your market, will there be opportunities to expand the base market, what are your sales potential? Understanding these variables will make you want to sell them to the person reading your business plan.
5. Competitive Analysis. As you write the aforementioned sections, you will also find out who your main competitors are. Try to find out if anyone is already doing something similar to what you intend to do, and how successful they have been in doing so. It is equally important to find out what they did wrong and what ruined their business.
6. Development plan. How will you create your product? Is it a service you offer, or if it's a bit more complicated software, or a physical product like a new kind of toy or a toaster - whatever it is, how is it going to be made? Determine the process, from the origin of the raw materials and assembly to finishing, packaging, storage and delivery. Will you need extra people? Will trade unions be involved? You have to take all these things into account.
7. Plan your activities. Who is in the lead, and who is next? Determine your organization, from the receptionist to the director, and everyone's role; both their duties and their role in the financial field. If you know the structure of your organization well, you will be better able to plan your operating costs so that you can determine exactly how much capital you will need to operate efficiently. Keep in mind that your business will continue to evolve and this will give you a rough idea of ​​who it takes to run the business; as your business grows, you will likely adjust the number of people you planned to hire to suit the needs of the moment.In addition, the “staff” often includes you just as much as anyone you ask for advice, such as your lawyer and your accountant. That's not a problem, as long as you show that you are willing to pay for outside advice and help until your company is ready to hire.
8. Make sure the financial side is covered. In summary, this means that you describe how much you plan to spend and how much you think you will earn. This is the most dynamic part of your plan, and perhaps the most important in the long run. Therefore, adjust this part monthly in the first year, every three months in the second year, and then once a year.

Part 3 of 6: Legal aspects

1. Consider seeking out a lawyer or legal counsel. You will encounter many hurdles as you move from your monotonous office job to the existence of overtime and underpaid entrepreneur. Some of these hurdles will be piles of rules and regulations documents, from rental contracts to city ordinances, municipal permits, government requirements and documents related to tax, mandatory contributions, contracts, stocks, corporations, and so on. The idea that there is someone to call when you need advice is a comforting thought, as well as a source of help you will desperately need in planning your path to success.
   • Choose someone who "clicks" with and who understands what you are doing. It should also be someone with experience in this area, as an inexperienced legal counsel can quickly get you in trouble and saddle you with fines or even jail time.
2. Get an accountant. You need someone who can easily handle your financial affairs, but even if you think you can do bookkeeping yourself, you need someone who understands the tax aspects involved in running a business. Taxation can be a complicated business for a business, so you need (at the very least) a tax advisor. And again, whether you are outsourcing a large or small portion of your finances, choose someone who is trustworthy.
3. Set up a business unit. For tax purposes and hopefully to attract investors, you will need to determine what kind of business you want to set up. You should be familiar with the terms limited liability company, limited liability company, etc., but for starting a small business you will have to choose one of the following forms:
   • A one-man business, if you are going to run your business (without staff) alone or together with your spouse.
   • A Company under Firm, if you are going to run this company with a partner.
   • A limited partnership, consisting of a number of general partners, who are liable for problems within the company, and a number of partners with limited liability, who are only liable for the amount they invest in the company. They all share in the profit and loss.
   • A Capital Company or Partnership, in which none of the partners is liable for another's negligence.

Part 4 of 6: Take care of your finances

1. Make sure your start-up costs are covered. How will you initially finance your business? There are many possibilities as the bank providers of venture capital (venture capitalists), informal investors (the so-called angel investors), municipal subsidies or support for small business, or your own savings. You probably won't be making the full 100% of what you planned, so you need enough readily available reserves to cover certain costs until everything actually runs. One of the fastest ways to go bankrupt is for lack of capital.
   • Keep the '4 Fs for Investment' 'in mind: Founders (founders, in other words people who share your idea), Family, Friends and Fools, or fools.
2. Make sure you have more than the minimum. You can determine that you need $ 50,000 to start a business, and it can add up. You bring in that $ 50,000, buy desks, printers and raw materials, but then month two comes, you're still producing, the rent has to be paid, as are the salaries, and you get all the bills presented at once. When this happens, probably all you have to do is shut it down. If possible, try to have enough reserves for a year without income.
3. Be frugal. Plan to spend as little as possible on office supplies and overheads during start-up. You don't need a luxurious office building, and you don't need ultra-modern chairs or expensive artwork on the wall. A broom cupboard in the right location can be enough if, after having received them in the hall, you always know how to take your customers to the local lunchroom for appointments. Many start-ups have failed due to the purchase of expensive extras and a lack of attention to the company itself.
4. Make some calculations and good planning. Map your path to financial success. For what price do you want to sell your product or service? How much will it cost you to produce it? Make a rough estimate of the net profit including the fixed costs such as rent, energy, personnel, etc.
5. Make a competition analysis. Find out at what price they sell a comparable product. Can you add something (added value) to ensure that your product is different and thus ensure that the price becomes more attractive? For example, your company could offer an extra year of warranty for free, or a free replacement part or a nice gadget with the first purchase.
   • Competition is not just about the product or service itself. It is also about being credible on a social level and towards your environment. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the need for a company to demonstrate that it attaches importance to good working conditions and the environment. Having hallmarks of reputable organizations, in the form of labels and logos, customers can provide extra assurance that your product or service more consistent with their values ​​than a product without such a label.
6. Keep your operating costs under control. Keep a close eye on your operating costs and make sure they don't exceed your forecasts. When you see unnecessary money being spent on something - such as electricity, telephone, office supplies, or packaging materials - take a look around, estimate how much you actually need, and do everything you can to minimize or eliminate that expense. When starting up, think as economical as possible. You can even think of renting instead of buying and you can pay for certain things in advance instead of committing yourself to long-term contracts.
7. Make sure people can pay you. You will have to somehow make sure that you can receive payments from your customers. Nowadays you can work with the so-called Square to collect credit card payments, which can be ideal for a small business as it requires very little paperwork and costs are low. But if you're not that familiar with technology, you can also go the old-fashioned way and open a merchant account.
   • A merchant account is an agreement in which a bank, the acquirer, provides a credit line to a merchant so that they can collect payments from a particular credit card brand. In principle, it is not possible to collect payments via the major credit card brands. However, the Square has changed this, so you don't have to limit yourself to this option. Take a look at it.
   • The Square is an electronic device with which credit card information can be exchanged, which you can connect to your phone or tablet, turning it into a kind of cash register. You have probably encountered the Square in shops, because the system is increasingly used in cafes, restaurants, stalls on the street and other outlets (the Square can be recognized by a plastic square the size of a stamp that is placed in a tablet or phone. is plugged).

Part 5 of 6: Marketing

1. Have a website. If you are going to sell over the internet, get your electronic business running and either create your own website or have someone do it for you. This will be the showcase of your store, so make sure you do everything you can to get people to visit and stay on your site.
2. Hire professional designers. This costs a bit more, but a well-presented, reliable website is essential. If you are also going to arrange financial transactions via your website, invest in security encryption and choose reliable and financially healthy companies for carrying out the transactions.
3. Bring out the advertiser in you. Even if you still believe in your product, it will not be a success if others do not believe in it too. If you have no experience with advertising and marketing or you just don't like having sales pitches, then you should get over it now and put on your advertiser jacket. Put together a good, short chat to convince people that they need your product or service. This should highlight the value, purpose and potential of what your company has to offer. Write several different versions of this speech until you find a version that says everything, that makes you feel good, and that you can say without hesitation. Don't forget to exercise!
   • Have original, eye-catching business cards printed.
4. Spend enough time developing your social media profile. You can start doing this long before your company is finished, the sooner the better. Use Facebook, Google+, Twitter and any other form of social media to get people excited and to spread the word. You want people to get excited and talk about your project so that they can follow its development. (Use business addresses for your company, and keep your private addresses separate. Don't always send the same message, but adjust it depending on the address used and your target audience.)
5. Put your marketing and distribution plans into practice. Start marketing as soon as your product is in the making or while your services are being developed, and as soon as you know roughly when things will be ready for sale. If you plan to advertise in newspapers or magazines, they will want photos or copies of your product at least two months before publication. If you are going to offer your product or service in stores, do it in advance and reserve enough space on the shelves. If you are going to sell online, make sure your website is ready for electronic business operations. If you offer a service, advertise in the appropriate advertiser or trade magazines, in newspapers and on the internet.

Part 6 of 6: Launching your business

1. Make sure you have enough space. Whether it's an office or a warehouse, if you think you need more space than your garage or guest bedroom, you need to get it right now.
   • You may be able to work from home normally and only occasionally need extra space for meetings or for entertaining clients. In that case you can often use spaces in the city center. Google on "business property rental [name city / province]" and you will find a large number of spaces in your area that are available for temporary rental.
2. Develop your product or service. Once you have planned the set-up of your business, the finances are in place and you have hired your most needed staff, you can get started. You can work with your technical staff to ensure that all software is coded and tested, or stock up on the material and ensure that it ends up in your factory space (aka the garage), or you can buy extra large and increase your price. Whatever you do, you prepare your product or service for the market during the production process. During this period you may be faced with the following:
   • The need to adapt your ideas. You may find that you need to adjust the color, texture, or size of your product. You may need to offer your services in a more elaborate, more concise or more specific form. You now need to pay attention to everything that comes up during the testing and development periods. You will automatically sense when something needs to be changed in order to increase the quality or to make sure that what you offer is less like the worn-out product of the competitor.
   • Ask for feedback. Your friends and family are great candidates to ask questions and provide you with feedback –– let them give you their opinion!
   • Lack of space. This is more common than you think. Before you know it, stocks are piling up and you have to store your products in the living room, in the bedroom and in the garden shed. If necessary, consider renting storage space.
3. Launch your product or service. If your product has been put together, packaged with a code provided online is put and ready to buy, or when services are fully developed and ready to be delivered, organize a special event to launch your business. Send a press release, shout it from the rooftops. Send it via Twitter, post it on Facebook, let everyone hear it in every corner of your market - you've started a new business!
   • Throw a party or drink for which you invite anyone who can advertise you word of mouth. It does not cost much - drinks and snacks you buy from a wholesaler and you can ask your friends and family to help serve (you can thank one of your products or services!).

Tips

• Always offer quality and good service to people who could potentially become your customers, even if they aren't now. When they do need your product, you want to be the first to think of.
• Thanks to the Internet, an online business is probably the easiest way to start a business today. In addition, the start-up costs are much lower than for setting up a "real" "physical business.
• Keep learning and be open to change. Find buddies, mentors, local entrepreneurial organizations, internet forums and wikis to exchange thoughts on the day-to-day concerns of self-employment. It's much easier to run your actual business in a good and successful way when you don't have to keep reinventing the wheel in all kinds of practical matters, and that goes for other entrepreneurs just as well.
• Setting up a franchise business can be a nice option, but most people don't have enough start-up capital for that.
• Most direct selling companies have low start-up capital compared to a traditional physical company. It also gives you the opportunity to reach the break-even point much earlier than with a traditional venture.
• Another option is to trade on eBay or Overstock.
• It's fine to start with one or two products and then keep adding new ideas as you go!
• Don't be afraid to experiment with prices. You have to set a minimum price for your product or service to be able to run even, but feel free to experiment with variations such as extra low or exclusive, higher prices.

Warnings

• Always watch out for people asking you for money before offering you anything. Trade creates prosperity through "two-way" profit, so a company must be willing to pay you if they want you to work for them. (A franchise business or home business may perhaps make legitimate start-up costs have, they must offer a reasonable price for you to let the company work so the managers money earn thanks to your success, and not just by you in their company.)
• Beware of business proposals that seem to offer “something for nothing”. This often involves taking something from someone - usually from you. There are numerous variations, some of which are even more elaborated than others, such as the so-called pyramid systems and advance-fee fraud.