How To Start A Small Business Table of Contents
Introduction
Permits and Licenses
Type of Business
Sole Proprietary
Partnership
Website Creation
Creating
Awareness INTRODUCTION
In the previous article we have seen how to get small business ideas and how to materialize them. We saw how to target different markets basing the kind of offerings we have. We also saw how to analyze the current market scenario by during the market research on how our competitors are going. We also saw how to make our product unique in the current market.
In this article we are going to see how to make that idea a business. What are all the considerations that we have to make while starting a business? Starting from the issues of licenses, we will see different types of available
businesses and then we see the importance of creating a website in today’s world of business. Then we conclude the article by giving some instructions of how to get awareness in the people about our market.
Permits & Licenses
While starting a business, the most important step is to consider is of getting the necessary permissions and licenses. Once your business is approved by the law then you can not only go aggressively about branding and all but also you can save on taxes.
Other basic advantages are:-
1. Its very easy to get once you approach the right person and once you make him understand about your business
2. Its very cheap in almost all the countries world wide
3. Any expense that is directly related to start your business is deductible from tax
But, these regulations and policies differ vastly from country to country and even from state to state.
Our research shows that, it is better to join the business association groups which are locally available. Because they not only give an idea of how the market and your competitors going on , but also it provides you with all the basic support if you need
Types of Businesses
Even though there are so may types of businesses one can consider, our research shows that only two types of businesses has got good advantages for small businesses
Sole Proprietary
Partnership
Let’s have a look at both these types
Sole Proprietary
It’s the default form of any business. It means that you own the whole business as an owner. No other person can invest in it officially.
This is a business where one person furnishes all the capital and assumes all the responsibility and liability. If you have the skills and capital necessary to operate your business, then this form of business organization should be considered very carefully.
Advantages
Low start-up costs
Greatest freedom from regulation
Direct control by owner
Minimum working capital requirements
Tax advantage to small owner
All profits to owner
Disadvantages
Unlimited personal liability
Lack of continuity
More difficult to raise capital
Partnership
As the name suggests it can be operated by two or more. Again the maximum permissible number of partners differ greatly from one country to another
Advantages
Ease of formation
Low start-up costs
Additional sources of venture capital
Broader management
Limited outside regulation
Disadvantages
Unlimited personal liability
Lack of continuity
Divided authority
Difficulty in raising additional capital
Hard to find suitable partners
Apart from these two there can also be a corporation type of business which doesn’t come under the context here
After examining the advantages of both of these types of businesses, we have to determine which one to follow to make our dream business a success.
Set up a Website
In today’s world of internet, setting up a website is a very important task to be done whether it’s a small or big business.
Points to consider
1. Keep budget in mind.
2. Out source it to the professionals. You can choose to bid them online on several websites where you find freelance coders.
3. Get a perfect logo. Outsource this job also to a professional.
4. Get the UID perfectly.
5. Get a good and apt domain name.
6. If budget permits try and have online advertising.
7. Try to make use of your website as a revenue generator.
8. Try to get good page rank to your website.
9. Use apt pictures on website to denote your products.
Creating Awareness
As discussed in the previous article, we assume that you step into segment where there is good product awareness. So we concentrate here on how to create awareness to your company and products
1. Register in popular online bidding sites like ebay.com. Try and sell there.
2. List all the products everyday. Use only one contact name. Give the link of website, so that they feel like an established company
3. Try and get contacts from the existing customers
4. Maintain the customers contact base
5. Be in contact with them .Offer discounts whenever possible to free customers
6. Offer gifts on the special occasions in their lifes like birthdays, marriages,..
7. Give online advertising, which is the cheapest form
8. Have some public stalls at appropriate places.
9. Use palm plates to build awareness
10. Have deals with local retailers
If you do at least six of the above mentioned points correctly then you are going to succeed in your business