Starting With A Dream
Before you can move forward, you need to adopt goals and a
philosophy for your business. In other words, what do you want your business to
achieve and what are the values you want to adopt to achieve those goals. You
can start by asking yourself:
Why am I in business? What products or services am I going to
sell? What customers am I serving and how will they benefit from my product or
service. How successful do I want to be? What values will I adopt towards my
customers and employees? You must be specific!
Once you have defined your goals and philosophy, it’s going to
make it much easier for you to achieve what you have set out to do, because you
will know what you want to achieve. Making the right decisions before your
business opens its doors can mean the difference between success and failure.
Some other questions to ask at this stage are:
What is the best
structure for my business? You should consider the pros and cons
of trading as a sole trader, partnership, trust or company.
Do I have a suitable
business plan? If you need to raise money a business plan will
be essential to support an application for finance. Regardless, it will be
essential for your planning in the first months and years of your business. A
good business plan includes projections of income and outgoings, as well as a
clear explanantion of how and why your business will succeed.
Have I set up adequate
reporting systems and procedures? These are essential because
they enable you to monitor, control, and evaluate the performance of your
business. They also help you delegate effectively and enable you to focus on the
most important tasks, including planning.
Have I given enough thought to my
retirement plans? It is never too early to start planning for
retirement. Sooner, rather than later you will need to decide what resources to
commit to your retirement planning. If you are self employed you may wish to set
up one or more plans. If you plan to operate your business through a company you
could consider the advantages of setting up a company plan.
Who should
own my
business? You might think the obvious answer is, ‘Me,’ but using
an appropriate structure such as a family trust could be very could greatly
simplify for your long-term exit and succession strategy. You may also consider
share incentives to attract and retain staff.
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