04 May Starting a New Business

Starting your new business is an exciting and rewarding experience that is also riddled with questions and anxiety.  

You have your great idea, product, service… but how do you get started?

Here are some of the steps you will need to consider to launch your new enterprise.

Create a business plan

You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint.  Your business plan is the blueprint for your business.  Creating a business plan helps refine your vision of the company’s purpose, how it serves your customer base, where your business lives in the competitive marketplace, why it rises above the competition, what capital it requires…

Your plan includes your mission statement, marketing plans, budgets and forecasts, personnel plan, technology plan, workflows and processes, and all aspects your business needs to be successful. Your plan is especially important if you have partners, investors, bankers, and other collaborators to ensure that you are communicating the correct information and that you are all “on the same page”.  As your business grows you can measure your progress against the data in your business plan.

Name your business

Choosing your business name is very important to meeting your company’s objectives. Your name should aid in branding your business, differentiate you from your competition, be unique from other company names (no court cases please!), be the same as your web site address, and be available!

Check the availability of your name through your local or state office used to register your business. Usually this in an online database of businesses registered in that locality that you can search.

Once you choose an available name check to see if the domain that matches is available. Use a domain registration service, such as Godaddy or the many others available, to check if the corresponding website is available.  Once we were limited to a few extensions – .com, .net, and .org. but now there are many additional extensions including .co, .us, .pub, .solutions, and on and on. In considering extensions other than .com, .net, .org be mindful that they meet the intended branding requirements and do not make your url too long.  You will be using the domain name in your email address!  You don’t want to have to say “Email me at jane.smith@ididnotthinkabouthowlongmydomainnameis.solutions” for the rest of your life!

Select your business structure

Businesses can operate as a Sole Proprietorship, Corporation (Both C and S-Corp), Limited Liability Company (LLC) and others.  There are advantages and disadvantages of each type of entity including liability, capitalization and tax issues.

Sole Proprietorship is the simplest form of business structure as it is owned by one individual who is the legal entity of the business and, as such, fully liable for the actions of the business.   The net income of the business is taxed through the owner’s individual tax return using the Schedule C therefore a separate business tax return is not required.

Limited Liability Companies can be owned by one or many individual members.  This structure provides the liability protection of a Corporation while providing the flexibility of a partnership or sole proprietorship.  A single member (one owner) LLC files taxes the same way as a sole-proprietor through the Schedule C of the individual income tax return.  LLC’s that have multiple owners file a separate business tax return as a partnership or S-Corp depending on elections.  The LLC does not pay business taxes.  It is a flow-through entity with the net income of the business flowing to each members’ individual income tax return.

Corporations issue shares of stock that can be owned by one or many individuals or other entities. This entity has officers that report to a board of directors of the company.  A C Corporation is subject to corporate taxes but has unique tax benefits.  An S-Corporation is a business election made by a C Corp through the IRS to be taxed as a flow-through entity.  Like the LLC the net income is taxed on each shareholders’ individual income tax return.

Your attorney and accountant can help you decide which entity meets your business needs and objectives.

Determine your business location

There are many options for your business location depending on your business model and financial considerations.  Will your business be home or office based?  Will you buy or lease the space?

A home based business may be a good starting place for your new business.  Be sure to check with local zoning regulations to ensure you can operate from your home.  Also consider your space and technology requirements.  Do you have the internet and phone services needed?  Can you accept and ship packages?  Can you work without distractions from other members of the household? Will you be able to have employees work in your home? Do you want your customers and clients to have your home address or do you need a PO Box?  You will want your home based business to offer the most efficient and stress free environment while reducing your startup and operating costs and meeting your business objectives.

A leased or purchased business location may make sense for your business.  Shared office space may be a good alternative for service based businesses.  Professional shared offices offer turnkey solutions that include technology friendly conference rooms (flat screen televisions, electrical outlets for devices), receptionist services, kitchens with beverages, copier and scanning services, internet and telephone systems and more.  Commercial real estate agents are a valuable resource for choosing a leased or purchased location.

Choose your technologies

Technology also plays a huge role in setting up your business. You will need to choose your phone service, internet service, delivery services, software, domain and website provider, and other technologies needed to run your business and serve your customers.  Cloud-based services are available for most, if not all, of your technology needs.  In addition to accessing your services from anywhere utilizing multiple devices, you also benefit from “built-in” IT and tech support.

TBooks is here to help

We would be happy to show you how our integrated suite of technologies and skill professionals will take the accounting and document storage portion of your new business start-up off your plate.  Our cloud-based document storage and retrieval services are included in the TBooks services and our accounting solutions are also web-based and accessible 24/7/365.

Contact us today for a free consultation.