STARTING UP A BUSINESS IN
BC, CANADA
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Steps to Starting a Small Business
SOME
STEPS TO STARTING A SMALL BUSINESS
1.
UNDERSTAND GOD'S PURPOSES for Business in the Marketplace
2. PREPARE
YOURSELF and lay some helpful foundations - ie. understanding
biblical business principles, reading what others have to say about
it to help you avoid potential pitfalls and help you to think through
things that need to be thought through before you embark on something
which has great potential for success and failure.
An excellent place to start
is here: Planning
a Successful Small Business - very helpful articles, etc.!!
Other very helpful info - and coaching
available:
SCRUPLES
for MarketPlace Christians
Centre
for Entrepreneurship and Ecomonic Development
and
Int'l Christian Chamber
of Commerce
Pray
for God to provide for you some godly Christian business people
who can help to mentor you in various ways as He leads you step by step
in these directions.
DEVELOP YOUR VISION STATEMENT/PURPOSE
STATEMENT to help you focus on what you feel you are to do with your
business - to help you get going, and help you to stay on course as
you go
Develop your CORE VALUES of how you
believe God wants you to operate your business in a way which glorifies
and honors Him. (philosophy of business). Tip: Lasting ministry and
business, etc. develops out of RELATIONSHIPS - relationships of integrity
and respect.
Develop your PRIORITIES according to
God's perspective and leading so that you don't end up losing your family,
relationship with God, friends, health, etc. or burn out because your
priorities are not in proper order.
A great 'business course' which you
can take free of charge is to read the book of PROVERBS in the Bible
over and over!
RESEARCH and do a FEASIBILITY STUDY
on whether your potential business can be viable
The
Christian Entrepreneur Self Diagnosis Questionaire
The
Pros and Cons of Small Business
The
Six Sides of Business Success
Types
of Private Sector Business
Mistakes
Not to Make When Starting in Business
Summary
of Business Plan and Contents
3.
ORGANIZE A PLACE (in your home?) where you have
space to organize files and info that you will be putting together
over time to help lay the foundations of your business. You may wish
to purchase a file box with hanging file folders and some files. You
will also likely wish to begin to put together some initial files on
your computer in a 'business' section to help you get started: ie. admin.,
finances, research, resources, databases, spreadsheets, contact list,
products and/or services, etc. What you will need in this regard will
become more evident as you proceed step by step.
4.
WHAT TYPE OF BUSINESS ARE YOU WANTING TO START?
Decide
What Type of Business You Want to Register/Incorporate
5. THINK
OF A NAME for your company
Do a
Name Search - first think of several other options
in case you cannot reserve your first choice
6. INCORPORATE
Once you know what kind
of company you want, what the best way to incorporate your company is
(if you need to incorporate), have decided whether to incorporate provincially
or federally (or whether you're able to come under the umbrella of another
company or under a charitable organization - depending on what you're
doing), have decided where you will begin your company (home office
or elsewhere), then you can go through the process of incorporation.
You can do this online and should receive your incorporation papers
back within a few business days. Read the fine print and make sure you
do your homework! Understanding the process and legalities is IMPORTANT!
Do
a NAME SEARCH online - first step
Choose 3 Potential Business
Names and Decide who the Corporate Directors will be. Also, what will
your office address be?
Incorporate
your Company - Provincial or Federal - check first which would be
best for your situation - they will give you your Business No. as well
Find
out how soon you will be required to begin to submit tax forms for your
company.
Incorporation
fees are renewable annually.
7. BUSINESS LICENSES
Check with your local Chamber of Commerce
or local City Hall to find out what type/s of business licenses you
will require. You
may need several, renewable annually, depending on what your business
entails.
Get A Business License or HERE
for Surrey, BC
8.
TAXES / GST, PST, etc.
Find out from Revenue Canada, or Ontario
Business Central, etc. what you will need in terms of GST forms, etc.
to fill out and other tax info you will need to know.
9. OPEN
A BANK ACCOUNT FOR YOUR BUSINESS
10. OPEN A POST OFFICE
BOX for Your Business - it makes it more professional
than having it come to your home address. Also, it's less of a hassle
and expense should you move your home location.
11. RESERVE A DOMAIN NAME for
Your Business (if you wish to have a web site) -
highly recommended. You can check out such options such as www.doteasy.com
First step is to go to a site
such as www.doteasy.com and do a search...see if the name you want is
still available
If you know how to develop
your own web site and have the programs for that, then you're off! But
if you do not know how to develop a web site, we can direct you to folks
that you could talk with about this who you could negotiate with if
you wish to have them develop the site for you.
12. GET
AN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
If you get a domain name for
a company web site, you will likely get several email addresses with
that domain name along with your package. If not, you could potentially
begin with a free hotmail or yahoo email address. Just keep in mind
that it is a hassle to change email addresses later on, so the more
you can plan ahead, the more time and money you can probably save in
the future.
13. DEVELOP a LOGO
Keep in mind, when you develop
a logo, that it is something you will likely want to use for business
cards, letterhead, envelopes, signs, receipts, invoices, display signs,
etc. Colors are great but you may not always be able to have it in color
(sometimes due to cost, for example) and so you may want to see how
well your logo looks in both color AND black and white.
14. DEVELOP YOUR
LETTERHEAD, BUSINESS CARDS, BROCHURES and other marketing materials
to help you begin to introduce your company once it's ready to be introduced
15.
DEVELOP YOUR WEB SITE
Think through everything
that you need to begin with and try to plan ahead as much as possible
for what you will need to include in the future. Think through a layout
which is user-friendly and easy to navigate. (this web site is not a
great example of this since I began this web site as a total beginner
and have been learning as I go - I am in the process of revamping it
over time as able)... keep in mind that if you want people in the two-thirds
world to also be easily accessible to your web site, you may not want
to have it as high tech as many western web sites are, since they may
have much slower and less advanced computers and also have to pay a
lot more money for time on the internet.
Check out a lot of company
web sites before you begin, in order to find out what you like and what
the main things you need to include on your site will be...ie. about
your company, products or services you provide, perhaps a bit about
your history??, contact info, ordering info, financial options, privacy
policy, etc.
Consider what level
of security you may need for your site...will some parts be accessible
only to specific people?
Develop it yourself
or find someone to develop it for you. Find someone reliable and trustworthy
to maintain your web site if you are not able to do so or do not want
to do so.
Add things to your site that can help
bring in traffic...I understand that putting free e-card capabilities/opportunities
on your site can help to do this, for example...
16.
COPYRIGHTS & TRADEMARKS
Do your research about trademarks and copyrights..find
out whether you need one or both, depending on what your business is
about...also so you can protect yourself from potentially infringing
on those rights of others
Canadian Info on TRADEMARKS - Industry
Canada - Vancouver - Ph: 604-666-5000
Canadian
Trademark Main Page
Fax: (604) 666-8330
17.
RESEARCH
There will be much to research if you
want to build a solid company and products. Keep your eyes and ears
open for potentially helpful research info and keep helpful research
info carefully filed so it's handy when you need it.
Do good research when considering new products,
sources, potential business partners, legalities, tax info, import/export
law, etc. etc.
RESEARCH and do a FEASIBILITY STUDY
on whether your potential business can be viable
Get some LEGAL COUNSEL
to help you lay some legal groundwork to keep your company running safely
and within the boundaries of Canadian and international law.
18. DEVELOP
Your BUDGET and FINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Develop appropriate databases, spreadsheets,
order forms, receipts, invoices, statements, etc.
Exploring
Your Financing Options
19. DEVELOP APPROPRIATE CONTRACTS
20. MARKETING
What is a biblical perspective on marketing?
Do your homework. Jesus was the best marketer around, yet He didn't
pressure or manipulate people and He was truthful and full of integrity.
We have much to learn from Him in the way He got the word out about
the Kingdom of God... Marketing in itself is not wrong, but it is often
handled in ways which are ungodly. Christians can be a light in the
business world in the quality of their marketing and relationships,
among many other business and personal aspects of their lives.
Develop a marketing
strategy - what is your goal/vison? A strategy to reach the vision will
include various components which should help to compliment each other
in order to help build your business.
For example, you will likely want to
make use things like: business cards, brochures, web sites, displays,
networking opportunities, yellow pages, advertizing, etc., but also
be creative...let the Holy Sprit guide you as you seek His directions
step by step. He may surprise you with some very innovative and successful
approaches which others haven't tried...
21. OTHER
Develop a Board or Advisory
Counsel
Staff Issues - should
you or should you not have staff? Why or why not? Pros/cons?
Other
Resources...
Small
Business Start Up
Case
One: Business Start Up
Case
Two: Small Business Start Up
Links
for Marketplace Christians
Links
to Helpful Small Business Sites
Managing
a Small Business
Small
Business Resources
Starting
Up a Software Business in a Tough City Neighbourhood - no regrets
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