Tips on how to plan and start a business

Planning and starting a business is quite daunting. But for entrepreneurs and businessmen, the stress in planning is but a very tiny portion when compared to what they plan to achieve once they enter their chosen market and have their own unique success stories.

If you want to start your own business, here are a few steps you can follow to help you plan:

Choose the right industry. On top of knowing what you enjoy doing, choosing the right industry to venture into would require you to know the type of businesses that are profitable and feasible in terms of your current resources. You have to consider your financial capacity, the state of the economy, your location, and the feasibility of your plan.

Prepare the business plan. After deciding on the industry you want to venture into, you have to make your business plan. A business plan should contain your target market, location, financials of the business, marketing strategy, operations, human resource policies—if you plan to have employees—and all the necessary research work you need to do in conceptualizing your business. Learn as much as you can about your planned business while creating your business plan. It would be best also to ask around for comments and suggestions regarding your plan.

File the necessary legal documents and registrations. The legal documents you need to file would depend on what type of ownership you will be using for your business. Sole proprietorship is the easiest and least costly to set up—for this, you need to file your business at the Department of Trade and Industry. A partnership would require you to file your partnership at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Setting up a corporation would require you to submit a lot of requirements, such as reservation of the corporation’s name at the SEC, submitting your by-laws and corporate structure, to name a few. Of course, additional requirements may be needed for specific types of businesses. Restaurants, for example, would have to secure a sanitary certificate for them to operate, while schools should be accredited by either or both of DepEd and CHEd.

Implement and operate. Now that you have finished your research and plan, have filed all the necessary requirements for business operation, done some legwork in searching for suppliers, it is time for the actual implementation. For most, the first few years of your company is the most challenging. It might take you a while to recover your capital. During the first few years, you will also encounter a lot of problems so have patience and be prepared for adjustments because hard work and persistence are essential elements to success in any start-up venture.

BusinessCoach, Inc., a leading business seminar provider, conducts an excellent seminar entitled “How to Plan and Start a Business.” Contact (02) 727-5628, (02) 727-8860, (0915) 205-0133 or visit www.businesscoachphil.com for details.

Click here to view details of the seminar: How to Plan and Start a Business »

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. C-4, Sunday, May 25, 2014. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.