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New business?
However small
it may be,
success requires
proper planning,
preparation and
insight.
YOUR
RIGHTS In business, there are no
guarantees. There’s simply
no way to eliminate risks
associated with starting an
enterprise. But you can improve
chances of success with good
planning, preparation and insight.
Find out what to consider when
starting a business.
Drawing up a business plan
It’s important to draft a
comprehensive and thoughtful
business plan. Much hinges on
it: Outside funding, credit from
suppliers, management of your
operation and finances, promotion
and marketing of your business,
and achievement of your goals
and objectives.
Creating a business plan will
force you to think about key issues
before you start your enterprise,
such as raising money and your
projected start-up costs and
marketing strategies. This will help
you figure out if your idea is
a winner.
Naming
The core of naming a business lies
in understanding the trademark
law. Trademarks help consumers
identify the makers of the goods
or services. Often, the name of
your company may also be used
as a trademark to identify your
company’s offerings. What’s in a
name, you may wonder. But if you
choose something too similar to a
competitor’s name, you might be
accused of violating the their legal
rights, and you could be forced to
change it and even pay monetary
damages. A good business name
should be:
■ Distinctive
■ Memorable
■ Easily spelled and
pronounced
■ Suggest the products or
services you offer
■ Distinguish you from your
competitors
Partnerships
Many people opt for partnerships
with their friends or relatives for
doing business, because they
feel very comfortable dealing with
people they have known for a long
time. But before you do, create
a Partnership Agreement which
should include the following:
■ Amount of equity invested by
each partner
■ Type of business
■ How profit and loss will be
shared
■ Each partner’s pay and
compensation
■ Distribution of assets on
dissolution
■ Provisions for changes or
dissolving the partnership
■ Dispute settlement clause
■ Settlement in case of death or
incapacitation
■ Restrictions of authority
and expenditures
Financing A new business
Money can be raised either by
borrowing it from a friend, family
member, bank or selling ownership
interests (equity) in your business.
There’s no hard and fast rule on
the best way to raise money; you’ll
have to evaluate your situation
and decide what kind of loan or
investment you’re willing to take.
If you are going beyond family
and friends for loans or equity
investments, you’ll definitely need
a business plan.
If you take a loan, you will
have to repay the money over
time (usually monthly), with
interest. The lender won’t receive
an ownership interest in your
business, and you won’t have to
share any of your future profits
with the lender. On the other hand,
if you raise money by selling equity
(ownership interests), you will
not have to make these monthly
payments or repay the investment
at any particular date.
L e g a l
All about you
The business of
doing business
your business is profitable, you’ll
need to share the profits with your
investors, generally in proportion
to the percentage of the business
they own.
Licences and permits
Business licences and permits
can range from the general (a
basic trade licence to operate
a business within a city), to the
specific (a permit to sell alcohol/
firearms/food items). Bear in mind
that regulations vary by industry.
Investigate into the licensing
and permit requirements that
affect your industry, and avoid
any temptation to ignore these
important regulatory details.
Being out of licensing and permit
compliance could leave you
unprotected legally, which may
lead to expensive penalties, and
can jeopardise your business.
Location of workplace
There is no universal rule for
choosing a business location.
The biggest consideration is
sometimes not where it is but
what it is. The building facilities
need to be appropriate for your
business whether you are working
from home, a business centre or
a rented space. Or you could take
up space in a market with similar
businesses or consumer groups.
Entering into agreements
Be mindful of employment
contracts as these take different
forms. All employees at a
company may be asked to sign
the same form of contract, or
each employee may have a
contract with the employer that
is exclusively applicable to his
or her employment agreement.
It mentions the kind of work the
employee will do, for how long,
and at what rate of pay. Please
consult an attorney who can
advise you about Confidentiality
and Non-Competition Agreements,
and clauses pertaining to
ownership of inventions, exclusive
employment, termination,
minimum wages, bonus,
arbitration and jurisdiction.
In almost all business dealings,
every time you or your company
agrees to take some action or
make a payment in exchange
for anything of value, a legal
contract is created. Make sure
that you and the other party
agree on the meaning of any
potentially ambiguous words or
phrases. Even a misplaced (or
unnoticed) punctuation mark can
dramatically change the scope of
your rights and obligations under a
contract. Watch out for commonly
misused words. When you agree to
bimonthly payments, for instance,
do you understand that you will be
paid every other month? Or do you
expect to be paid twice a month?
Some business agreements may
be simple enough for the regular
person to draft, while others may
require the help of a lawyer.
Advertising
If your advertisement is deceptive,
you’ll face legal problems even
if you had the best intentions
while framing it. In addition, if
your advertisement contains a
false statement, you have already
violated the law. The fact that you
didn’t know ‘the information was
false’ is irrelevant. Advertisements
should conform to laws and
should not go against morality,
decency and the religious
susceptibilities of people.
Business Advisors
Finally, the key to success for any
entrepreneur is to have the best
set of advisors, not necessarily
the most expensive but the
ones you can trust totally. These
may includes lawyers, chartered
accountants, insurance advisors,
and bankers among others.
Decide on the meaing of potentially
ambiguous phrases. Even a misplaced
punctuat ion mark can change the
scope of your rights and obligat ions
Pekingese
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