Finding a good business idea, finding the right market, understanding your competition, and looking for unique competitive advantages are all important components to setting up a successful business. Company registration is another fundamental step in getting your business up and running and one that most people don’t pay enough attention to.
In reality, the way you form and register your company can have an impact on nearly every other aspect of your business. The better you understand the implications of business registration, the better you will be able to manage this part of the business to your benefit. If you are managing company registration without a consultant and have no prior experience, here are a few things you should keep in mind.
1. The Value of a Name
You can look at the name of the business in two ways. One is that the name defines the business itself. The other is that the name has no significance, it could be an abstract concept, and the business gives the name its value. Both approaches have their own pros and cons.
If you go with the former approach, recognition is far quicker and easier to get. For instance, if your name says ‘burger’ in it, it will be a little easier for customers to understand that you most likely sell burgers or something to do with burgers and food in general. Developing a business with an abstract name can be difficult in the first few years but later on, that word becomes a brand name. This adds a lot of value to the organization, but it takes a lot of work too. It’s also important to note that registering a business name is different from registering a business. Ideally, name registration should be the first step to your business registration. This way you can even trademark your brand when you need to and you’re protected from a range of problems that arise when more than one business has the same name.
2. The Impact of a Business Structure
A lot of businesses start out as sole proprietorships, but this doesn’t mean you have to do the same. Technically, you can launch your organization in any structure that you want. If you have the capital and resources, you could even start out with a limited company, or even a public company.
The kind of business you have, in terms of the legal structure of the organization, has a big impact on how easy or difficult it is to register your business. Naturally, different kinds of businesses have very different requirements when they need to register themselves. The team at uniwide.co.uk explains in great detail the pros and cons of each business type and what is necessary to register that kind of organization. Generally, the smaller the business type, the easier it is to register. However, just because a business is a partnership doesn’t mean it is smaller than a limited company, for example. The kind of organization you choose doesn’t limit the scale of your operations. It’s only when you start to grow really large companies that these things start to make a difference.
3. Location
Another misconception is that you need to physically be present in a region to be able to register a business there. While this might have been true a few decades ago, technology is quickly changing this. Today, it is completely possible to register a business virtually in a different part of the country or even in a different part of the world and still have ownership of that organization. Since operations of the business can be performed remotely, it doesn’t matter where your business is. However, certain localities do offer benefits that you can get anywhere else. For instance, if you choose to register a business in the UAE, you can save yourself from taxes since it is a tax-free region.
4. Capital
One of the most important things for any new business is capital. Of course, the less capital you need, the better, but all businesses need some money to get the ball rolling. How you choose to register your business and where you choose to register will have a direct impact on how you can raise financing. Lenders of all kinds will be very interested to know the legality of your business as well as the profitability of the enterprise. When registering a business keep in mind the specific requirements that lenders may have and decide accordingly.
5. Permits
Certain businesses such as automobile dealerships, liquor stores, plumbers, and others, need permits or licenses to operate. The state or the federal government will require the business to follow certain policies and meet specific regulations in order to be eligible for a license. Among these requirements is that the license applicant must be a registered business or be registered as an individual service provider, to be considered for the permit. When you are registering your company you should take licensing and permit requirements into consideration so that you can set up a company type that will allow you to apply for what you need down the line.
6. Payments
Processing payments is increasingly becoming a problem for businesses as they start to serve customers in different areas through the internet. This is particularly problematic for businesses that are serving a global audience. In order to open up an account or become part of a payment processing ecosystem businesses need to be registered organizations and they need to be able to provide evidence of their transactions through proper channels. Registering a business the right way will help you negotiate different payment-related challenges more effectively and makes it easier for you to expand and serve a larger audience.
When registering your business, it’s important that you get in touch with an expert to consult. Business formation policies and regulations can vary a lot from one state to another so you need to know exactly what is required in your state to properly register a business. Similarly, if you are looking for a federal registration then you’ll need to look into what the specifics are for that process. Ideally, your consultant should be an expert in your industry and someone who can help you get through the process as quickly as possible. Rather than looking for the most cost-effective option, your focus should be on getting quality service to help you get started with the business as soon as possible and with as few hurdles as possible.
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