If you planning to start-up your corporation, you need to know steps to follow it up. We summarized basic steps in order to start any corporations. However, type of business and location that you will operate might vary from the list provided below.
1. Business Name: Whatever you are planning for your business, either selling a product or providing services locally or internationally, you need to have a business name. And most important things for the name is has to be easy to say and easy to remember. Following questions will help you to find right name for your business:
What’s my business about?
What is the company’s mission and vision?
What’s the company’s target market?
When you answer these questions, most likely you will have list of names in your mind. Then ask yourself following questions:
Does it make sense for my business?
Is it easy to say and remember?
Are business legal and domain names available?
2. Register Your Corporate name: This is very important step because the name you choose from the step one shouldn’t be taken by another company. In order to do that you can order a NUANS Report. This report provides the availability of the proposed corporate name and also requested by Corporation Canada to incorporate your business.
3. Register Domain Name: This step should have completed along with second step, before you registered your company, you need to ensure that domain name is available. Once you register your corporation legally, you need to ensure to register domain name for your business as well. If you don’t register domain name, initially will have no impact on your business to start-up and grow but in log-term it may.
4. Obtain business licenses and permits: Depending on your industry and where you located, you may need to investigate and apply for business licenses and permits.
5. GST/HST, Payroll, Import/Export and WSIB Accounts: During registration of corporation, you can or must also register these tax accounts. For instance, if the business has employees you have to register Payroll and WSIB, if you are planning to import and export, this account may assist you or if your business income generates more than $30,000 annually you have to register GST/HST account for your business.
6. Bank Account: Opening a business bank account helps any business in many ways, even though the company does not have any assets, liability and revenue. It will help you to organizing your company records and accounts for taxation purposes, starting credit history with the bank, tracking with your business plan and so on.
7. Business Plan: Every business needs business plan in order to grow and achieve the company’s goals and objectives. If you think once your business grows then do, that’s really wrong! Your business will never grow without a plan. With business plan which includes generally the company’s mission, goals and targets, constrains, marketing and risk strategies, alternatives to grow, budgeting, projected financial statements etc. will assist you to build- track-adjust your business.
8. Budgeting: This step is most important step for start-up business because before you make money you need to figure out how you spent it. You need to know how much money you have, how much you can spend, and how much you need to achieve the company’s goals and objectives. Even though this step is part of the business plan step which is usually reviewed annually, you need to separate, focus and track your business daily, monthly basis by doing budgeting.
9. Set-up a Web Site: In today’s business world, web site is a necessary for any business that you are in. Initially, you do not have to have sophisticated, complex web site, just put the company name, product or services that you are providing, contact information and run it as soon as possible.
10. Social Media Profiles and Updates: This step comes with business plan. Based on your industry and business that you are in you need to have marketing strategies and social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and so on. This is one of the best way to build your business and grow.