HOW TO START A BUSINESS - A GUIDE

Ideas matter, and if it’s a brilliant one that’s been unheard of, then nothing like it. But what’s important for your business to stand out? Being passionate and ready to pour in hard work. Whatever may be the reason to start your own business, here is a simple guide that might help you in your entrepreneurial journey.

The foremost thing is to have an idea in mind that is decided according to your passion and interest. What is also important is to make your product or service excellent so that it adds value to your customers.

Do an in depth analysis of similar businesses. Make sure to look at their mistakes, success points and business model. This will help you learn from them and create a better model for your business.

A well thought out plan is necessary when starting a business. It is advisable to have a plan devised for one year initially, from the date of starting to the same date next year. This should include:

1. The budget for that year
2. The capital and investment that is going to be flushed into the business
3. The expected revenue you will be generating.

The next step is to hunt for investors or approach the bank for a loan. Investors can also include yourself, family and friends.

A detailed business model also helps investors believe that the business won’t incur losses.

Once the plan is ready, the next step is to register your business with the government of India as a Business Entity. Here are the most common types of business entities:

● Sole proprietorship – It is a type of business owned and run by one person i.e., there is no distinction between the business and owner. This is suitable for small businesses which have no more than 10 employees. The registration for this happens with the local authority of the place where you live. For example - if it’s a city, the municipality deals with this.
● One Person Company (OPC) – In this case, the owner is not liable if anything were to happen to the company. The role of an owner, director and the shareholder will be played by the person in this situation.
● Private Limited Company (Pvt Ltd) – Here, the minimum number of directors and shareholders have to be two each and there can be a maximum of 200 shareholders. The shareholders of such a company are not liable if anything happens to it. Preferable for the corporate sector.
● Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) – This is best suited for professionals and for short-term businesses that have to be dissolved once the goal has been attained.

Once your company is registered with the GOI, tax registrations have to be done:

● GST Registration – If the turnover of the company is estimated to be more than 20 lacs (in some states it is 10 lacs). This is also to be done if you’re dealing with inter-state or inter-country export and import or it’s an eCommerce related business.
● Import Export Code Registration – If the company deals with imports and exports.
● Professional Tax – Only in selected states.
● Employee State Insurance Registration – If the company has 10+ employees.
● Provident Fund Registration – If the company has 20+ employees.
● MSME Registration – This is not mandatory, but has heaps of benefits like – ease of getting a loan from the bank, tax subsidies, etc.

These are regulations and laws that every company has to abide by mandatorily. Some of them are:

● Income Tax Returns
● Accounting
● GST Returns (monthly & quarterly)
● Secretarial Compliance
● Statutory Audit

Once the legalities are done with, you can focus on growing your business. Build your dream team and develop a company personnel structure. This helps in stabilising the business when it comes to taking important decisions.
Investing into marketing and advertising is also very crucial. It helps in bringing the company to the forefront and also increases traffic to the stores.

The next step is selling! See where you’d like to sell your product.

Online is a great way to start distributing your products. You can sell products from the comfort of your home and that too 24X7! With an established marketplace it becomes easy for the seller to see a rise in revenue from the initial phase. Amazon is one such online retailer that helps its sellers to register, list products and keep a track of their business in a hassle-free manner.

One can explore two routes of opening an online store – become a seller on an already existing eCommerce platform like Amazon or get the company its own website

1) Selling on an existing eCommerce platform like Amazon or build your own website
2) Register and add products and product details to the website
3) Explore shipping options
4) Add payment options
5) Prepare to launch

If you have limited resources, investment and don’t want to go through the trouble of having a physical store or warehouse, we have got you covered. Fulfilment by Amazon takes care of your storage, packaging, and shipping needs. We also provide third party services that would take care of your advertising & marketing needs.
Now that you have an overview about how to start a business, what’s stopping the inner entrepreneur in you? Get started today!