Business Registration
Posted by admin on November 4, 2009 - (0)
Registering the business could be considered to be the penultimate round towards setting up a business. This involves some amount of paper work and roughly comprises of a few steps which need to followed register a business. It is advisable to register your business at the earliest once you are through with the necessary homework as it helps you to get on with your business. Some of the steps are:
1. Medium chosen to register
It is up to you to choose whether you want to register your business online or by going to the respective office in your county or city. Either ways, you will have to get hold of the approval form which would have to be filled with your respective details. Make sure you read the form thoroughly before you start filling it.
2. A proper business name
The next step you would need to do is to come up with a good name for your business. This goes a long way in contributing to the success of your business. You would need to consider some aspects such as the domain area of your business, products or services being dealt and recollection while choosing the name. Once you find one, you would also need to check the availability of the same by conforming with the office.
3. Submission of the form
Once you are done with finding the name and the completing the necessary paper work, you need to submit the forms. Before you submit the form, ensure that all the fields have been filled properly. This would avoid inconvenience and speed up the registration process.
The submission could be done on the web or by visiting the concerned office in your city or county. Some offices have automated the whole process while some others accept both electronic and paper based forms.
4. Registering your business name
After the submission of the forms, you would be required to register the business name. Generally offices give some certain time within which owners or proprietors need to you disclose the structure of business. You would also be required to submit your declaration form for a Sole Proprietorship or Partnership or file your Incorporation papers before the time period elapses.
There are websites for different states to register your business such as http://www.state.nj.us/njbgs/ for New Jersey and similar ones for other states too. These also vary from country to country, like http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/business/topics/bn/bro/menu-e.html for Canada and so on. So all you need to do is to visit the respective website of your state and fill in the forms and you could be on your way to kick starting your own business!
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Selecting your Business Name
Posted by admin on November 4, 2009 - (0)
Another important thing required before starting a business is a proper name to the business. A unique and powerful name in the present world holds the key to your business to a great extent. Not only does it make it bona fide but establishes your business in people’s mind.
There are several things which you should keep in mind while choosing the appropriate name for your business. A few of them are mentioned here:
1. A name that draws business
The name should be such that it should give the audience or consumer a whiff about your business along with maintains some amount of suspense. For example- Microsoft suggests something to do with technology but does not disclose all the cards at the same time!
2) Name has to be memorable – but easy to spell.
The ease with which people or customers are able to recollect the name of your business determines its success. Not only that, they should be able to find it easily if they’re looking for it in a phone book, directory or online.
2) A winning business name needs a visual element.
Correlation is another factor which comes in handy when you think of a name. So, a name should have some element of visual in it so that it leads to visualization! For example- Microsoft windows has four different colored windows which nowadays universally represent the product and the brand. So you want your business name to have a strong visual element to it. The catch is that.
3) A winning business name has to have positive connotation.
Many words have both denotation (literal meaning) and connotation (emotional meaning). A word’s connotation can be positive, What it means to you is that when you create a business name, you need to choose words that have the positive connotations that you want people to associate with your business – and make sure these connotations are suitable for your business.
So for a trucking business, for instance, you wouldn’t want to have a weak sounding or negative name, such as “Puppy Transport”. Instead a name which conveys strength and reliability such as “Stone Creek Trucking” would be much better. Such strong visual elements make a great deal of difference for the name of the business.
4) A good name has to relate to your business
Another way to increase correlation is by drawing some parallel between the name and you business. This would enable easy recollection for the customers and they won’t be caught searching in the mid air for your business name! For example ‘Smokin Joe’s’ instantly gives you some idea of something related to food
Including information about what your business does in your business name also makes it easier for potential customers and/or clients to find your business in phone books and directories. A few other things you need to ask yourself should be
- Does the name appeal to my target customers?
- Does the name distinguish me in the marketplace?
Once you find an answer to these queries and keep the above points in mind, you will be able to arrive at a name which will kick start your business.
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What is Franchising?
Posted by admin on November 4, 2009 - (0)
In this business structure, a franchisor licenses trademarks and tried and proven methods of doing business to a franchisee in exchange for a recurring payment, and usually a percentage piece of gross sales or gross profits as well as the annual fees.
Various tangibles and intangibles such as national or international advertising, training, and other support services are commonly made available by the entity licensing the ‘chain store’ or franchise outlet.
Franchisor generally requires audited books and may subject the franchisee or the outlet to periodic and surprise spot checks. Failure of such tests typically involve non-renewal or cancellation of franchise rights.
Certain characteristics of this business structure are:
- The parties involved typically enter a franchise agreement, which binds the parties together through contractual provisions. This is an arrangement whereby someone with an idea for a business (the franchisor), sells to another person (the franchisee) the rights to use the business’s name, sell a product, or provide a service to someone else.
- A franchise agreement usually specifies the given territory the franchisee retains exclusive control over (the area protection), as well as the extent to which the franchisee will be supported by the franchisor (e.g. training and marketing campaigns).
This business structure too has its set of advantages and disadvantages, some of which have been mentioned here:
Advantages of Franchising:
- This structure enables people to start up a new business quickly based on a proven trademark and formula of doing business
- As long as their brand and formula are carefully designed and properly executed, franchisors are able to expand their brand very rapidly across countries and continents
- This also helps them become financially strong quickly
Disadvantages of Franchising
- One of the main disadvantages that franchisees face is that of loss of control.
- The franchisee is required to follow the system and get approval of changes with the franchisor and thus loses his individuality
- Another problem is that the franchisor/franchisee relationship can easily give rise to litigation
So you have now finished with all the business structures and ready to start a home office
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