5 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Own Business

Getting free from dominating bosses and the possibility to make your own decisions is one of the lures of starting your own business.

As attractive as it looks, not everyone is suited for self-employment. Before you go ahead with any plan to start a business it is important to take a close look at yourself and ask yourself some important questions.

1. Do you have enough start-up capital and a back-up income?
It takes money to make money, even if it is only a home business. Make sure that you have enough funds to equip yourself and begin marketing before taking the plunge. Also, don't expect to make a lot of money in the early stages of your business.

You will need to set aside enough money to provide for you and your family during the initial start-up period for your business. Consult with other similar businesses and find out how long it took them to become viable.

2. Are you a self-moving person?
This is the key quality that separates an employee from and entrepreneur. If you need to wait around and be told what to do, then you would find it easier to get a job with a company rather than to launch your own business.

On the other hand, if you are able to think of an idea and carry it out without prodding from someone else, then you may be able to succeed in your own business.

3. Are you willing to work more than a standard 9-5 day?
When you work for someone else you are contracted to work a certain schedule. At the end of the day, you can often able to just forget about the job, go home and relax.

When you have your own business you carry a load of responsibility on your shoulders and you will often end up working longer hours than a normal salaried employee. If you like what you are doing and if your business is financially rewarding then you may not mind putting in a lot of extra hours and working when other people are resting.

Once again, there is no "right" or "wrong" here. It is just a question of looking deeply at yourself and finding out what you are best cut out to do.

4. Is your family ready to back you up?
You may have a great idea for your own business, but before you begin you have to see if your family is ready to support your ideas. If you start your own business there may be an element of risk and an increased demand on your time.

Owning your own business and having a lot of responsibility can also be very stressful. It is crucial that your closest loved one, the ones who share your life, also share your vision and will provide the emotional support and understanding that you need in order to be successful.

5. Are you passionate about the business that you want to set up?
In order to be successful in your own enterprise you will have to be self-moving and you may have to work harder than an employee in someone else's firm. If you do not really like what you are doing you will find it hard to get the inspiration and drive that is required for such a task.
Choose an activity that you know something about and choose an activity that you enjoy doing. The ideal business would be one where you have some prior knowledge and something which you enjoy doing.

One thing to remember, there is nothing wrong with being an employee and working for someone else. There are a lot of advantages in terms of job security, steady income, standard hours and other benefits. It is just a question of looking at your total situation and making the right choice. On the other hand, if you do possess the qualities of an entrepreneur and really have a good idea backed by adequate capital and expertise, then starting your own business may be the best thing you will ever do.

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Business Idea & Opportunity Evalution

In analyzing your business ideas you must be able to pass them through a test to determine if they truly are valid opportunities. All of your ideas must have a demonstrated need, ready market, and ability to provide a solid return on investment.

Is the idea feasible in the marketplace? Is there demand? Can it be done? Are you able to pull together the persons and resources to pull it off before the window of opportunity closes? These questions must be considered and answered.

Opportunity-focused entrepreneurs start with the customer and the market in mind. They analyze the market to determine industry issues, market structure, market size, growth rate, market capacity, attainable market share, cost structure, the core economics, exit strategy issues, time to breakeven, opportunity costs, and barriers to entry. Below are two models that entrepreneurs use to evaluate their business ideas and plans.

Fourteen Questions to Ask Every Time

To evaluate opportunities, entrepreneurs ask the following questions:

1. What is the need you fill or problem you solve? (Value Proposition)
2. Who are you selling to? (Target Market)
3. How would you make money? (Revenue Model)
4. How will you differentiate your company from what is already out there? (Unique Selling Proposition)
5. What are the barriers to entry?
6. How many competitors do you have and of what quality are they? (Competitive Analysis)
7. How big is your market in RM? (Market Size)
8. How fast is the market growing or shrinking? (Market Growth)
9. What percent of the market do you believe you could gain? (Market Share)
10. What type of company would this be? (Lifestyle or High Potential, Sole Proprietorship or Corporation)
11. How much would it cost to get started? (Start-up Costs)
12. Do you plan to use debt capital or raise investment? If so, how much and what type? (Investment Needs)
13. Do you plan to sell your company or go public (list the company on the stock markets) one day? (Exit Strategy)
14. If you take on investment, how much money do you think your investors will get back in return? (Return on Investment)

Let’s take the above fourteen questions and term them into an easy model that you can use to evaluate your business ideas you come up with. This is called the RAMP model.

The RAMP Model

Let’s start with the first letter, R, which stands for Return. Return really is return on investment.

R> Discuss Exit Strategy (acquisition or IPO)
R> Is it profitable? Will your revenues be higher than your expenses?
R> Time to breakeven (how long before cash flow positive? How long until the company begins to have an aggregate net income)
R> Investment Needed. How much money will it take to start-up this venture. Will it be $20,000, $200,000, or $2,000,000?

Now let’s look at A. A stands for advantages.

A> Look at cost structure (suppliers, what each element will cost to source or manufacture)
A> Barriers to entry (large competitors, regulations, patents, large capital requirements. If there are many barriers to entry, it will be difficult to enter a market. The higher the barriers to entry, the more disadvantaged you will be.
A> Intellectual Property. Do you have a proprietary advantage such as a patents or exclusive licenses on what you will be selling.
A> Distribution Channel. How will you be selling your product? Will you sell it direct to the consumer via the Internet, sell it to wholesales, sell it to businesses, or sell it to retail stores. If can develop a unique distribution channel this can surely be an advantage.

Now let’s look at M. M stands for Market.

M> The Need. Is there a big need for this product or service. Try to avoid ideas that sound cool but there is no real need for. Make sure your product or service fills and need or solves a problem.
M> Target market (who are you selling to? businesses? consumers? what demographics?)
M> Analyze target market (who are you selling to? businesses? consumers? what demographics?)
M> Pricing (what you they charge, what will be the price, will there be a high enough markup).
M Analyze market size

Finally let’s look at P. P stands for potential.

P> Risk vs. Reward. How risky is the opportunity? If it is very risky, it there a chance for the business to do very well. Will there be a high reward for the founders and investors if the company succeeds?
P> The Team. Is the team right for the business. Do you have knowledge in this area.
P> Timing. Is the market ready for your product. You may have a great idea for flying cars, but if consumers are not ready for your product you may not be able to turn your idea into a successful business.
P> Goal Fit. Does the business concept fit the goals of the team to create a high potential or lifestyle business?

By using the RAMP model and the fourteen questions above you should be able to do a thorough job analyzing your business ideas and opportunities presented to you.

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Prosedur Menubuhkan Syarikat

Selepas mengenal pasti peluang perniagaan dan sumber modal bagi menjalankannya, langkah seterusnya yang perlu dilakukan bakal usahawan ialah menubuhkan syarikat.

Lazimnya perniagaan perusahaan kecil dan sederhana (PKS) di negara ini didaftarkan sama ada di bawah Akta Pendaftaran Perniagaan 1956 (milikan tunggal dan perkongsian), atau Akta Syarikat 1965 (syarikat sendirian berhad).

Sebelum memilih jenis entiti perniagaan, penting untuk mengetahui beberapa bentuk perniagaan ada di negara ini.

* Milikan Tunggal

Dimiliki oleh seorang pengusaha dan lazimnya dibantu pekerja yang dibayar gaji.

Pemilik bertanggungjawab sepenuhnya terhadap modal, hutang perniagaan, pengurusan dan masa depan perniagaan.

* Perniagaan Perkongsian

Dimiliki dua hingga 20 orang.

Hak dan tanggungjawab rakan kongsi termaktub dalam Surat Perjanjian dan Akta Perkongsian 1961.

Hutang perniagaan ditanggung rakan kongsi secara bersama.

* Syarikat Sendirian Berhad

Tanggungan kewangan anggota syarikat terhad kepada jumlah saham yang dipegang.

Nama syarikat perlu menggunakan perkataan Sdn Bhd di hujungnya.

Bilangan anggota antara 2 hingga 50 orang.

Tidak dibenarkan mempelawa orang ramai membeli sebarang saham syarikat.

Cara Mendaftarkan Syarikat Milikan Tunggal dan Perkongsian

Mengikut Seksyen 5, Akta Pendaftaran Perniagaan 1956, butiran nama perniagaan, tarikh mula berniaga, jenis perniagaan dan pemilik perniagaan hendaklah dikemukakan bagi tujuan pendaftaran di pejabat Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM).

Borang yang digunakan bagi mendaftarkan perniagaan ialah Borang A yang boleh diperoleh percuma di pejabat SSM.

Bakal peniaga perlu mencatatkan butiran perniagaan dalam borang dan menandatanganinya di depan Pegawai Pengesahan yang dinamakan dalam Borang A iaitu hakim, Ahli Parlimen, majistret, peguam, pegawai daerah atau penghulu.

Bayaran pendaftaran perniagaan ialah RM30 bagi perniagaan yang menggunakan nama pemiliknya dan RM60 bagi perniagaan yang menggunakan nama dagang. Sesuatu perniagaan yang menggunakan nama pemilik bersama perkataan lain dianggap menggunakan nama dagang dan dikenakan bayaran pendaftaran RM60.

Tanggungjawab Pemilik Perniagaan

Pemilik tunggal atau rakan kongsi mempunyai tanggungan terhadap hutang perniagaan yang tidak terhad. Sebarang aset peribadi peniaga boleh diambil bagi menyelesaikan semua hutang perniagaan.

Jika peniaga atau rakan kongsi tidak mempunyai aset yang mencukupi bagi membayar balik hutangnya, tindakan mahkamah boleh diambil bagi mengisytiharkannya muflis.

Cara Mendaftarkan Syarikat Sendirian Berhad

Untuk mendaftarkan syarikat sendirian berhad, usahawan perlu mendapatkan khidmat setiausaha syarikat.

Di sisi undang-undang, syarikat adalah badan korporat yang mempunyai identiti tersendiri dan berasingan daripada pemegang sahamnya. Oleh itu, sesebuah syarikat boleh mendakwa dan didakwa.

Bagi mendaftarkan syarikat, Memorandum Persatuan dan Perkara-Perkara Persatuan perlu disediakan. Memorandum Persatuan menerangkan beberapa komponen penting struktur sesebuah syarikat.

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