Starting your own business is certainly a daunting task as you will be wondering whether the risk is worth taking; whether you are compatible with your business partner, who may also be your best friend and what is the appropriate business structure in order to avoid potential risk – to name but a few.
Your service offering or product must be spot-on in order to quickly generate cash flow to survive and with additional business considerations such financial management, strategy, marketing and sales eating into your time, you will find that your focus is constantly diluted leaving you somewhat overwhelmed. To add to your mounting pressure, all this needs to happen simultaneously.
As the buck stops with you, small business owners are in agreement that balancing all the above is a very demanding task and the first couple of years will mostly be about survival. With survival being at the forefront of your focus, the most common aspect that 95% of entrepreneurs neglect, is the optimal structuring of their business interests and assets. This usually comes back to bite them when their thriving business is in a position to expand and unnecessary taxes must be paid to the South Afircan Reveue Services (“SARS”) or should a damaging claim arise against the owner and/or the business.
By (unknowingly) getting it wrong at the outset, school fees are going to be paid and these fees will literally be paid in the form of hard earned cash, which will either mean the end of your business or unnecessary tax being paid to SARS.
Compliance and regulatory requirements have become so stringent that in order for a business to survive and adhere to current legislature, it is essential for any thriving business to ensure the fundamentals are taken care of by making use of the professional services of an accountant, attorney, tax consultant, financial manager, and business coach. The first three mentioned will limit the potential risk factors by ensuring that the business or its owners will not be susceptible for potential claims from creditors, customers or even SARS, with the latter two ensuring that the business is financially stable and increasing revenue.
As a business owner you need to do what you are best at, which is running your business. Get a head start and save both time and money by obtaining the answers to your critical questions at the outset and lay the foundation on which your business is built, such as:
- Optimal structuring of your business interests and assets;
- Compatibility with your business partner, who may also be your best friend;
- Ascertaining your strengths and weaknesses and also which role each partner should fulfill;
- Converting your verbal agreement into writing in plain language;
- Increase revenue by means of business and leadership coaching;
- Obtaining private equity/funding;
- Family Trusts;
- Relevant insurance and risk needs in order to ensure continuity of your business; safe guard your personal estate from creditors such as banks and also safe guard your business from potential loss of income; and
- Employee benefits and satisfaction.
Izak Strauss
Business Coach