Are you starting your own business?

Are you starting a business from scratch? Maybe you’re still in the dreaming and planning phase.

I’ll share some of the basics which you’ll need to consider when you’re starting your own business.

There are a few things which you’ll need to seriously think about when starting a business. Often these are things which you’ve already been planning and dreaming about.

• One of the main things you need to know is, what is your “why” when it comes to your business?
• Why do you want to start a business?
• What are you offering to your clients/customers?
• Are you offering something unique that will set you apart from your competition?
• Are you offering a solution to a problem/need that you see?
• What price range will you be in?
• What will you charge for what you’re offering?
• Will you be a sole-proprietor or a partnership?
  • If you will be in a partnership it’s important to write up an agreement. In the agreement you will need to include how you would plan to dissolve your partnership if it would ever come to that.
• Will you need to hire an employee or employees?
• Where will you operate out of? Will you purchase or rent a location?
• Will you need to set up a landline?

Create a tagline/slogan for your business. Remember to keep it short and to the point. Something that people will remember.

What hours will you be open/available?

What is your long-term plan? Is this a fly-by-night business or can you see yourself still running this 5 years from now?

When you pick a name for your business, make sure to choose something that’s easy to remember. Something that will make sense to your clients/customers as well as have some sort of special meaning for you.

It’s important to do some research when choosing your business name. Google is a great tool here.

Is any other business using the name you’ve chosen? If you want to create something unique to you, a brand or name which you can build on, you’ll want to make sure that you’re the only one using this name. This will benefit you down the road if you decide to purchase a domain and or use social media for your business.

Who are you selling to? An industrial clientele or a consumer-oriented clientele?

Choose a few names that fit the image you would like to create. Test them out on family, friends and potential customers.

You can always add a short slogan to give a bit more detail what you’re offering whether it’s for services or products.

Reserve and register a business name

Once you’ve chosen your business name the first thing you will need to do is go ahead and reserve the name. If you will be operating your business within the province of Manitoba as a sole proprietor or partnership your next step will be to register your business name with the Companies Office.

You will receive a business number when your register your business. It’s important to keep the documentation from this. Even though you can go through this whole process online it’s important to either save a PDF copy or print a copy as you’ll need this later on.

GST Registration

If you’re planning on making this your livelihood, then I would recommend that you create a GST account. If your taxable revenues before expenses are $30,000 or less in a year you are not required to register a GST account.

if you feel ready to register your GST account, click HERE to go to the CRA’s website.

When registering a GST account, you will need to indicate that you already have a Business number which the CRA will use for creating your GST account.

PST Registration

The Retail Sales Tax (RST or PST) is a tax applied to the retail sale or rental of most goods and certain services in Manitoba.  Any person carrying on a business in Manitoba (except for small businesses with annual taxable sales under $10,000) must have a valid RST/PST number.

if you feel ready to register your Manitoba RST account, click HERE to go to the Province of Manitoba’s website.

Visit your local financial institution to open a new business bank account. You will need to provide them with the following information:

• Your business number (Your business number and your GST number are the same thing)
• A copy of your Business Registration (you will have received this when you registered your business name)
• If this is a partnership, you’ll need to show them a partnership agreement.

Even if you’re not planning on selling products online, it’s a good idea to create an online prescence of sorts for your new business.

Register a domain name (URL)

• Consider buying a custom domain for your business to create your own website and get a custom email address. GoDaddy is a good online store to use to purchase a domain.
• You can add your business to Google Business. When people search your business name it’ll show up as a business listing. You can go here to create an account with Google for free: https://business.google.com/locations

Social Media

• Do you want to be found on more platforms? There’s a number of different platforms which people use to advertise their business services/products. This is not something that you have to use as a business.
  • Instagram (This used to be used for personal use only, but businesses are gradually using this platform more as a free way to advertise)
  • Facebook (In order to set up a Business Page on Facebook, you will first of all need to open up a regular Facebook account.)
  • Linkedin

There’s a lot of websites with great links and help which might be just what you’re looking for. Click HERE to check out the links available through the Government of Manitoba’s website.