starting a business
 

is anyone thinking of starting their own business?

its not as easy as it seems

maybe its easier than u think?

i like ur taste in cars btw

im jealous of ur list haha

Having been doing the accounting for a small business for the last couple of years, I think I finally fully grasp what's involved financially and from a leadership stand point in running a business. I've seriously considered it, but not until my child's much older as business owners loose a lot of the benifits and protections that 'employees' get through the government (only this year did they become eligable for limited access to EI for example for things like parental leave).

^ ive been thinking about starting my own accounting/financial services business. i think the hardest part is for people to trust you. u cant buy a good reputation.

Yeah this is the kind of business model I was looking at and since it involves dealing with financial services you'd have to be particularly selective. Also your insurance costs would likely be very high given the damage you would need to be assured for should an employee be negligent while working in your service.

thx, haha, I have started my own business in import and export and a entertainment business. its not as easy as it seems, really. there are so much to consider, there are so much to calculate, sometimes I think back and I think that I should just get a job~ haha. But then, when the hard works pays off, its all worth it.

indeed! i think the best thing for me is to get a few more years of accounting experience under my belt in order for people to have confidence in my abilities.

PS. sorry for thread jacking!!!
i do think it is hard to start a business but if you have a great idea and the motivation, determination, and ability to work hard, then you are likely to succeed. also, make sure the business that you start interests you, otherwise you will find it hard to make sacrifices for it to survive and ultimately be a success.

how old is everyone here?

23ish

has any one of you ever though of buying out an existing business? it saves you all the trouble of going through starting a business and already have established relationships up and downstream.

yeah thinking about opening up a brothel

way less hassle for sure but id always have doubts about why they are selling their business.

dhari is right!

if the business is selling....doesnt it either mean that
1. running out of business
2. over-priced since u are buying a successful business

i mean...who would want to sell a growing business?

^
It could be that the owner is getting tired and/or nearing retirement. Not all businesses that are being sold are necessarily bad.

The concept of valuing a business is relatively simple. The price of a business is a function of two things, 1) its assets (what it owns) and 2) its revenue & profit (the money coming in on an ongoing basis). If a business is correctly valued according to the model, then it is worth $x because it takes $y in each year. However, if you can think of a way where you can increase $y, then clearly the business is worth more than $x which the previous owner is asking. On that basis, you should be able to buy the business at a "discount" to the true value of the business simply because the person selling was not maximizing the efficiency of the business.

So where would you start in terms of starting a business? In terms of legality? I mean do you go to a lawyer and say "Hey i want to be incorporated." Where do you register your business as an official "Business"

Agreed that people have to trust you. But I believe that word of mouth also plays a huge factor in building your reputation. If you do well for one client, word will spread and keep spreading. You have to have a large social circle to be successful in this kind of business.


First you should determine whether you want to incorporate provincially (assuming BC) or federally. There are different reasons why you would want one over the either.

You can either:

a) Consult a lawyer and have him/her prepare and file all the incorporation documents. He'll help you do a company name search (helps secure your name), file articles of incorporation, etc. Usually this will range from $300-$1K depending on the lawyer you go to and the service you require.

b) There are also many other companies that help you incorporate. One would be Business Development of Canada (BDC). (Cheaper than lawyers)

or

c) You can prepare and file your own incorporation documents. http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/registries/...orms/reg50.pdf


If you have NO experience with this such has never even seen what is in an incorporation document, I would probably recommend consulting a lawyer.

maybe they bought a dysfunctional business for cheap and built it up to sell for a profit

22

in addition to what bcrdukes mentioned about retirement , i would also like to add that lots of people spend their life building a business, do not have a successor that would like to take over, and at the same time, they don't want to see their life creation wither away into oblivion, so they sell their company in order for it to continue as a going concern.

other reasons might be: desperate need for cash for personal reasons; change in life goals; want to focus on another type of business etc.

You should also notice why there are so many mergers and acquisitions in the stock markets lately. Different people (investors) have different priorities. Some own a business purely for financial reasons, some for personal reasons (hobby or otherwise), some are inherited, some feel they're the savior, etc.

Not really sure whether you're looking for a retail business, service business, advisory or consulting. Maybe if you provide more details such as which industry, maybe we or some other members can provide more valuable input

not to discourage you, but you can't be too optimistic. you have to have very good connections, lots of people that trust you, and you have to work your ass off.

i come from a family full of people that own their own businesses, most of them being multi millionaires and maybe 1-2 billionaires.

man, i gotta say, you business becomes your life. be prepared to work longer than you've ever worked before, harder than you've ever worked before. be prepared to sweat tears and blood.

be prepared to be back stabbed, front stabbed, lose friends over money, lose family over money.

you just have to get up and keep trying.

if you're willing to do all that plus more, you'll succeed (maybe not the first time, but you will eventually).

that's all i gotta say.

to be honest ive already had a chance to have my own business

i had a beverage shop selling bubble tea for about a year and 8 months

and all of the above.... working conditions did apply.

im ready for another one, but im low on capital

i do understand that there are many many reasons to why people would want to sell their business..

i kinda typed that without thinking too much and/or maybe in more general terms?

why did i get a couple fails for this post? =S

Don't know much about starting one, but another option could be opening a franchise, so there's some reputation already? You should do a lot of research before starting one