Getting started in Self Employment
So you have decided to set up a business. You can do this either part-time or full-time depending on how much time you have to commit to it.
Part-time business
Many people start their own business while they are employee’s. This gives them financial support and pays for any startup costs while they are waiting on their first customer. The only legal requirement is to submit a form 12 at the end of the tax year but a clear understanding of all the business areas is extremely important whether part-time or full-time.
Full-time business
Starting a business full-time means your venture will have to pay for your salary and any business expenses to get you going. To do this takes planning and this is what Irish soletraders aims to help you with.
Starting up a new business today
Today more than any time in the past we have a vast amount of information available to us. Computers are in our homes, and we carry mobile phones in our pockets capable of keeping us connected to a world of information. Research can be done online for products or services that we wish to supply, and most of us are already using marketing tools like Facebook and Twitter. Having all this is at our disposal, sometimes the daunting task is knowing where to start. Irish soletraders business guide is a step by step approach to help get your business going.
What you need for your start-up
- Get quotes on your business expenses, if you need a website, premises, transport etc. how much will it cost?
- How much will you charge for your service or product? What is the going rate already out there?
- Work your first year expenses into a cash flow, so you can pay your bills when they come in.
- Check to see if your business is viable. Using a business plan putting any expenses and potential income in. This will give you an idea of the amount of customers you will need.
- Getting customers for your business. This is your marketing plan. Finding out who and where your customers are and if there is enough of them out there to meet your needs.
- Acquire any support that’s available, funding, advise, and tools to help you. Work out systems, you will need to put in place to save time and keep you on top of things.
- Keep accounts of customer’s payments to you and bills you are paying out for the business.
- Staying legal, by paying taxes at the end of the year. You will have to check if there are any legal requirements for your business area, trading licenses, HACCP certs etc. and have a health and safety statement.
Keeping your business on track
There is a lot to start thinking about and this is by no means a list to put you off but after a decade dealing with Irish business start-ups it’s always the small things that make people hold off from setting up. Irish soletraders believe the first step in business is valuing your time so we have gathered all the information you will need and present it in a easy to understand format. So you can concentrate on your product or service. We will continue to add extra information if requested and wish all our customers the best with your new business venture.
