How to start your own business - tips for aspiring entrepreneurs

Everyone comes into business in different ways. Some people have been freelancing since school, discover the talent of an entrepreneur and quickly start their own business, bypassing the stage of “working for an uncle.” The hardest thing is for those who have worked in an office for half their life. For them, going free is like jumping off a cliff. But in vain. In this article we will tell you how to overcome fears, prepare well and go free.

What's good about your business:

Liberty. Not to be confused with free time - there will be little of it, especially at the beginning of the journey. Freedom is that you will become the master of your time and will use it as you wish;
there is no ceiling on earnings. No fixed salaries, salaries or bonuses. If you work hard, you earn a lot. And vice versa;
satisfaction. Your own business, if it goes well and makes a profit, brings much more satisfaction from work and life in general;
status. No matter how you look at it, being an entrepreneur is more honorable than being an office worker. Even an individual entrepreneur sounds proud!

What's bad about your business:

responsibility. Now you will have to answer for everything yourself. Profits, losses, relations with the state, employees - all this is now your problem;
finance. It follows from the previous point. Whatever one may say, there is a significant advantage to working in an office. Twice a month, the same “uncle” from whom you dream of leaving brings your salary on a silver platter. When working for yourself, no one will bring this money;
free time. There won't be enough of it. And even when it appears, you will still think about your business. Let us reassure you right away: if everything goes well, it will only be so at the very beginning;
risks. Forget stability. Even if everything is fine today, this does not mean that it will always be so. Legislation may change, a competitor will appear, a serious fine will come from inspection authorities, and everything that you have been building for years will be in danger of closure;
endless stress. This also follows from the previous point. Debugging business processes, relationships with employees, problems with partners and suppliers - all this kills nerve cells and sometimes even affects health.

If you are not afraid of the difficulties described above and you are ready to overcome all obstacles, then we continue. Here is a set of tips for you, following which you will avoid many of the mistakes of your predecessors.

Tip 1: don't go anywhere

The worst thing you can think of is to go nowhere. You need to start preparing a springboard while you are still working at your official job. Preparation may take months or even years. From the idea of opening an online store to the start of work, you need to do a lot of things. A very general business plan looks like this:

Preparing a project for a future online store. What and how to sell, what niche to work in.
Website creation.
Selection of suppliers.
Registration of organizational and legal form - individual entrepreneur or legal entity.
Preparation of a business plan.
Rent of office, warehouses and utility rooms.
Opening a bank account.
Personnel selection.

All this can be done without quitting. In general, let’s say right away that you need to pay for work at the last moment, when there is no other way . It’s very simple to understand that this moment has arrived: as soon as you notice that work is interfering with your business and you either need to devote yourself entirely to it or everything will collapse, then the time has come.

Tip 2: Create a transition period

It's better if you run everything while you're working in the office. At least in test mode. This can kill two birds with one stone. Firstly, it will be easier to quit, and secondly, you will have an approximate idea of profitability, approximate revenue and other financial indicators.

In addition, while you are officially employed, it is possible to take out a loan for personal purposes and spend it on developing an online store. Individual entrepreneurs and the unemployed are given loans reluctantly, if at all.

Let us immediately warn you against a common mistake. The transition period should not be delayed. At some point, it may seem that everything is working well: money is coming from the online store, and even the official salary is dripping. It would seem - beauty. In fact, this is a dead end: it is impossible to fully develop a business in this format . In addition, it is very difficult - there will not be enough time for either one or the other. True, there are exceptions. For example, with a five-day work schedule from 9 to 6, it is difficult to combine work and entrepreneurial activity. But if you work on a schedule every three days or a similar one, it’s quite possible. And the experience continues, and the pension accumulates.

Start your own business

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Training is financed as part of state support for business and is free.

Purpose of the training program

Identifying people with entrepreneurial potential, developing in them the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully start their own business. During the training, participants will gain business planning skills, prepare an individual business plan, become familiar with the rules for registering a business plan and draw up a strategy for its implementation.

The target audience

Citizens of the Sverdlovsk region planning to start their own business, including representatives of socially vulnerable groups of the population, as well as start-up small and medium-sized businesses.

Course stages

Stage 1 “Discovering Entrepreneurship Abilities”

Duration:

50 academic hours

Self-assessment of personal entrepreneurial qualities and the adoption by each participant of a responsible decision: to become an entrepreneur or to work for hire.
Acquiring the skill of searching and selecting promising business ideas, SWOT analysis.

Learning outcome:

presentation of business ideas based on SWOT analysis; teacher consultations.

Stage 2 “Marketing, production and organizational and management planning”

Duration: 50 academic hours

Business plan structure, marketing.
Pricing, promotion and sales promotion.
Market research.
Choosing a business registration form.

Learning outcome:

presentation by participants of their work on the marketing, production and management plan; teacher consultations.

Stage 3 “Financial planning in small business”

Duration:

30 academic hours

Acquiring financial planning skills and developing a business plan.
Mastering basic reports (cash flow, balance sheet, profit and loss).

The result of the training: individual consultations with trainers on the calculation of participants’ business plans.

Training format

Group work and discussion, individual work, case analysis, mini-lectures, brainstorming, presentation, work with handouts.

Contacts for registration

Important! Even if training is scheduled for the fall, you must register in advance. The number of places is limited - priority will be given to those who register early.

For clarifying questions about the “Start your own business” program, you can ask:
Natalia Viktorovna Kiprova 8/34364/35350

Tip 3: Don't listen to anyone

Prepare to be dissuaded. Many people, especially the older generation, firmly believe that doing business in Russia is unprofitable, difficult and dreary. They say that everyone wants to rip you off, they will torture you with checks, extortions and bureaucracy. This is partly true, but this is not a reason to abandon our plans. All obstacles are completely surmountable.

“You’ll go broke, you’ll go broke, but you need an entrepreneurial spirit” - you’ll hear this all the time. Well, everything is clear about getting burned - no one is immune from this. On the other hand, if others succeeded, it means it can succeed for you too . And let’s say one thing about the “vein”, “feeling” and other mythical talents. The only main vein is hard work and perseverance. If you believe in your business and work tirelessly, the natural result will definitely come.

However, it is still worth listening to advisers. Wrap useful thoughts on your mustache - everything can be useful in the future. Thank you for the advice, and then offer to support your project instead of criticism - to become an investor . Often a small business is opened with the support of relatives. Accept any help: material, valuable advice, useful contacts. Even simple moral support is often worth a lot.

Let's lift the veil of secrecy about inspections, fines and fees. Or rather, let’s dispel a few myths. Imagine a young entrepreneur who just yesterday stood at a machine or worked in an office and opened his own online store. Understanding the legislation and immediately starting to do everything correctly and legally is simply unrealistic for him. Even without malicious intent, he will make mistakes - simply due to inexperience. Even Gazprom and Magnit are not getting out of court - what can we say about individual entrepreneurs.

So, this situation is known to everyone. If you start giving a young businessman a nightmare a month after opening, you can close businesses within one. That's why no one does that. Firstly, until 2021 there is a moratorium on scheduled inspections of small businesses by regulatory authorities.

Secondly, small businesses are prohibited from checking the first 3 years from the start of activity . This is stated in Law No. 294 Federal Law “On the protection of the rights of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs in the exercise of state control (supervision) and municipal control.” In paragraph 8 of paragraph 9 of the article it is written:

“The basis for including a scheduled inspection in the annual plan for conducting scheduled inspections is the expiration of three years from the date of state registration of a legal entity or individual entrepreneur.”

Thirdly, no one will fine you right away . The strictness and ambiguity of our laws is compensated by the fact that they will babysit you, like in school. If you violated something - did not submit a notice or declaration on time, did not pay taxes or did something similar - you will first be notified about this in a letter sent to the legal address. It will say something like this: “Ay-ay-ay, Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov, you haven’t paid your taxes. We notify you that you need to pay them. You have until such and such a date. If you don’t pay, we’ll issue a fine.”

Of course, this does not apply to serious violations. When everything possible has been violated, no one will babysit - they will punish you immediately, right up to closure. And if you try, work like Papa Carlo, more or less comply with all the laws, but accidentally, due to inexperience, missed something - most likely, they will not fine you.

Fourthly, fines can be appealed . In general, the Code of Administrative Offenses even has a rule requiring a warning for certain violations if it is committed for the first time. And if you are sure that the fine was issued illegally and you can prove it, feel free to file a complaint with the court.

What kind of small business can you open?

Modern small business is a good opportunity for big earnings. The main thing is to choose a profitable direction. View business option

Wholesale and retail trade in household goods is one of the most popular areas of modern business. Find out more...

Choosing products that are in demand on the market is the prospect of successful development of your own retail network. To learn more…

Working with an experienced partner reduces risk, increasing your opportunities for success. Who can you collaborate with?

Before answering the question, it makes sense to dwell on the analysis of existing statistics in order to understand what constitutes small business in Russia and what is its structure. In fact, it is important for an overall understanding of industry trends and the level of competition in a particular small business sector.

Small business is not only an economic, but also a legal category, because what types and forms of activity should be classified as a small business are determined by the norms of Russian legislation. Currently, to classify enterprises and individual entrepreneurs as small businesses, the following criteria are used:

Average annual number of employees. Up to 100 people inclusive - for small enterprises, and up to 15 people - for micro-enterprises (including them).
Maximum revenue from the sale of goods and services excluding VAT. Up to 800 million rubles - for small enterprises, and up to 120 million rubles - for micro-enterprises. It is revised once every five years using continuous statistical observation data for the previous period.
Book value of assets. There is no resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation regarding this issue yet.

Small business statistics are kept separately from micro-enterprise statistics. Let's try to find out what some of the indicators of Russian small business statistics are.

Russian small business statistics

According to the Unified Register of Small and Medium Businesses[1], as of February 10, 2020, more than 266 thousand small enterprises were registered in Russia. By the same date, the number of micro-enterprises exceeded 2.5 million legal entities, the number of individual entrepreneurs - more than 3 million people. If we compare with the data from the previous year (see Fig. 1 and 2), the growth in the number of small enterprises is visible only in three federal districts: the North Caucasus, Southern and Siberian - in other regions there is a decline.

Rice. 1. Number of small enterprises by districts of Russia, February 2020, according to the Unified Register of Small and Medium Businesses.

Rice. 2. Number of small enterprises by districts of Russia, February 2020, according to the Unified Register of Small and Medium Businesses.

Nevertheless, the Central Federal District remains the leader in the number of small enterprises, followed by a large margin by the Volga Federal District, and the Northwestern Federal District closes the top three.

On average in the country in 2020, the number of employees of a small enterprise is 27 people, microenterprises - 2 people, regardless of whether the legal entity is registered or the employees are hired by an individual entrepreneur. According to Rosstat, microenterprises in recent years have demonstrated better financial performance than small ones. For example, in 2020, the turnover of small enterprises amounted to 44,124.3 billion rubles, of which 18,587 billion rubles were accounted for by microenterprises. A year later, the turnover of small enterprises decreased to 38,877 billion rubles, with microenterprises accounting for 20,138.8 billion rubles[2]. Of course, the turnover of enterprises is largely determined by their industry focus, but the numbers speak for themselves.

What kind of small business is opened in Russia

By industry, the situation has remained stable over the past few years. The majority of Russians choose small businesses in the field of wholesale and retail trade, car service and repair of household and other products - this is a good half of all Russian small businesses (from 38 to 53% - depending on the organizational and legal form). Here it should be understood that if these areas of business are the most popular, then they have the highest competition in the small business market.

Next comes real estate trading. Various real estate services occupy from 11 to 21% of the total market.

The next most popular industry sector in Russia is transport and communication services. Their share ranges from 6 to 11%. From 5 to 11% of the small business market consists of mining, production and distribution of water, gas and electricity, for example, housing and communal services. Next comes the construction sector, with figures ranging from 3 to 11%.

Agriculture, forestry and hunting account for 4 to 7% of the market. And the hotel and restaurant sector closes the list, with 2-3% values.

Which small business should you choose?

This question, of course, needs to be answered independently, but there are several recommendations to consider:

You have to love the business, otherwise you won't be able to overcome the stresses of entrepreneurship.
You must be competent, that is, you must have an idea of how this type of business works, what technologies are used in it, etc.
You must have the necessary starting capital. Obviously, you cannot open a certain type of business without a minimum investment. At the same time, it is important to understand that in modern Russian conditions, starting a business using loans is not only unprofitable, but also dangerous for business.
The product or service must be unique to the selected territory. Ideally, this should be a completely original idea - like, for example, the first patent for pins, or for zippers, or for disposable razors, etc. All the owners of these patents are billionaires. But if you still do not have an absolutely original idea, which, by the way, may consist not only in a product or service, but also in a business model and business technology, then protect yourself from competition in your chosen sales territory.

If your business does not have signs of uniqueness in the selected sales territory, then you will probably face fierce competition in your field, but this can be reduced if:

You will resort to purchasing a franchise (a business model of a well-known brand) and become part of a franchise network.
If you want not to depend on your franchisor, then find a product or service that is not yet provided in your territory. Enter into an exclusive distribution agreement with their seller, which implies that the supplier in the specified territory will supply their goods and services only to you, and will redirect those who want to buy products directly to you.

Today on the Internet there are thousands and thousands of ideas and proposals for starting a business; to study everything, it may take you more than one month; it will take another six months to prepare for the opening:

Choosing a startup season.
Determining the right location for the business.
Objective assessment of competition.
Ensuring quality control of products or services.
Setting affordable or fair prices.
Providing quality service.
Selection of qualified and responsible personnel.

Without taking into account all these details, even the most successful idea will be discredited.

How to get a subsidy to start a business?

In Moscow there are three types of subsidies, among them:

For unemployed people demobilized from the army, single parents and people with disabilities, the Moscow authorities provide 300,000 rubles to start a business.
Any unemployed resident of Moscow has the right to receive 25,000 rubles for the purpose of registering their business, and this can be done not only independently, but also through intermediaries.
Every unemployed citizen of Russia has the right to receive a federal subsidy in the amount of 60,000 rubles with the prospect of increasing it by the same amount for each unemployed person employed in his own business.

Of course, if you do not have a Moscow residence permit, most likely, only the third option for receiving a subsidy will be available to you, but perhaps there are additional business subsidy programs in your region, which you can find out about in the municipality.

Let us once again pay attention to the conditions for receiving government subsidies:

You must not only be unemployed, but also not have any income, and also not be registered as an individual entrepreneur. The same applies to anyone hired into your business if you wish to receive additional subsidies.
You must be registered as unemployed at the Employment Center in order to give you unemployed status. Employment centers usually require the following documents: passport, tax identification number, work book, savings book of Sberbank of Russia, certificate of income from the last place of work, personal income tax-2, certificate or diploma of education.
You must provide a clear business plan, accessible for a quick and unambiguous understanding of the essence of your business with all the necessary calculations. In the business plan - this is important - it makes sense to indicate the creation of new jobs in the future. The business idea and development plan should not only be concise and calculated, but they should not cause confusion regarding the business idea itself, otherwise it is unlikely to receive a subsidy even with an ideal business plan.

Projects for organizing hairdressing salons, mobile car service, and other services at home or in the office are most often eligible for subsidies, but this does not mean that you have to follow the standard path. On the contrary, you should think about your own, truly original idea.

Option to open a small business

As an idea for a business that anyone can open, it is worth considering the option of a “non-standard franchise”, i.e. not for a chain of coffee shops and fast food, but for something truly new, interesting, useful and necessary. For example, it is expanding its business into the regions and offering a product unique to the Russian market to new territorial distributors:

European elastic removable covers for various types of furniture: sofas, armchairs, chairs, which are made from imported high-quality fabrics of various shades and textures.
Elastic covers are put on the piece of furniture within a minute and fit perfectly, as if they were made to order, hiding all kinds of upholstery defects. This is especially true for country furniture and children's rooms, where the load on the furniture is especially high - the covers are easily removed and washed, protect the furniture from wear and tear, and also allow you to easily make changes to the interior according to your mood and taste. The covers are suitable for both classic and designer furniture.
All fabrics for furniture covers are of high quality, environmentally friendly, a variety of design solutions, convenient and comfortable to use, and the covers themselves are packaged in decorative bags with handles with detailed instructions for use inside
The prices are also attractive: a cover for a chair costs from 1,690 rubles, for a shell chair - from 2,590 rubles, for a two-seater sofa - from 2,990 rubles, for a corner sofa - from 7,900 rubles. Such an offer can interest a wide range of clients: from owners of apartments, private houses and summer cottages to hotel business managers.

Eurocase offers its potential regional dealers to fill an empty niche in their city. At the same time, the company provides dealers with a full range of consultations (sales advice, selection of sizes and colors) and advertising support (advertising materials and adding the addresses of official dealers to the website).

Of course, the prospect of working for yourself and opening your own business looks quite tempting. However, for your work to pay off, you need to choose a small business option that has been tested in practice. Buying a franchise with an original idea can be a great start to a profitable business.

Sources:

1 https://rmsp.nalog.ru
2 https://www.gks.ru/bgd/regl/b17_47/Main.htm

Tip 4: It’s easier with partners

It’s easier and more convenient to do any task not alone, but as a team. An online store is no exception. Therefore, we advise you to find a reliable partner or partners for your business . True, there are some disadvantages here:

profits must be divided among all team members;
in order to protect the interests of all co-owners, you need to make partners co-founders, for which you need to register a legal entity, but this is more difficult, and the fines are higher;
all decisions must be agreed upon with other project participants. It will not be possible to carry out the project alone.

But there are also advantages:

more money at the start. Each participant invests his share in the authorized capital;
the opportunity to use common acquaintances and connections;
there is someone to consult with in difficult or controversial situations - one head is good, but two are better;
distribution of duties. You can divide the work into parts: one deals with finances, the second with suppliers, the third with personnel, and so on.

Tip 5: Don't put all your eggs in one basket

If you have bet all your property on the business - you have mortgaged your house, car and dacha, and even taken out loans, then if it fails, you will lose everything. Therefore - flies separately, cutlets separately. Going all-in is only beautiful in the movies, but in reality you don’t need to do that.

Approach this issue wisely and assess the risks. If the business does not work out, then your task is to make sure that you and your family have a place to live and something to eat. Don’t forget about criminal liability for economic crimes and violations of the law.

One more thing. You need to imagine where you will get money for living after you quit. Literally: for food, payment for housing, loans, clothing and utilities. It is unreasonable to count on the fact that in a month or two the profit will come and it will be enough for the above. We will probably not be much mistaken if we say that the average period after which a business will begin to generate a stable and sustainable income is about a year. Yes, there are projects that succeed so much that their creators wake up millionaires the next morning. We wish you the same, but you need to understand that such cases are one in a thousand. Therefore, optimism is inappropriate here. It is better to take it for granted that there will be no money for the first year.

Pros and cons of state car loan programs

State programs for the purchase of cars attract many people. It’s one thing to buy a car for 1.45 million rubles, and quite another with a discount of 110 thousand rubles. And then the dealer will add his own discount and it will become even more profitable. What other advantages do government car loans have?

Favorable loan terms.
Subsidy of 10% of the cost of the car.
An additional 10% discount may be available in some regions.
State subsidies are possible instead of a down payment, which significantly expands the opportunity to take out a loan for many people.
The dealer may include comprehensive insurance in the price of the car.

But if you delve deeper into the conditions of state programs, you can find many disadvantages.

Not all banks participate in state programs. As of 2020, 21 banks are partners.
Limited model line of cars. For participants in the “Own Business” program, it is possible to purchase only domestic cars. Only those cars that are produced in Russia take part in the “First Car” and “Family Car” programs.
The subsidy from the state is subject to personal income tax. Therefore, when receiving money, do not forget to pay 13% of the amount to the tax office.
When buying a car, you have to spend money on comprehensive insurance. Despite the fact that voluntary insurance is rarely issued for budget cars, most car dealerships set this as a mandatory condition.
A limited number of dealers participate in state programs.
Often, car dealerships try to make money from customers by offering unfavorable conditions that nullify the discount from the state.

Tip 6: Work hard and wait little

Many projects failed only because their creators were not ready to work with full dedication and had high expectations. Everyone wants to be like in the movies: drive an expensive SUV, eat in restaurants and still show up at the office for an hour or two after lunch. It doesn't happen that way. Well, unless you inherit an empire in the form of a chain of stores or gas stations.

Raising a business from scratch to at least self-sufficiency is neither quick nor easy. Money won't fall out of the sky in the first month - if it ever does. Therefore, it is better to always count on the worst case scenario. But you will have to work hard for ten people. This is difficult when there is no return in sight - this is where the trap lies. The main thing is not to give up when you fail and continue what you started.

To start a business you need minimal money and maximum effort.

There is an opinion that you always need good capital for your own business. Mostly this is not the case. Of course, if you want to open a nightclub, then yes, you need a lot of money. But most successful businesses started literally from scratch. Examples: Microsoft, Apple, Coca-Cola, Google and many others.

The right business will soon begin to pay for itself. Your task is to hold out for a certain period of time (2-6) months. Basically, after this period you will know whether there is a prospect for growth, and whether you need to continue this business, or, on the contrary, close it.

Tip 7: How to overcome fear with matches

The main problem of a new entrepreneur is the fear of failure. It's like leaving the cozy haven of office work and heading out into the stormy sea of business. Giving up stability in favor of illusory (for now) success in a new field is very difficult for many. But remember: a ship is safer in a harbor, but that’s not what ships were built for. We will give a simple example that will help you understand that you will definitely succeed.

The author of this article once took training in the basics of sales. The courses were serious and expensive - several dozen lectures in Moscow every weekend, homework for the whole week and a lot of practical classes. Very uncomfortable for an office worker - you had to approach strangers, sell them something, and so on.

So, one task implied the following. It was necessary to sell 10 matches to passers-by on the street. Matches are the most common, 3 rubles per box. The passers-by are also ordinary - city residents hurrying about their business. The price of one match is at least 50 rubles. More please, less is not allowed. 2 hours of time were allotted to complete the task. When the deadline expired, everyone returned to the classroom. One person failed to complete the task - the girl did not have time to sell 1 match. The rest completed the task 100%.

Since the task was one of many, it was quickly forgotten. However, at the end of the training, the teacher remembered these same matches and expressed a mega-important thought. That's what he said.

“Friends, remember how you sold matches on the street? Do you remember? Now let's do the math. In 2 hours you sold 10 matches and earned 500 rubles. Someone more. It turns out 250 rubles per hour or 2000 for an 8-hour working day, which is at least 40 thousand per month. Now tell me, are you still afraid to quit your unloved job and start working for yourself, if at any moment you can go out onto the street and start selling matches, earning at least the same amount?”

Obviously, this will not work in a village with a population of 10 thousand people, but the idea should not be taken literally. The idea is that with certain skills, ingenuity and a great desire to work and earn money, ideas will always be found . Remember this. And we move on to the next piece of advice, which logically follows from this.

The secret of how to do a successful business or a day that promised to be lost

Elena: In today’s article, dear visitors of the “My Dream” blog, you will learn the secret of how a successful business is done. All great people know this secret; they use it when they have to do something that they don’t want to do or, conversely, not do something that they would really like to do.

The secret to doing anything successful is ACTION. And the internal starter is contained in the command “Do it now!” You need to start applying this rule small, so that you form the habit of easily responding to the imperative command of the subconscious. Do you need to call, but don't feel like it? Don't waste time, pick up the phone and dial the number NOW! Or do the same as this young man did.

Albert: This story is described in Napoleon Hill's book “Success Through Positive Thinking.” One university student worked as a tour guide all summer. He treated his work very conscientiously, and a grateful group of tourists, as a sign of gratitude, organized a trip for him to America. The young man was at the height of bliss! But the day before the end of the journey, he encountered great trouble. He discovered that his passport and money were missing. There were just over two dollars left in my pocket and a return ticket.

The student was faced with a choice: report the loss to the embassy or wait for news at the police station. “I won’t do either one,” he decided. - After all, I have a return ticket. But I may never have to see Washington again. I was on top of bliss at the beginning of my journey, and I will remain there. I was very lucky to spend some of my vacation in America, and today I am in the city of my dreams. I will not be discouraged." And our hero went to see the sights. He visited wonderful museums, visited the Capitol and near the White House, and even climbed the spire of the Washington Monument. To satisfy his hunger, he bought two dollars worth of crackers and nuts, which he chewed as he walked.

Having returned safely to Denmark and recalling his successful journey, the young man remembered most of all his stay in Washington. If the young man didn’t have the secret DO THE SAME NOW, this day could have been erased from his life.”

Elena: The words NOW and HERE are an excellent internal starter, they are the ones who make any business successful.

PS By the way, the story could not have ended better for the young Dane. Five days after he returned home, the police found a wallet containing documents and money and returned them to the owner.

2015/08/22Albert and Elena

Serendipity as the basis of luck and success2019/03/12
The half-hour theory for those who do not have time to achieve a goal2019/02/17
How else can you plan your affairs2019/02/14

Tip 8: Keep learning

At the start, you will have a very vague idea of how business processes work. At first glance, everything is simple: bought cheaper, sold more expensive, and that’s it. In reality, everything is much more complicated. Now is a time when marketers are literally looking at business under a microscope, fighting for every hundredth of a percent of sales. One phrase on a website can both increase profits and scare away customers. What a phrase - even the wrong word can ruin your reputation.

Therefore, the main thing now is competence. The one on horseback is the one who is more pumped than his competitors. And this is unrealistic without training. Therefore, before starting your own business, be sure to attend several seminars and take courses on the basics of sales . We will give some recommendations on how to choose the right courses and not waste your money:

never, we repeat, never buy into advertising where 20-year-old boys and girls promise fabulous money for working 2-3 hours a day. Even if what has been said is supported by photographs of wads of money in the interior of a BMW X6, standing under a palm tree on the ocean shore of the island of Bali, it’s all bullshit. At some stage you will be asked for money, in return for which you will receive nothing;
good courses cost money. In-demand speakers never work for free or for pennies. And why would a person who actually earns millions sell courses for 2-3 thousand? Not the same scale, you know. Choose coaches who have themselves achieved success in some area and are ready to share their secrets;
Full-time is better. Direct contact with the teacher, a sense of team - all this is possible only through live communication. Webinars, video conferences and other forms of online learning are, of course, good, but still not the same. In addition, with full-time training in a group of like-minded people, you can exchange experiences, make useful contacts, find partners or investors;
choose proven courses. Now it’s very easy to waste part of your training budget. From every crevice there are people who want to teach you everything at once - just open the Internet. Therefore, you need to choose carefully. Chat with friends, read reviews, Google the personality of the speaker or the company that provides training. Take your time - it's never too late to learn.

Tip 9: learn to work according to the law right away

The tax, legislative and legal framework in the Russian Federation is not very clear and convenient for small businesses, this is a fact. Everything is under excessive control. Every movement needs to be reported somewhere, reported to someone, notified to someone, agreed upon.

But you will still have to play by these rules - in order not to pay fines, not to go to courts and authorities, or even lose your business altogether. Working under black schemes is gradually becoming a thing of the past, giving way to legal entrepreneurship. So, here's what you need to do to work in the legal field:

register the legal form. There are 2 main ways: work as an individual entrepreneur or register an LLC - a limited liability company. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. It is easier to open and close an individual entrepreneur, the fines are much lower, and there are no restrictions on withdrawing cash from the current account. However, if something happens, you will have to answer with personal property. There are also restrictions on types of activities, making it more difficult to attract investment. An LLC should be opened when starting a business with several partners. The good thing about organizing a legal entity is that there is less responsibility for the founders, you can do whatever you want and pay less taxes;
choose a tax regime. In Russia there are 4 of them: simplified tax system (simplified system, almost all small businesses operate on it), OSN (general tax regime, applied by companies with more than 100 employees), UTII (single tax, calculated depending on the area of the premises) and PSN (patent system, used by taxi drivers, hairdressers, etc.). The choice of tax regime depends on the field of activity, the procedure for working with contractors and much more;

notify regulatory authorities. These are Rospotrebnadzor, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the Tax Service. As a rule, for an online store, notification to Rospotrebnadzor about the start of business activity is sufficient;
buy an online cash register , register it with the tax office and start transferring fiscal data to the OFD (fiscal data operator);
properly register employees. To do this, you need to conclude employment contracts, register with the tax office as an employer and notify the relevant funds - pension, social insurance and health insurance. And, of course, carefully study the Labor Code to avoid common mistakes;
equip workplaces in offices, warehouses and other premises. There are a number of requirements for such places - the presence of a fire alarm, lighting level, and so on. At the point of issue, if there is one, there should be a buyer’s corner with a set of literature and documents. Outdoor advertising - signs, banners and pillars must be approved by the local administration. Almost nothing can be done just like that - everything needs to be agreed upon with someone, a fee must be paid and all that. Not to say that this moment is being tested very much, but nevertheless. The law of meanness has not been repealed, so perhaps it is you who will be tested.

In the process of work, you need to file tax returns and pay taxes, send reports and make contributions to the Pension Fund, Social Insurance Fund and the health insurance fund. There are specific deadlines for all these things. If you don’t have time, you have to pay a fine, penalties and court costs. Therefore, it is better to do everything on time.

Now think about it, is it really possible to study all this on your own and not miss or forget anything? For a beginner, most likely not. Therefore, there is a good option - hiring an accountant . But not full-time, but outsourced. In this situation, the specialist will handle your accounting and do much of the above. Working in a small online store is not enough for him - a few hours a month or even less. It’s inexpensive, and if you try hard, you can even find an accountant among your friends for free . Ask your colleagues how they deal with the situation. Surely one of them has “a girl who fills out all the paperwork for me for chocolate, and I just take it to the tax office.”

There will always be time if you spend it wisely

Time can always be found if you learn to prioritize correctly
Yulia Guseva May 27, 2020

Academy of Experts 739

I know, and you know, that each new day will not be like the previous one, and there will be no way to go back. You can choose to stay where you are now and give your neighbor the opportunity to move forward and take his place among the successful people. You will work hard for his benefit.

There are many people in the world who work for a salary and realize someone else's dream. Join their ranks. They are not able to work intellectually, emotionally and for results. They need a whip. This is fine. They were raised that way and given such attitudes. They are afraid to make mistakes, live very carefully and look into the future with caution.

They made decisions based on what their parents or friends would say. They will be afraid to fail and fall flat on their face. But it is only through failure that we achieve success!

If you are afraid to allow yourself to make mistakes, then fear will get the better of you. Allow yourself to make mistakes, tame fear. Ask yourself: “How can I afford this?”, “How can I do this?” Then you go and do it.

Challenge yourself and your beliefs. Change your beliefs in the process, gain the necessary skills and knowledge.

Being an entrepreneur means having the right set of skills and knowledge. Always learn. Gain financial literacy. It is important to know your expenses and income, and be able to calculate taxes correctly. They definitely won’t teach you this in school.

The mistake of many is that they only want to do what they like. In entrepreneurship, you have to do things you don't like. I didn’t like writing essays at school, now I don’t like writing articles, but I wrote a book, through it I expressed my emotions and knowledge. This book is a guide for you, dear friend. I did it because I can’t.

All my adult life I have been studying and gaining the missing skills and knowledge, even if I am not interested in it and I don’t want it. I understand that without this knowledge I will not build a business correctly. I have to do things that I don't like, but I don't want to lose my status as an entrepreneur. I don't want to live in doubt that I didn't do something to get ahead.

It’s better to do it and regret it than to regret for the rest of your life that you didn’t do it.

I prefer freedom of choice, but everyone around me will say that this is not stable. An employee means a stable income and a standardized work schedule. Only about 6% of people made the same choice as me.

If you take a risk and go with me, then be demanding of yourself, of your knowledge, of your skills, you should become much smarter.

An entrepreneur pays 6% or 15% of taxes on his income, and an employee pays 13%. But an entrepreneur does not limit himself to how much he can earn, and hired workers live on their salaries.

There is always a choice. What you choose?!

Tip 10: attract investment

One of the main headaches of a novice entrepreneur is where to get money for the project. Even if you start working from home, without employees or renting premises, you still need funds - to purchase the first batch of goods, pay for logistics services, and so on. In addition, you need a financial cushion if you do quit. Where can I get the money for all this?

accumulate. If the salary at your main job still allows it, collect at least some amount. Let it be a little, but in the future, when you start counting every penny, this money will be very useful;
take a loan from a bank. Again, it’s easier to do this while you’re working officially - we’ve already written about this. But remember that you are taking a risk - if there is no profit, there will be nothing to pay off the loan;

find an investor. There are plenty of options here. You can contact successful businessmen you know - perhaps one of them will be interested in your project. You can register on specialized resources, where investors are looking for where to invest their money, and entrepreneurs are looking for investors. Sometimes investors themselves find you and offer to invest in the project. True, this happens rarely and mainly concerns well-promoted projects. The main thing to remember is that the investor's goal is for you to make money for him. And not vice versa. That is, you will have to share;
contact relatives, acquaintances and friends. A small business is small because it does not require large investments. Usually we are talking about six-figure sums - up to a million rubles. This is not a lot of money - it is quite possible that your grandmother has saved up a decent amount of money, which is lying idle in her stocking.

Tip 11: Thinking through a business plan and strategy

You have successfully gone through the previous stages: raised money, chosen a work format, dealt with bureaucratic procedures. We can begin. Stop, you can’t start without drawing up a detailed business plan ! Business is not only sparkling eyes, brilliant ideas and youthful enthusiasm. This is also boring stuff in the form of an Excel spreadsheet, where all the expenses for launching the project, payback period, profitability and other matters are recorded.

A business plan is an estimate, the financial heart of a future project. The document should clearly show where and how much money will go, what it will be enough for, at what point everything can sag, and so on. But if it’s quite possible to deal with expenses—it’s enough to think through all the costs down to the smallest detail—then with possible profits the matter is much more complicated. No one can tell offhand how things will go at the very beginning. How many orders there will be, which products will be popular and which will not - one can only guess.

Someone in the audience now laughed and thinks that we are writing complete nonsense. Undoubtedly, for serious projects, forecasting is the basis and there are a sufficient number of specialists ready to do this work (and hit the mark, yeah). But this article is intended for a different audience with completely different investments and other initial data. A simple office worker opening his first business cannot do all this. He can only roughly imagine how things will go, and most likely will adjust everything as he goes. We'll tell you how to do it.

Calculate how much money you need every month. Consider everything: expenses for purchasing goods, paying employees, loans, rent. You will get a certain amount - the break-even point. Let it be 100 thousand rubles. It should be divided by the number of days in the month. The result will be revenue that you must extract daily. In our case, it is 3333.33 rubles, if there are 30 days in a month. If you sell for this amount per day, you will work, as they say, “to zero” - that is, the proceeds will cover the costs. Anything above this amount is pure profit.

Now look at sales. If the daily revenue is not 3333.33 rubles, but less, it means that at the end of the month there will be losses and there will be nothing with which to pay the staff, pay rent, loans and other payments. Something needs to be done: adjust prices, increase advertising and promotion, think about attracting customers.

Tip 12: Don't wait for the right moment

It won't come. Many people think like this: now I’ll pay off the mortgage, raise a child, buy a new car and then open my own business. A year passes - oops, it doesn’t work out again, because I need to do repairs in the apartment and treat my teeth. Everything starts over again, and the opening of the business is postponed again.

There is no need to do this. Here you need to make a strong-willed decision and set yourself specific deadlines. From now on, you should only think about business. Not to the detriment of the main (for now) work, of course.

Many more are waiting for someone to open the case for them. A friend will start an interesting project and invite you to be a partner. Or the successful option of buying a ready-made operating business will come up. Or maybe an inheritance from an American uncle will fall on your head, with which you can finally open a company.

So, no one will come and do anything for you. You need to rely only on yourself.

Tip 13: don’t buy an existing business

If we operate with large numbers, then most of the businesses being sold are unprofitable. The owners, of course, will claim the opposite - they say, everything is fine, but I’m selling because I’m moving to another city, changing my field of activity, lost interest, and so on. Don't believe it. And especially don’t succumb to the syndrome of an alcoholic’s wife who thinks she will correct her stupid husband. But his past wives weren’t corrected because they were fools and he didn’t love them that much. It’s the same with a business - if the previous owner failed to get it back on its feet, you shouldn’t have any illusions that you will succeed , because you are smarter and more advanced. Nope.

You should only think about buying a ready-made project in one case - if you are really confident in its performance. For example, your good friend or acquaintance is selling an online store and you know exactly the reason for the sale.

How to quit your job and start your own business

How to competently move from being an employee to a small-level entrepreneur? Let's start with the fact that the stupidest decision is to suddenly send your boss on a walking trip and start a new life from scratch.

In 99% of cases, this all ends very sadly, since the decisions you make in a state of emotional imbalance will not lead to good things.

Just think: when you were freaking out, angry and hated your boss (because he drives, say, a Porsche, and you drive a lowered Priora), were too excited or depressed, felt guilty, then the decisions made in such state of altered consciousness, were often far from constructive and reckless. This method is also very stressful and rarely leads to the necessary changes in life.

Classic success is a house, apartment, car, family, children. But what you are striving for will not happen right away. Most often, people find another job after making a negative and wrong decision to quit under stress.

What would be the right decision?

A possible option is to learn a new profession if, for example, you are a laborer. If you are already a good specialist in your field in something specific (for example, a plumber), then you need to start preparing a plan for leaving your job to start your own business.

By the way, there are fewer plumbers from year to year, and there are more and more marketers, photographers, lawyers, advocates and other specialists; now there is an oversupply of them.

If you are truly a professional in the technical field, then you can create your own small enterprise, assemble a team, organize work and provide services for maintaining such elements as a toilet or bathtub, so that water works everywhere, so that there is electricity in the house (if you electrician). There is a very large field for activity here.

But we need to develop a concept for implementing the idea.

Questions to answer:

How will you get started?
Who will support you?
Will you go from house to house (as a private owner) and do some work on individual orders, or will you immediately do everything correctly and find assistants who will work for you for a certain percentage of the order?

You need to choose an activity that you like so that the market and other people are interested in this business. For example, a wedding photographer is not a bad idea if you have a camera, love art, and enjoy interacting with people and taking photographs. Wedding photographers make very good money (especially during peak season).

At the same time, a videographer can retrain as a music video director and shoot videos for beginners, and a wedding photographer can earn money in the off-season from portrait and street photography, and from photo walks.

Before you quit and slam the door, you must have financial fat - this is a certain amount of money to live on for the next 6 or 12 months of a comfortable life. Each person has their own unique financial fat.

For example, for a comfortable life I need at least 25 thousand. I know that this money is enough to feel comfortable, rent a room, eat quality food that will be good for your health, refuel your car to allow yourself to rest and go have fun in a cinema or cafe.

But at the same time, the relationship with the girl will have to be minimized, since for this money you will not have a good rest anywhere, that is, 25 thousand rubles is the minimum level. To move to the next level, you can cut down on expenses or decide to start your own business.

You should calculate the amount of money you will need to live economically. For example, you need a certain amount. You save this money multiplied by the amount of time (six or twelve months) and open an account in some bank that is sure not to go bankrupt. It is important to remember that in our time many unstable banks are closing, although they have a guarantee for fireproof amounts.

You need money to open your own business that you want to do. It doesn't matter what it will be. You can repair guitars at home (if you know how to do it), be a DJ, presenter, or toastmaster at holidays.

You need a business plan for your business.

It is important to understand that running your own business is a complex and responsible job. Currently, all kinds of “networkers” lure narrow-minded people with promises of fabulous earnings, offering to join their networks. They are afraid of the word “work” and often write on social networks that only slaves work.

There is no need to succumb to these provocations. To achieve anything in life, you will need to work hard. It doesn’t matter what you do: sing songs on stage or plow the land on a tractor.

Business is an even more complex and responsible job when you have profits and losses, responsibilities to employees and their families. You must have a specific plan for why it will be beneficial.

There is a type of activity called self-employment, when you work not for hire (in a company or company), but for yourself. This is neither your own business nor a business. Let’s say I don’t have a business now, but I am self-employed. I do a certain job that a limited number of people can do. Due to the fact that there is a fairly high barrier of knowledge, experience and skills. I am a professional in this business, and they pay me good money.

If you are the same person, that is, you do not have a business, but you are a sufficient professional in some field, then you are quite capable of working for yourself. You have responsibilities, deadlines, and clients.

What is the difference between business and self-employment?

When you are self-employed, you do everything yourself or with the help of an assistant for a small fee. When you have your own business, you usually already have your own premises, staff, and you pay them a monthly salary.

You must have a plan B - a scenario if the business does not work out. According to statistics, the probability that a business will succeed is 50%. Are you ready to return to your previous job or try again to open your own business? This situation will not be a surprise to you if you prepare for it: set aside money for a rainy day and make a plan B.

The best way to quit your job the right way is to test a topic and make money on it in your free time from work. As a result, you will have a certain result, you will have skills, freedom in time, you will learn to do your work competently and enjoy it.

So, the right attitude is necessary. It will be hard (especially if you have a family), but you will go through temporary difficulties if you really want to achieve financial success in life. You may have to work under such enormous pressure for a whole year or several years. But as a result, by testing some topics, you will earn many times more money than before.

Thus, to summarize, you need to first save up money for 6 or 12 months of comfortable life. This amount of money will protect you when you quit your job. You have a plan B and money that will allow your family to exist without poverty.

Secondly, you need to think through a business plan with all the calculations. What will you do, what will you do, how much money will it take, how relevant is the business idea. Test it in your city or region (if it’s an online store) and launch it in your free time from work.

Thirdly, you need to think through your actions in case of failure. The next point is to set yourself up for positive thinking (everything will work out, as it is necessary to achieve success). You have a specific goal - to reach a new level of income. After all, you want to relax in decent places - in the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives or the Philippines, in Thailand (and not in Turkey and Egypt).

It's important to constantly measure your progress: how many hours you worked, how much money you earned, and how much you spent. There are three key indicators: operating time (by timer), income (net profit) and expenses. When you write reports every day about the work you did that day, you get a real picture of your life, not based on subjective feelings, but based on facts.

It is important to look through your journals for the last month, make notes with an electronic pen in a notepad, in a regular phone or in a text editor. If you really want it, then everything will work out.

Tip 14: a financial cushion is your everything

Keep money in reserve. At least half the investment. This is called operating capital. It is needed for unforeseen expenses and to cover costs in the event of a shortage of working capital. A pillow is a must—it’s your insurance against unforeseen events.

A fine from inspection bodies, urgent equipment repairs, courts, increased utility bills - all this can create a huge hole in the budget that needs to be plugged with something. The bad thing is that it is impossible to predict such situations, but they will definitely come.

also need a pillow to cover expenses for the first time . Remember when we said that revenue might not be enough at first? For rent, salary, utilities. A financial cushion will also help here. Without such insurance, don't even start.

Of course, it is difficult to fit all the advice that would help novice businessmen into one article. You could write a whole book about this, where each piece of advice will be discussed in a separate chapter. But the purpose of this article is different. We wanted to create the right mood for a budding entrepreneur, help her cast aside fears and overcome doubts. We hope we succeeded. Good luck in a difficult, but interesting and exciting task!

A successful business is always innovation

The main thing in any project is the idea. Any successful business is always an idea that is different from others. Of course, you can open a stall and sell seeds and beer like everyone else, but you won’t achieve success in business this way. In business you can't go to the end. If you see an innovation that can make a profit, jump on it and start acting.

A little advice: innovation in your city is sometimes what has been a profitable business in another city for a long time. Start studying business in other countries and cities, especially paying attention to what you don’t have in your city. This is much simpler, because the idea has already justified its right to exist. If you don’t have an interesting idea, don’t bother.

50 signs that it's time for you to start your own business