e-Book8 Tips for Startups

Royston Benjamin

Get a Mentor 4

Have a Savings Fund 4 Expect No Salary 5

Develop a Soluti on to a need 5

Become a Networker 6

Plan and Budget Your Cashfl ow 6 Work Twice as Hard 7

Understand technology and Market Trends 7

Contents

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Introducti on

Before you get carried away with the dream of becoming the next Bill Gates, take stock and think about what life will be like as an entrepreneur.

It’s easy to get excited about the potenti al for the product, or service you are planning to sell, or the fact that at last you can turn your hobby into a living.

Starti ng a small business is a dream of many people, but you have to take a big step to make your dreams a reality. Most of it can only be done with careful planning.

As a business owner, you’ll need a plan to avoid pitf alls, to achieve your goals and to build a profi table business.

Here’re some ti ps that can help make your business a success.

1. Get a Mentor

2. Have a Savings Fund

Many very successful people have named mentors as being criti cal to success.

Mentors are crucial in helping people connect the dots between their abiliti es and their potenti al, their goals and their successes.

When it comes to diffi cult decisions, such as accepti ng an investor, negoti ati ng a large deal, cash fl owissues or a business disagreement - a mentor will help you.

The world of business can be a lonely place and a mentor ensures accountability and can give you theadvice, confi dence, and network that allows you to fi nd your avenue to success.

This can be a lifeline for an entrepreneur experiencing a diffi cult fi nancial situati on.

People who’ve had large and unforseen expenses will tell you how happy they were that they had emergency funds, or how diffi cult it was to fi nd the money to cover the expenses.

As with most fi nance related issues, pre-planning is a key to successfully weathering the storm which most small business owners face along the way.

3. Expect No Salary

4. Develop a Soluti on to a Need

What should the salary be of a small business owner? Unfortunately, the answer isn’t “whatever youwant it to be”.

How much you pay yourself largely depends on your stage in business and your business’s proft ability.Someti mes, especially during the start up phase, you can expect to go home without pay.

This could go on for prolonged period of ti me, unti l you can fulfi l a need in the market place and yourproduct or service is on par.

Start off small and target a market that requires a specifi c need.

In the period of solving the need and getti ng your fi rst customers, make sure your service levels are highand refi ne your product or servicing off ering every ti me you get client feedback.

Constantly evaluate customer experiences so that when your product moves from the start-up phaseit’s well designed for the market.

5. Become a Networker

6. Plan and Budget Your Cashfl ow

Networking is one of the most essenti al personal skills you can have.

Communicati on and a strong presence can help you build relati onships with clients and entrepreneurs from all age groups, nati onaliti es and fi elds of interest.

Business networking events bring together extraodinary groups of highly-skilled and talented entrepre-neurs who are united around the idea of communicati on, sharing, creati ng and solving problems.Not only that, you could also fi nd potenti al partners, customers, suppliers and investors.

Many large deals have resulted from a connecti on at a business breakfast or networking meeti ng. They can initi ate for process of developing relati onships with business partners.

These events att ract people from diff erent experience levels and backgrounds. Who are all looking for connecti on, inspirati on, advice, opportuniti es and mentors.

A cash budget is extremely important, especially for small businesses, because it allows a company to determine it’s working capital cycle. Cashfl ow is the major factor why small business in South Africa don’t survive, so it’s fundamental and criti cal.

Once your business is operati onal, it’s essenti al you plan and ti ghtly manage its fi nancial performance.

Creati ng a budgeti ng process is the most eff ecti ve way to keep your business, and its fi nances, on track.

Begin by asking these questi ons:

• What are the projected sales for the budget period? Be realisti c, if you overesti mate it will cause you problems later on and banks and investors will see

through your forecast.• What are the direct costs of sales?

This means, what are the costs of materials, components or subcontractors or make the product or supply the service?• What are the fi xed costs or overheads?• What’s my expected net profi t margin?

7. Work Twice �s Hard

8. Understand Technology and Market Trends

As an entrepeneur for every hour your colleagues or friends work, you’ll most likely have to work twiceas hard.

The reason for this is, that as the founder of the business, you run every aspect of the business such asfi nance, marketi ng and operati ons. A large amount of your ti me will be spent on admin that might not bring in revenue.

Hard work does pay off but for the initi al start up period this work ethic must be an accepted reality.

Every startup needs to understand the revoluti on in technology.

These new technologies can help you create your own value and further defi ne your unique selling propositi on (USP). Remember, the way we did business 50 years ago is not the way business will be donein the next 50 years.

The digital age is here. The entrepreneur should always be looking at ways to refi ne their productand service.

Why You Should Talk to C8Chartered Accountants

When you start a new company it’s important to set it up correctly right at the beginning.

To register your business, and to fi nd out all the things you need to do to comply with regulati ons that govern small business, just talk to C8 Chartered Accountants.

We can give you the personal att enti on of a small fi rm and the service effi ciency of a medium size fi rm.We take pride in our work and our people. We have the depth of knowledge and experience to respond to every clients needs. The diversity of our staff and work ethic greatly diff ernti ates us from fi rms of similar size.

We’ve built our reputati on on value for money, quality of service, and empowerment of our clients and our staff .

We have a large number of high-profi le clients with a wide range of experience across dynamic sectors.In most cases, our clients retain us for auditi ng, accounti ng, tax and other business services.

By partnerning with C8 Chartered Accountants, you’ll not only experience the energy and freshness of our dedicated staff , but you’ll fi nd that every job are done in a professional manner.

About The Author

Specialti es

Royston Benjamin is the founder of the C8 Chartered Accountants. His mission is to help visionary, ambiti ous entrepreneurs who’ve

recognised growth potenti al and want to take their enterprise to the next level.

Royston helps entrepreneurs with strategy, planning, accounti ng, bookkeeping, tax returns and business analysis issues.

He sees successes and he sees failures, but he is always there to help out.

He has clients in food & beverages, property, technology and retail.

Royston completed his arti cles at BDO Auditors & Accountants.Aft er that he was a director at another small practi ce before he founded C8 Chartered Accountants. His practi ce is lean and nimble, dedicated to

providing “Big Advisory” partner-level experti se to clients facing their most demanding business issues and goals.

• Preparing fi nancial statements• Independant reviews• Providing assurance

• Small sized businesses to medium sized businesses• Company and personal taxati on

• Returns and compliance• Advisory and business consulti ng

• Strategic planning

Covenant 8 Chartered Accountants7th Floor

5 St Georges MallCape Town, 8001

South Africa

Tel: +27 (0)21 481 7000Fax: +27 (0)21 481 7081Email: info@c8ca.co.za

Website: www.c8ca.co.za

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