Beginner entrepreneur's handbook - how to be successful?

Nowadays, your own company is becoming an increasingly attractive form of pursuing your professional and life career. However, its origins are associated with many challenges. A structured plan of action will definitely help you achieve success. Meet the beginner entrepreneur's handbook that will help you get started.

For people who want to be independent, self-employment is the perfect step on your career path. Following a few basic rules will help you get through this often winding stretch of road to professional success.

Vademecum of a novice entrepreneur, i.e. assessment of own predispositions

Traditionally, until the seventies of the last century, the dominant view was that "entrepreneurship" was an inborn trait, a hereditary talent that passed down from generation to generation. Currently, research confirms that given predispositions can be developed in a person with the help of appropriate training and learning. If you've never worked in a similar industry that you want to thrive now, take advantage of specialized business training. There, you can learn the secrets of a good businessman's work, as well as learn how to efficiently manage a company.

Business idea

Copying existing business ideas exposes you to a lot of competition. In addition, the companies already existing on the market have much more experience and developed methods of fighting competition. Getting out of hundreds of similar companies is extremely difficult and time-consuming. It also significantly increases the costs in the initial period of the company's operation. Therefore, it is worth thinking, analyzing the market and finding a niche that can be managed - economic traditions in the region, resources, climate. Innovative solutions provide much greater development opportunities. Unfortunately, they also come with a higher risk. Therefore, the key issue is to research the market and identify the target group. The better defined it is, the easier it will be to define its specification and needs. You have to remember that services or goods must meet the expectations of potential recipients, and a good idea is already half the battle.

Business plan

Knowing the nature of the company's operations, we can start writing a business plan. In the initial phase of its creation, you should focus on fixed expenses, i.e. those that the company will incur each month (e.g. rental of premises, accounting, media). At this point, it is worth analyzing the expenses carefully and giving up those that are less necessary. Then the entrepreneur should determine the needs of working capital, especially when the company will be engaged in trade or production. At a later stage, unit expenses should be specified - company equipment, purchase of technical devices. At the end, you should prepare a statement of expected income, taking into account the first, usually difficult months of the company's existence.

When starting a business, it is worth going to the employment office. There are many forms of support for small business. From one-off allowances for the purchase of equipment for a company, reaching tens of thousands of zlotys, through co-financing the creation of new jobs, and ending with economic consulting.

It is also worth taking advantage of EU subsidies that support Polish entrepreneurship or simply go to specialized companies professionally dealing with business support. There you can get all the information that is extremely helpful in taking the first steps in entrepreneurship.

Taxes and accounting

The decision on what organizational and legal form we choose will determine the type of tax that will have to be transferred to the income obtained soon. There are several options for taxing your income, both for natural persons running their own business, and for civil law partnerships. Namely:

- For individuals, there are two forms of taxation on general terms:

• progressive tax
• flat tax

- However, in accordance with the Act on flat-rate income tax on certain revenues earned by natural persons, we also have two forms of flat-rate taxation:

• lump sum on registered revenues
• tax card.

In the case of commercial companies, it is obligatory to keep full accounting and pay CIT income tax. It is worth noting that the cost of keeping full accounting is definitely higher than the simplified one. This type of legal form is recommended for activities involving high financial risk.

You should also consider the way of keeping corporate accounting. You can use the services of accounting offices or conduct your own accounting using computer programs. The first option saves the trader time, but significantly reduces his wallet. The monthly cost of using the services of an accounting office depends on the size and type of business. Usually it ranges from several hundred zlotys. On the other hand, a specialized computer program is enough to keep your own accounts. Simple and quick to use. You can also use the increasingly popular on-line billing functions.

shares in the enterprise. Regardless of who the future entrepreneur turns to for money, each institution will request a meticulous business plan and an investment cost estimate.

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Staff

Being aware of what our business will look like, we should consider whether we will need additional employees to operate. In this case, we will have to become familiar with such slogans as human resources and payroll. The most profitable - financially - is your own work, but sometimes it is simply not possible. When hiring an additional person, remember to carefully review their skills. If we want to accept a person without qualifications, we should take into account that they will have to be additionally sent to the course and this will entail additional costs. You must also write about the compulsory employment of employees in the business plan.

Business financing

When starting a business, you should find a source of financing. If a potential entrepreneur does not have his own capital, he may apply to a selected fund for a subsidy to set up a business. If he has collateral (e.g. in the form of real estate), he can also apply for a loan or a loan from a bank. The solution is also to ask for a loan from relatives or friends. It should also be remembered that the first months of the company's operation usually bring measurable profits. Most often you just have to add to the business.