START-UP 101  

AGENDA Choosing a Business Name Types of Business Structures Registering a Business Permits, Licenses, Insurance, etc. HST Payroll Taxes Marketing Start-Up Costs Financing Options Financial Forecasting The Business Plan  

CHOOSING A BUSINESS NAME Items to consider when choosing a business name:  Is the name too specific? (e.g. Sackville Heating and Plumbing vs. HRM Heating and Plumbing or Ron’s Equipment Sales vs. Ron’s Equipment Sales and Service) Does the name convey the size of the company that you want conveyed? (e.g. Ron Smith Roofing vs. Smith and Associates Roofing) Is the name easy to spell and pronounce? Is the name too wordy? Is the name easy to brand?

CHOOSING A BUSINESS NAME Items to consider when choosing a business name (cont’d):  Is the name available? Visit Registry of Joint Stock Companies and do a search of the database: http://www.novascotia.ca/sns/access/business/registry-joint-stock- companies.asp Is the web-site available? Visit Go Daddy https://ca.godaddy.com/ to see if the web-site is available What are the Google results of your name search? What are people’s reactions when they hear the name?

TYPES OF BUSINESS STRUCTURES LIABILITY WAGES TAXES SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS COST Sole Proprietor (partnership of one) 100% Owner No wages to owner – can take an owner’s draw Personal income tax on the net profit Company registration $130 for registration Partnership 100% Owners No wages to owners – can take an owner’s draw Company registration and partnership agreement $130 for registration and legal fees for review of partnership agreement Corporation Wages to owners – no EI for more than 40% ownership Corporation pays income tax – owner(s) pays personal income tax on their wage Company registration and letter of incorporation $500 for registration and legal fees for incorporation

REGISTERING A BUSINESS Step 1: Reserve a Business Name (approx. $65) Step 2: Incorporate Business (if applicable) (>$1,000) Step 3: Register Business (approx. $65) Complete online or in person at Access NS: http://novascotia.ca/sns/access/default.asp - detailed instructions for registering a business can be found on this web-site.

PERMITS, LICENSES, INSURANCE To comprise a list of all applicable permits, licenses and registrations visit: www.bizpal.ca Government Open Data Portal: http://open.canada.ca/en Insurance: WCB – only applicable if there are three (3) or more employees Liability Business Interruption Vehicle Home

HST MUST register for HST once business hits $30,000 in revenues in 12 consecutive months. OPTION to register for HST if revenues are less than $30,000. Not registering for HST can be a reflection of the size of your business (i.e. revenues less than $30k). Not registering for HST does NOT save your customers money. Once you register for HST your HST number MUST be on all invoices. HST can be submitted to the government monthly, quarterly or annually on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) web-site. Set-up a separate bank account for HST collected (remember…it does not belong to you!).

HST Input Tax Credits: Can claim input tax credits for all HST the business has paid out in order to operate business – very advantageous especially if big ticket items are to be purchased (especially at start-up). Input tax credits are applicable ONLY once the business has registered for HST – is not retroactive for historical purchases. Example Register for HST at: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/rgstrng/menu-eng.html

PAYROLL TAXES Employee Deductions: Income Tax 100% paid by employee Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) Approx. 5% paid by employee Employer must match employee’s CPP Employment Insurance (EI) Approx. 2% paid by employee Employer must contribute 1.4 times employees contribution Example

MARKETING Step 1: Market Research Industry Competition Suppliers Target Market: A Target Market is a specific group of consumers at which a company aims its products and services. All of your marketing activities must be directed to your Target Market.

MARKETING Step 2: Define Marketing Activities and Determine Costs Marketing activities can include: Branding Social Media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc) Networking Volunteering Print (e.g. business cards, brochures, posters) Signage Web-site Ensure consistency across ALL marketing activities!

What are some of the costs associated with starting a business? START-UP COSTS What are some of the costs associated with starting a business?

How will we finance these start-up costs? FINANCING How will we finance these start-up costs?

FINANCIAL FORECASTING

THE BUSINESS PLAN