Small Business startup help

[timdog]

Wasnt sure if this should go in General or Finance. I have an idea for a small business which requires almost no startup costs other than marketing and stuff like that. It's nothing crazy, just something to make a bit of money on the side and will run mostly online but may require occasional in-person meetings throughout the city.
my challenge is that I have no idea where to start. I need guidance on the logistics of starting a business, in terms of what needs to be done legally, what needs to be setup financially, etc. are there any services out there that can sort of consult me through the process?

[ercchry]

If there is no real capital requirements I'd personally prove the concept before bothering with all the "legal requirements"

If it's online based, I'd get all your social media going and website, if you are relying on actual ecommerce to sell physical goods... unless something goes viral it's going to be pretty slow moving

Much easier to just shut down the above if you don't go forward with it than all the damn loops to close a corporation

[timdog]

makes sense, thanks for the advice. It's more a consulting service but I can give the appearance of legitimacy with some marketing material, website, etc.

[TomcoPDR]

What is it?

[ExtraSlow]

Buy your domain name, that's cheap and easy as hell. Can be worth buying similar or related domains as well.

I'd walk you through my thought process when I started my business eighteen months ago. I had basically no capital outlay as well. I know what steps I took and what I would do differently next time.

PM me, we can grab a coffee or beer and chat if you are interested.

[revelations]

If its just you and your ideas - you dont need any legal path to follow at this point.

The city will care if people start coming and going from your house during regular business hours though, but that's probably down the line, if at all. Dont advertise your home address anywhere if you want to keep the city happy.

Same with CRA - call it a SP business first and then incorporate once you start grossing 80k a year or so (some say 100k).

[yellowsnow]

You probably just need to setup as a sole proprietorship. you should open a separate bank account, doesn't matter if it's personal or business if you're just a sole prop.

If your revenues will be greater than $30k/yr, then you will need to submit GST remittances, otherwise you can just ignore this. You can get a GST number online

Track all your revenues/expenses, get a good accounting software like Sage or quickbooks.

[timdog]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Buy your domain name, that's cheap and easy as hell. Can be worth buying similar or related domains as well.

I'd walk you through my thought process when I started my business eighteen months ago. I had basically no capital outlay as well. I know what steps I took and what I would do differently next time.

PM me, we can grab a coffee or beer and chat if you are interested.

cool thanks. Let me get some of my ideas/thoughts in order and then i might hit you up next week.

[timdog]

Originally posted by yellowsnow
You probably just need to setup as a sole proprietorship. you should open a separate bank account, doesn't matter if it's personal or business if you're just a sole prop.

If your revenues will be greater than $30k/yr, then you will need to submit GST remittances, otherwise you can just ignore this. You can get a GST number online

Track all your revenues/expenses, get a good accounting software like Sage or quickbooks.

thanks. my initial thought is that this business will honestly bring in 10k/year at the most. I'm in a high tax bracket though, so using a sole proprietorship ... wouldnt any revenue be added to my income and thus be taxed at a very high rate?

[timdog]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR
What is it?

haha. it's not a big secret but it's just not something i want to share on a public forum. i will tell you it's not some new crazy concept. just a service I have expertise in that I want to offer to people.

[revelations]

Originally posted by timdog


thanks. my initial thought is that this business will honestly bring in 10k/year at the most. I'm in a high tax bracket though, so using a sole proprietorship ... wouldnt any revenue be added to my income and thus be taxed at a very high rate?

Yes, its considered personal income.

[msommers]

For starting out making <$30,000 (double check this number) on the business, all you need to do legally is to get a business number which can be done online. You don't need a GST#, separate bank account, separate address, incorporate etc.