Sustainable Business/Starting your business

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There are characteristics of successful business worth highlighting:


 * Be persistant, never take no for an answer, continually question and go back to people again and again.


 * Be very good at what you do


 * Read as much as you can about being in business and what others have done in business to be successful - mimic them when you can.


 * attend as much training as possible and keep your skills up-to-date.


 * find a mentor or person with whom you can talk business issues through


 * take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself and be flexible enough to change what you are doing if necessary

The time line to start
While the cash flow has a representation of what must be spent prior to opening and the time frame in which the money should be spent there are many tasks that must be completed that cannot be expressed in monetary terms - especially it you are wanting to save money by doing something yourself. To tey and ensure that all tasks are completed prior to opening we need a time line that has tasks attached. In complex projects or start-ups it is common to use a planning tool like Microsoft Project. To keep things simple we suggest that a diary is kept with a page for each weeks activities up to the date of opening. Some people keep these on spreadsheets and others use word processing software. the benefit of using software as opposed to hard copy is that uncompleted tasks can simply be copied into the next weeks schedule.

NZ Ministry of economic development
An ongoing requirement will be to file an annual return. Once a business is incorporated failure to file a return will mean the legal entity is struck off its register. The legal implications can be that the viel of incorporation is removed. An entity can be reinstated but at a cost.

The Companies Office

Local authority
In New Zealand Local Authorities ("LA's") have roles that can have big impacts on how some businesses operate. The best examples are the restaurants and liquor retail businesses. LA's are responsible for administering food hygene regulations which which all restaurants must comply. They are also responsible for the granting of liquor liscences.

through their district plans LA's also specify what activities can be undertaken in what areas. When choosing premesis for your business you will need to consult with your LA to ensure your proposed activity does not breech their district plan.

Health and safety
Occupational Safety and Health

Tax
Tools For Business

Issues to consider:
 * The need for record keeping
 * The need to register for GST
 * PAYE
 * FBT
 * Tax in the first years trading
 * Provisional tax

Day-to-Day management
Monitoring sales Gross margin Fixed costs Variable costs Debtors Stock Control
 * Management


 * Administration

Banking

 * check that the procereds of your sales and any payments by debtors actually get paid into your account. In retail businesses this is checked daily.

Updating accounting records
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