When deciding your brand name, bear in mind future marketing and branding endeavours. Your business name should be easy to pronounce, easy to spell and easy to remember. Once you have about ten names, get feedback from friends or family. Thereafter do a web search to ascertain that no other company has the same name. Perform a domain name check to make sure the domain name is available. It is preferable to get the .com domain. (dotcom) name.

Avoid limiting your name to a specific product, service or to a specific location. Consider the fact that your business can grow for e.g. If you name your business Umhlanga Swimwear, this means that you are limited to selling in a specific location and limited to selling swimwear. When you decide to expand the products to include swimming gear such as surfboards and other merchandise then your business name would prove to be restrictive and becomes inappropriate. Should you expand into different areas, and open a branch in the Cape, then the name will seem odd. Find a name that is scalable while still being industry relevant.

Your business name should be meaningful and evoke positive emotions. You may think that some big companies have names that are meaningless such as Google or Uber but remember that it costs a tremendous amount to brand and market those businesses.

Also, aim to create a name that is catchy but not complicated. You can get innovative by using Literature, Greek mythology, or creatively combining words to create a mash up, using acronyms, puns, maps, or other languages. Don’t create a name that is too complicated since this will become costly to market.

Once you have created a brand name, invest some energy into developing the other crucial elements of your brand identity. Spend time on designing your logo, with careful consideration of colours, shapes and other visual elements. Have a robust plan in place to implement the rest of your brand with a modern, functional website and marketing campaign. Your final brand should be an accurate representation of your company identity and should differentiate you from your competitor.

Step 1: Business Name

Decide on a name for your business. Check whether the name is available and if the domain is also available before applying at CIPC for the name.

Step 2: Business Structure

Decide on the type of business structure. Do you prefer to open a sole proprietorship, partnership, proprietary limited company Pty Ltd (private company), public company or a franchise? There are many legal and tax implications and advantages and disadvantages of each type of business structure. If you are not certain about which of these business structures would best suit your need, we are available to advise and assist you.

Step 3: Register your business

Register your company as a legal entity at the CIPC or we can do the heavy lifting for you. We have many affordable packages to choose from. Please see our home page.

Step 4: Meet all statutory and legal requirements

Register your business with all the mandatory legal and statutory bodies for provisional tax (sole proprietary or partnership), PAYE, UIF, COIDA, income tax, skills development levy, RSC levies etc.

Register with SARS and obtain your Income Tax Reference Number

It is mandatory to register your business for PAYE (Pay As You Earn) within 21 days of becoming an employer, unless none of the employees are liable for normal tax. Furthermore, if your payroll exceeds R500 000 per month, then you will be required to register for Skills Development Levy (SDL).

If your turnover would be over R1 million per annum you need to register as a VAT vendor. If you employ one or more full time staff, you will be required to register with the Department of Labour for COIDA- Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act.

All employers are required to register their employees with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). Apply for permits or licenses if required.

Step 5: Bank account

Open your business bank account using your company registration documents. You will require a copy of your ID and proof of business premises. We can also assist you with this process, making it more efficient.

Next steps will appear in the blog to follow, look forward to marketing, branding and promoting your business…

For you, that means that your success, your course is up to you. This doesn’t mean that you do it all alone. It simply means that you take responsibility for your life and your career.

Too many people today look at opportunity and figure it is up to someone else to make sure they get it. They wait and wait, figuring that it is up to someone else. And then the wait is over, and it is too late to do anything. Their life is over and they are filled with regret.

But this isn’t true for you. You know that you must take responsibility for your life.It is up to you.

The fact is, nobody else is going to do it for you. You must do it yourself.

Now, some people might think, That’s a lot of responsibility. But here’s what I think: That is the best news you can ever hear. You get to choose your life. Hundreds of millions of people all around the world would give anything to live in the situation you do—to have the opportunity to take control of their destiny. “It is up to you” is a great blessing!

Here’s why:

1. You get to chart your own destiny.

Maybe you want to start a small business and stay there. That’s great because you can choose that. Maybe you want to create a small chain of stores. Maybe you want to have a net worth of $100 million. That’s OK, too. The point is that you get to choose. You can do whatever you like. Different people have different dreams and they should live them accordingly.

2. You reap what you sow.

Sleep in and go to work late and reap the return. Or get up early and outwork the others and earn a greater return. Place your capital at risk and earn a return. Place your capital at greater risk and perhaps reap a greater return. You decide what you will sow and thus what you will reap.

3. No one else can stop you from achieving your dream.

Yes, there will always be obstacles that come up and people who may not like what you are doing, but you can just move on and chart your own course. There is great freedom in that.

4. You experience the joy of self-determination.

There is no greater pride than knowing you set your mind on something and accomplished it. Those who live with a victim mentality never get to experience the joy of accomplishment because they are always waiting for someone else to come to the rescue. Those who take responsibility get to live the joy of seeing a job well done.

Let me ask you a question: Where will you be in five years? Ten years? Twenty-five years? Do you know? Do you have an idea? Have you ever dreamed about it or set a goal for it? Are you willing to take responsibility and recognize that it is up to you?

You will be wherever you decide to be at that point. You decide. It is up to you.

And that is very exciting!

by Jim Rohn

Business Opportunity

It is small businesses that keep the economy growing by creating employment and innovation. Remember that small businesses do not always remain small and have the potential to grow to become large corporations.

Many believe that the climate for entrepreneurship in South Africa is unsustainable. On the contrary, since South Africa is plagued by many problems, finding solutions to these problems would offer great business opportunities. So if you think of all the problems this country has, then you would realise that we have fertile ground for business opportunities.

According to Hollo Molatelo Matlala, founder of 4th Element Group, a technology solutions company which specialises in solar energy systems within the water sector. “The energy sector on a broad basis is currently the next biggest lucrative sector in terms of innovation and start-ups after the telecommunication sector in South Africa, as everyone is faced by the energy crises and solutions are needed fast.”

Besides finding solutions to the energy problems, we can attempt to solve problems identified by Minister Trevor Manuel, such as corruption, education, public health system, crime, unemployment, infrastructure, inequality, poverty and the list goes on.

It is evident that this country has many problems and therefore offering creative solutions to these problems will provide your business with opportunities.

How do you know if a business opportunity is worth pursuing? The opportunity must be achievable and needs to profitable now or in the future.

Start your business now, by registering your company with us.