If you’re seriously planning on setting up your own small business, chances are that you’ve already done the groundwork. You should have developed a product concept, determined a market that you can cater to and completed market research, looked into different manufacturers who can bring your products to life, and started taking concepts such as packaging and pricing into consideration. Essentially, you’re all set to go in regards to having something to offer and being able to produce it. However, businesses have to be a lot more complex than just this. There are plenty of legalities that you will have to adhere to in order to officially establish your company. Here are just a few that you should tend to as soon as possible.

Securing a Commercial Property

First things first, you’re going to need a professional space not only to work from and to establish your business legally. Every business has to be registered to an address to be recognised. This provides you with a base that you can attach to your business on your tax returns and where you can receive correspondence from clients, customers, and others. Now, many small business owners will argue that they can simply set their business up to their own personal address. This may be an option, but it’s neither a secure nor logical one. When you run a small business, it’s registered address has to be open to the public. Consequently, you don’t want your personal address to be accessible to any person who might happen to want it. This is relatively confidential information. On the other hand, you probably don’t want to fork out the huge expenses that tend to come hand in hand with renting out a commercial property while your business is still getting itself of the ground. Luckily, you have options. Take a look at https://novelcoworking.com/locations/ to see a range of commercial properties that you can share with other professionals. This helps you to share the cost of the space!

Protecting Your Intellectual Property

Another legality that you need to take care of early on in your startup process is protecting your intellectual property. It’s highly likely that you have already invested a whole lot of time, effort, and financial investment into developing your brand image. You may have collaborated with graphic designers for a logo. You might have used content creators or writers to come up with a tagline. You may have even conducted plenty of research into colour connotations to create an eye catching and distinctive colour scheme. It is, of course, going to be extremely frustrating if someone chooses to come along, take all of your hard work, and use it for themselves and their own benefit. The good news is that you can protect your intellectual property, making it illegal for anyone else to use it or mimic your brand. You just have to familiarise yourself with the processes of copyright and trademarking. These process will be regulated by the country of your business’ regulatory authorities. Contact these authorities to find out the best process for your needs. They will then be able to guide you through the rest of the process step by step.

Giving Your Marketing Strategy a Kickstart

When putting your small business on the map, your marketing strategy will become your best friend. After all, it’s  the vehicle through which you reach out or entice customers, sending them towards your website in order to make a sale. Failing to market yourself properly means that you’ll struggle to bring in customers and as a result, many will not be able to support the business financially. As a result, it’s important you have a strong marketing strategy in place to support your company from the word go. If you’re not already a marketing whizz, it may be time to bring in the experts who can do the hard work on your behalf. For example, if you’re going to be sending out targeted ads via Google, then you could look into google ads management services to ensure you are putting your best foot forward. These services will not only boost the visibility of your ads, but will also ensure that they drive sales.

Setting up a Business Bank Account

Setting up a business account isn’t necessarily a legal requirement, but generally speaking, it is best for you to set one up regardless. This is because you will have to submit a tax return for your business at the end of the financial year and having all of your business’ funds – incoming and outgoing – documented in one bank account can help to make this task for you or your accountant a whole lot easier. Take a look around at the different options available to you. Some accounts will have preferable rates, terms, and conditions to others. It’s also a good idea to try to negotiate for special deals, as many banks can be relatively flexible when it comes to business accounts.

There are, of course, plenty more steps that you can take to establish your small business as a serious and professional entity. But these are perhaps the most important and the most effective. So, it’s a good idea for you to start incorporating them into your business plan as soon as possible.