Your Initial Team

Today, we are going to take a deeper dive into Phase 1: Conception. The first step in any businesspersons journey begins right here. In the last episode we briefly outlined the people you are going to need on your team well before you start operating your business. We’re going to add a few more to that list and provide more detail about the others.

Conception is not just about coming up with an innovative new idea. It’s about getting all the details about your operation right. A key part of that is your initial team. It’s one of those things that many people feel is unimportant. That couldn’t be more wrong. But there is an additional consideration as well. You need to think about how the members of your initial team are going to work together. At the end of the day you are the business owner and your need to communicate your vision to each member of the team. Those team members should include:

Lawyer

Many of you will have used a reputable lawyer in other aspects of your life. For those that haven’t you should rely on a referral from a trusted friend. You want to get someone that has a lot of experience in helping entrepreneurs to setup new businesses. The lawyer needs to ensure the structure of the business is in place. That will include the company name, trademarks and the legality of the business in your jurisdiction.

Accountant/Bookeeper

You need tax advice. Period. A good accountant is going to setup a tax structure that is most advantageous to your bottom line. They are also going to be critical in getting the right numbers to the government for things like GST and Income Tax. The bookkeeper on the other hand is going to track your cash in and out. When we first started our business we decided to keep the books ourselves and that proved to be a huge time drain for us. Having a separate, qualified person to handle the books will free up huge amount of time.

Financial Planner

A financial planner’s importance should be obvious but they are especially important for those of you embarking on your first business venture. A planner will help you to forecast your costs for the first 6-12 months and will help you to ensure that you will be able to meet all of your costs and have enough money to live comfortably. There are also going to be many preliminary costs like insurance and income protection. A financial planner will help you to understand all the bills you are going to have to pay over the next year.

Business Coach/Mentor

This may not appear to be a must for your new business. Especially if you have to hire a coach. Ideally, you know an experienced businessperson who is willing to advise you. In either case, having a seasoned business veteran to guide you in your operations early stage is absolutely invaluable. That said there are a lot of bad business coaches out there. You need to find someone that knows what they are doing and has the experience to back it up. They have to be able to develop a detailed plan for you. Even if you are an experienced business person you still need a coach or a mentor. Having another experienced person to add fresh ideas is worth their weight in gold.

Insurance Broker

In any business you are going to need insurance and a broker will help you get sorted out at the lowest price possible. A broker is often overlooked but is crucial to protecting your business for the future. In business outsourcing work to other people will save you valuable time. There is not greater time suck than wading through pages of insurance contracts. A broker will wade through that paperwork for you and will select the insurance that you need for the lowest price.

Employee Consultant

In Australia the employee law changes as fast as the government. Which can be quite often down here. An employee consultant will be far better versed in those legal intricacies and will ensure that you don’t run afoul of regulators. They will be able to help you to draft of contracts and employee agreements as well as benefits packages.

Real Estate Agent

If you need a place of business than selecting the right place can make or break your business. This is especially true if you are in the retail sector which is heavily dependent of foot traffic. If no one is walking by your business you’re going to be in trouble. A good real estate agent will have sensible advice and input about the right location. You may well want to talk with several different agents to ensure you are getting the best advice.

Business Broker

This person may not be part of your initial team but ideally, you will at least have made contact with a business broker. They will help to guide you about what you need to have in place for your business for when you sell the operation. They will help you to understand what goals you need to achieve in order to make the business attractive for buyers. You are going to sell your business one day. It’s better to have that in place at the beginning rather than scrambling years into your operation.