Бизнес и финансы

4 Crucial Business Development Lessons for First-Time Entrepreneurs

Completing my business studies, I knew that I wanted to create something on my own. I had ideas and was eager to materialize them as soon as possible. I had the so-called “entrepreneurial drive” and a wish to put it into practice while I was young.

Since I had been freelancing for a while, I thought that I had certain competencies which would be helpful in setting up a business.

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Keeping in mind all the aforementioned, I embarked on a journey of developing a virtual content marketing agency.

As it turned out though, however fruitful and satisfying, setting up a business is not a straightforward and effortless endeavor. While developing my agency, I made many mistakes and learned a myriad of lessons.

Below, I am including 4 essential lessons for entrepreneurs.

Time spent on legal and financial due diligence can never be wasted

When I set forth on my entrepreneurial journey, I was full of ideas. I seemed to have clear, well-defined goals and a feasible, meticulously designed plan.

What could possibly go wrong?

I missed a crucial point — viable ideas are not enough.

Every business operates in a certain environment. The two central constituents of any business environment are the legal and financial settings. Surely, as a business graduate, in theory, I knew this well. However, in practice, everything was much more nuanced. Laws and regulations are in a constant change.

I did some research on employment and tax laws and put together a plan. Believing that I knew everything that was necessary, I went to the local registrar and registered my business.

A day later, I received a call. It turned out that the tax laws for VAT for small and medium enterprises had changed just a day before my registration. Hence, I had to make some additional payments.

On top of that, any business that works with international clients must realize that risks, such as exchange rate fluctuations, are hard to avoid. A week after I had signed my first contract, local currency appreciated against dollars. I wasn’t prepared for it since it was a bit atypical. I ended up losing some money.

Last but not least, managing corporate finances goes beyond the accounting compliance. For one thing, no matter the size of one’s business, one must know the basics of the time value of money. Otherwise, half of the company’s earnings will be lost.

The sooner one learns to make money work for them, the better their chances of accomplishing their financial goals.

The bottom line: Learn all the ins and outs of your business environment.