What Professional Advice Do You Need To Start A Business In New Zealand?
When you start a business in any industry, it can be overwhelming to know where to begin. Friends and family may have all kinds of ideas and tips. However, what many new business owners are looking for is professional advice about each aspect of starting a business. The kinds of professional advice differ depending on your business, but there are some easy places to start.
This article sets out three kinds of professional advice that you may want to consider when starting a business. The following areas are based on what most new businesses need:
- financial and accounting;
- legal; and
- technical advice.
Financial and Accounting Advice
You may have a great idea or concept, but the most critical matter in business is financial viability. Expert advice is an essential way of determining this, both in terms of preparing a business and ensuring finances and accounts are in order during the early stages. An accountant or other financial expert can provide the objective advice you need.
If you are relatively inexperienced with the operational and financial aspects of starting a business, financial and accounting is crucial. For instance, you may be unsure where to begin with invoicing and tax management. An accountant can:
- get you up to speed;
- give you systems to use on an ongoing basis; and
- support you in other areas you may be unfamiliar with.
Taxes are a notoriously tricky area for a new business, so getting an accountant may save you money as ultimately you won’t be paying too much tax. An account will also ensure you get deductions your business is entitled to.
Legal Advice For Intellectual Property Protection
So many businesses begin with a founder coming up with a terrific innovation or new kind of business. As such, an important first step is to have protections around that concept to ensure your business is the only one that can capitalise on it. Intellectual property protections enable you to put up hypothetical guardrails that protect important intangible assets (such as your brand or innovation).
Almost all businesses will require professional advice to secure these protections, most likely from intellectual property lawyers. Protecting those valuable ideas and intangibles that make your business unique is something all businesses should think about. It is key to business growth as it allows you to safely build revenue on your business’ unique selling proposition.
Technical Advice for Digital Systems
Almost every new business will require some kind of internet or technological tie-in in the digital age, even if it is as simple as a website or social media account. Many new businesses will need even more support to be truly digitally integrated, like having a sales platform online. If you possess the technical skills required for this, then you may not need professional support to make that digital side of your business happen. However, most founders will lack at least some of the skills required and need to consider professional support from technical experts. These can come in different types, from social media marketers to website designers.
As a founder of a new business, a good skill is to identify what you are best at and build the business around those skills and experiences that you can bring to the table and grow in that way. It will probably be a waste of your time to spend too long on technical issues or other kinds of administrative costs when you can get professional advice to take care of the issue.
Key Takeaways
New businesses can seek different kinds of professional advice to ensure they have a good position and platform to grow. Getting advice to complement the skills of the founder is a good idea. Commonly this involves technical or quite domain-specific expertise, like in accounting, law or technical advice. Top priorities for new businesses usually involve getting finances in order, setting up sound digital systems, and protecting the business’ valuable intellectual property.
If you would like more information about professional advice for your new business, contact LegalVision’s corporate lawyers on 0800 005 570 or complete the form on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most businesses will need advice from an accountant or other advisor to ensure, for instance, that their accounts are in order and that they are paying the correct amount of tax. However, some businesses will employ staff to look after this area which can reduce the need for external help.
Legal advice in employment and intellectual property law can be important for new businesses. In particular, protecting a new innovation can be very important, or you risk another business monetising the idea instead.
If a business’ founders or early staff have the IT skills required to build the digital platform and integrations required, there may be no need for external professional support. However, many businesses will lack the expertise required.
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