Starting your own business? In our present market, it can be tricky. The long-standing convention of depending on outside backers has become less of a reality for many budding small venture owners. They notice themselves head to head with the credit crunch. At this moment, more than ever, we are invited to go “back to essentials”.

What are the basics of your business, though?

Credit. You need to have stellar credit. Drop a line to each credit organisation (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) for a copy of your credit report. Corroborate the figures on your report and pinpoint any “difficulties” that you will need to confront before you continue on your commercial endeavour.

Pinpoint your business structure. Sounds basic, but many don’t even examine what sort of business they want to hold. Will you be a corporation? Limited liability corporation? Partnership? Sole proprietorship? It’s a simple question with a lot of implications. Not all of us can be a one-man show, but we need to be conscious of the venture configuration that is generally beneficial to our aims. For example, if you need cash for start-up, perhaps you take on a partner. Investigate the business arrangement that you feel would most support you. Be familiar with the tax, liability and capital implications of your preferred arrangement. This will prevent back-pedalling later. The more you grasp, the more you control. Going back to the basics requires taking on more of the liability for oneself. Maybe you don’t take on that PA you imagine depending on, or the coffee boy we’ve every one become accustomed to.

Make your financial strategy unassailable. This means “extremely prudent”. Sketch out the responsibilities of your business strategy for a sensible financial strategy. For every responsibility, write down a cost-effective means to control it. For instance, if your enterprise will need you to obtain a large client base, generate a marketing e-mail and a potential client list, instead of incurring advertising overheads. Place a monetary amount on anything that will have to be subcontracted. As soon as you have completed summarising your responsibilities and solutions, fashion a different list for “general” overhead. This list must take in any supplies and miscellaneous workplace costs. Combine the grand total of this list to the previous list of the items that will have to be outsourced. At the same time, create a “rainy day fund”. This fund should be for the things that inevitably slip through even the most sound strategies. plans. Again, you’re preventing any back-pedalling.

Have belief in yourself. When you run into a challenge, isolate it and write it down. Resolutions materialise. Write them down too. Create a “challenge journal” for your business. Refer to it often, and it will not only give you a sense of achievement. It will implant the self-belief to strive even higher, while becoming more and more self-sufficient.

At times, we need to have a letdown to have a success. The crash of our financial systems is forcing countless new enterprise owners to break through. Prospective business owners are understanding, now more than ever, that becoming independent is paramount to their continued existence. Good business ideas are essential to successful enterprise and continued growth.