Starting your own business can be overwhelming, bearing in mind all that you need to consider from writing a business plan to printing business cards.
In this checklist, we will walk you through the basic things you need to arrange before launching your business.
This checklist serves as a general guideline, the constant changing of rules in the Netherlands will require you to always search further as applicable to your specific situation.
Some steps to consider when starting your own business:
PRE-REGISTRATION PHASE
In this phase the main focus is to determine the need of the market and how you can position your services and/or products to meet that need.
- Write a business plan
- Have a clear business idea and objectives
- Conduct market research to determine the market needs
- Determine your business strategy
- Define your company structure and operating plan
- Define your target market
- Write your value proposition
- Make a financial plan
- One-time startup costs
- Overhead costs
- Research available grants, government support, etc.
- Make a marketing plan
- Determine your marketing channels
REGISTRATION PHASE
Once you have a clear idea and a well-defined business plan, the next step is to familiarize yourself with the legal aspect of having the company registered, in the meantime, also making your services and/or products tangible to your specific audience.
- Choose your company name
- Select a legal business structure
- Register with the Dutch Business Register and Tax Administration (KvK)
- Open a bank account
- (When applicable) Obtain an Employer Identification number
- Arrange industry specific permits and licenses
- (When applicable) File for trademarks and patents
- Register your domain name
- Create a website
- Determine brand guidelines
- Set up relevant social media accounts
- Arrange business cards
POST-REGISTRATION PHASE
In this phase, your business has been launched and is ready to serve its target audience(s), but there are still many aspects to consider, to ensure the professionalism but most importantly the longevity of your company.
- Arrange your financial accounting system
- Determine your pricing structure
- Arrange general terms and conditions, and insurance(s), etc.
- Create your internal management system
- (When applicable) Create an Organizational Chart
- KPIs tracker
- People management
- Check which legal requirements you need to meet
- Grow your client base
- Arrange your sales channels
- Hire employees
- Arrange performance management system
- Arrange payroll
As mentioned, this checklist is a general guideline, different steps may be applicable to specific industries.
Find out specific information about different industries or sectors in the checklists for starting a business.
Source: business.gov.nl
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