Demetrio, from Law Squared, covered business essentials and structures. Setting up a business plan is essential to create a timetable for goals and objectives, provide a brief for banks, incubators, etc, and determine any risks and legal obligations. Once the foundation has been set, there are some other burdens that must be taken care of to have a smoothly running, successful business.
Equity can be very tricky. Demetrio made sure to detail splitting equity, sweat equity, vesting, and share options to show us small business owners what the options are, how to tell what will work best for our business, and how to navigate around equity to keep investors, employees, and founders happy.
A tip from Law Squared is to create a clear and detailed Term Sheet. This document should include company and founder and investor details, amounts of investments, valuations, voting rights, key considerations, and equity splits. This will in turn aid in negotiations, avoid inconsistencies, and the path the way for further legalities.
Stacey, founder of Healthy Business Finances, the “numbers nerd” informed us on all things numbers! Focussing on accounting and bookkeeping, she answered those day to day questions all startups ask themselves and then push to the side to fall beneath the piles of work to get done.
Stacey highlighted the importance of paying yourself a wage from the very beginning. This is so hard for some of us, especially at the early stages, as we feel guilty taking from any success our business might be bringing in. Change that frame of mind! Pay yourself from the beginning to set up good habits and outline how you would like your business to go on. Startups take a lot of hard work and dedication… and simply, you deserve it! The amount is irrelevant, but the principles are significant.
Tip two: you CAN budget your money so stop self-sabotaging and simplify. Keep all your receipts in an organized format, pay taxes because that means you are making sales, and budget, budget, budget!
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