How to start a business? The steps to follow

1 - Define and evaluate your idea

An idea often takes the form of a hunch or a simple desire that deepens and matures over time. The more new or original the idea, the more you will have to question the ability of future customers to accept it. The more banal it is, the more you will have to think about its real usefulness compared to the offer already existing on the market.

Start by precisely defining your idea in writing. If it presents a new character, take precautions to be able to prove that you are indeed at the origin. For example, file a Soleau envelope with the Inpi , which will allow you to constitute proof of creation and give a certain date to your idea or project.

Finally, make sure that there is consistency between your personality, your motivations, your objectives, your know-how, your personal resources and constraints… and the requirements of your project. If incompatibilities appear, you will have to look for solutions: train yourself , look for partners, set up a work team with complementary skills, adapt your project, etc.

2 - Make sure you have customers

This is a crucial element because without customers, there is no business possible! Indeed a "great idea" can become a bad project, for lack of customers. On the other hand, a "banal idea", under the right conditions, can turn out to be very lucrative.

The main objectives of carrying out market research are:

precisely define who your customers will be, their expectations,

position yourself against the competition,

and thus to adapt your product or your service according to the elements collected.

In addition, the analysis of these elements will allow you to:

define a price level acceptable to your future customers,

determine your strategy and quantify the first commercial and communication actions that will be necessary to capture and then retain your customers ,

set a forecast turnover.

3 - Cost your project

This step consists of answering three essential questions:

Will your business be profitable , and when?

What capital is needed to launch the project under good conditions and ensure its development?

Will the revenue collected (sale of products and/or services) by your company throughout the year allow it to permanently meet the expenses for the same period (payment of current charges, suppliers, etc.)? In other words, how to prevent cash flow problems and determine the turnover conditions to be met in order to generate a positive result? The average payment terms of suppliers and customers in your sector of activity, regulated by law, are elements that you must take into account.

This approach will lead you to build a coherent and viable project presented in a file, called a business plan . Each option will find its financial translation and its impact on financial balances. If the imbalance is too great, your project will have to be redesigned and its financial structure adapted accordingly.

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4 - Look for funding

Proper financing of a business creation project is one of its conditions for success. You will need to find enough capital so that the needs you have identified are fully funded.

After having identified these needs and assessed the resources that you can easily mobilize, you will need to identify and request one or more financial solutions for the missing capital: honorary loans at zero interest and without guarantee, crowdfunding , micro-credit, bank loans , search for investors in the company's share capital, etc.

The support of an organization with perfect knowledge of the existing financing tools for creators and assistance for business creation can be invaluable at this stage. Consult the Bpifrance Création address book !

5 - Choose an appropriate legal status

The legal status corresponds to the legal framework in which you will carry out your activity. Several possibilities are available to you, it will be necessary to take into account different criteria to choose the best legal form for your company.

If you create alone , you will have to choose between the sole proprietorship, ie in your own name ( micro-entrepreneur regime or "classic" sole proprietorship) or a company ( EURL , SASU ). If you set up your project with one or more partners , several types of companies will be available to you ( SAS , SARL , etc.)

In any case, do not neglect this step and choose your structure with the help of a legal professional, lawyer or other, who can also advise you on the drafting of the partnership agreement (the capital contribution, the type taxation, etc.). Your choice will have repercussions for you, in terms of assets, social security and tax. It can also engage the future of the company.

6 - Bring your business to life

For your business to have a legal existence, you must file your registration file with the competent Business Formalities Center (CFE). The formalities for setting up a business are now dematerialized, they can be done directly in a few clicks on an online platform guichet-entreprise.fr . However, you can always go to the CFEs of the CCIs (chambers of commerce and industry), CMAs (chambers of trades and crafts), chambers of agriculture, Urssaf, or the registry of the commercial court. of the place of residenceof your business, i.e. the address of the premises where you will carry out your activity, to submit your business creation file. The CFE will then inform the various administrations: INSEE, the business tax services, etc.

The CFEs will gradually give way to the one-stop shop during a transitional period which began on April 1, 2021 and will end on January 1, 2023. The one-stop shop managed by the Inpi (National Institute of Industrial Property) will become compulsory from January 1, 2023.

You will then receive an identification number from your company: your Siren number. A Siret number will also be issued to you by INSEE for each of your establishments. You will find all the administrative procedures to be completed on the Infogreffe website ( declarations, forms, etc.).

Your business will be set up and you can then start your new life as a young entrepreneur by following the advice in the moments of life I manage and I develop .