Entrepreneurship_Post 5

(This article was published in the bimonthly newsletter of Electrical Technocrats Association - E.T.A)

Legal formalities are very important for any organisation to function smoothly. The type of legal formalities varies according to the nature of business and the type of registration of the organisation.

Any firm has to be registered unless it is a governed by a sole proprietor. The various types are explained here.

Partnership firm

In case of a partnership, minimum two partners have to be involved. The basic details that will be required are each partner’s residential details, share of the capital invested, profit/loss sharing ratio, duration of business, nature and place of business, jurisdictional centre, any other terms and conditions.

This can be done through a lawyer and the total expenses for this including lawyer fee may vary between Rs. 4000 to Rs. 6000.

Private Limited

A minimum of two are required as directors and two as shareholders. The maximum number of shareholders can be 50.

The directors have to obtain a Digital Signature separately. The fee of registration varies based on the total initial investment. For a investment of around Rs. 1 lakh, the expenses may be around Rs. 35000 to Rs. 40,000 including the fee to the lawyer.

Public Limited

It is said that a minimum capital of Rs. 1 crore is required to register as a public firm. Since this is not sought by almost any of the entrepreneurs in the initial stage, let me not dwell much into this.

Of late, there is another form registration that been introduced, which is similar to registration of a partnership firm.

Apart from the company registration, other legal procedures involve tax registrations.

TIN (Tax Information Network) number has to be obtained if the business is offering products. “C” Form is required in case of trading a product across states. Service tax registration has to be done in case of service oriented business. There is a threshold limit for the revenue to pay such taxes.

This article gives only a gist of legal aspects. There are lot more to it. Interested readers can contact me or do a web search to learn more.

Let us look at the ways to raise funds in the next newsletter. Till then, keep your feedback posted.

The author is the Founder & CEO of Ulaginoli Energy Solutions and can be reached at boniface@ulaginoli.com or +91 9884342050

Entrepreneurship_Post 4

(This article was published in the bimonthly newsletter of Electrical Technocrats Association - E.T.A)
Business Model is nothing but the way for you/your product (goods & services) to reach your customers and a way for customers to reach you. Have you ever wondered how your favourite drink reaches you? You just go the retail shop and buy the one you desire. The retailer actually buys it from a dealer, who actually buys it from a distributor who sells it to several dealers. The distributor in turn will buy it from the manufacturer. This is just a simple dealership model.

There are various innovative ways to develop a business model. Of late, there are several business models that have become quite popular. The business model followed by companies like Amway, called Multi level Marketing, claims to have eliminated the middleman was studied, discussed and debated a lot.

You can either reach your customers directly or through various inter-mediatory sources like dealers, distributors, agents, etc.

The decision on the type of model heavily relies on the nature of business. Some experts advice to follow the business models that are very prevalent in the market, while some others argue that creating an innovative business model is absolutely necessary to succeeded in the business.

A simple way is to identify the players in the same sector as yours, who are offering similar or related products. Study them and analyse whether their business model will suit you. You can also make the necessary alternation to their business models to create a unique one. The business models which you follow should be an exemplary one and help you understand the ways to reach customers in that particular sector. But one should also understand, that analysing and modifying an existing business model might kill your creativity and the innovativeness in you.

The major objective of the business model should be to make things easier for the customers as well the organisation. It a win – win situation for both the organisation and the customer.

A good business model can increase your sales, margin, brand name etc. whereas a bad one can reduce your business to crumbs in fractions of second.

I request you go through certain books or websites, which shows the various list of business models and their mode of operations.

As, a student of Electrical & Electronics, you can look at the business models of various companies in the sector.

Let us look at the legal aspects of a start up in the next newsletter. Till then, keep your feedback posted.

The author is the Founder & C.E.O. of Ulaginoli Energy Solutions and can be reached at boniface@ulaginoli.com or +91 9884342050