The first step you must take once you have made the decision to start a business is to specify the business idea you have in a business plan. This should include the following points:
Characteristics of the market: you must carry out a market study to know the current real situation of the sector in which you want to undertake, as well as your competition.
SWOT: you will have to analyze the internal and external characteristics of your project regarding the Weaknesses, Strengths, Threats and Opportunities of the business. Be as honest and exhaustive as possible, it will help you define your project correctly and avoid possible future problems.
Goal: To start, you will need to set a realistic goal that you can achieve in the short term (6 months). After this time, you will be able to assess the success of your company, correct possible errors and/or assess its continuation.
Legal structure: the next step is to establish the legal structure that your business needs: self-employed, Limited Company, Limited Company formation, cooperative, etc. Once you have chosen the legal form, you will have to choose a name and verify that there is no business with the same name in the Mercantile Registry.
You must also establish a unique and exclusive bank account for your company. In it you will deposit the social capital. Remember to request a certificate of deposit at the bank in which the data of the partner, or the partners, if applicable, as well as the contributions made, must be recorded. It will serve to prove the social capital in the constitution of the company.
Next, you have to draw up the bylaws. This is one of the most important steps to create a company, since they represent the bases on which your company is constituted. In them, several essential data are collected, such as the name, capital, registered office, etc. In addition, other aspects of interest for the proper functioning of the business are defined, such as the administrative body, the distribution of dividends or the process to follow in the event of dissolution of the company.
To formalize all the procedures for creating your company, you will have to notarize it before a notary. To do this, you must go to a notary all the partners of the company and provide the following documentation:
- Negative certification from the Mercantile Registry
- Bank certificate of deposit of social capital
- Articles of Association
- DNI or NIE of the partners
Later, to register your company with the Treasury and get your provisional NIF, you must present form 036, a copy of the articles of incorporation and a copy of the statutes at the Tax Agency.
When you have your provisional NIF, you must incorporate your company before the Mercantile Registry of your province to obtain full legal competence. Keep in mind that this does not mean that your company is protected as a trademark, since for this you will need to register it in the Patent and Trademark Registry.
Note: You will have 3 months from when you verified in the registry that the name of your company was available to formally register it.
Once you have completed all these steps, you must request the definitive NIF. You can do it electronically at the Treasury with a digital certificate, presenting form 036 with box 120 marked, along with:
- Copy of the public deed
- Certificate of registration in the Mercantile Registry
- Photocopy of the NIF of the person who signs the census declaration
Original and photocopy of the document that proves the capacity of representation of the person signing the census declaration (if it appears as such in the deed of incorporation or in the statutes, this document will not be necessary).
Once all the procedures are done, the next step is to launch your product or service for sale. Whether in a physical space or online, focus on making it known to your target audience. It would be interesting if you launched an advertising campaign to reach the greatest number of people.
