Do You Want to Start Your Own Business?

Develop your speaking skills. Level B1/B2

Starting a business of your own can be challenging. It is never easy because so many things are outside your control. If you are thinking about working for yourself, you must start thinking about the qualities you need to run a business. Be hard with yourself. If you have a weakness, it is better to find out now rather than later when your business could be in danger. Ask yourself whether you are a good organizer. Is your health good? Are you good at making decisions? Do you have any practical experience of the business you want to start? Are you prepared to work long hours for very little money? If you can’t answer ‘yes’ to most of the questions, perhaps you should think again about starting a business of your own.

These are the steps of starting a business:

Choose the right business idea that suits your interests, your personal goals, and your natural abilities. This will help you stay motivated.
Successful businesses are built through careful planning. Plan your business: choose a business name, find a business location, conduct market research and write a business plan. A well-written business plan gives answers to such questions: What problem does your business solve? Who are your potential customers? Who will you need to hire, and what professional relationships will you need to form in order to succeed? How much money will it take to get there, and where will you get the funding?
Get funding. Business funding options: bootstrapping (the do-it-yourself approach to business funding which means you provide the capital for your business through personal savings); financing your business through friends and family loans; small business grants and small business loans. Calculate your business costs before seeking outside funding. Be smart with your spending.
Choose a business structure: a sole proprietorship, partnership, a limited liability company (LLC), a nonprofit organization funded by donations.
Register your business.
Set up business banking: open a business bank account, get a business credit card, learn about the importance of accounting.
Get insured.
Obtain permits and licenses.
Hire employees.
Create your business name and logo.
Create a website for your business, a Facebook page, an Instagram page and a YouTube channel.
Promote your business through ads.

Source: https://howtostartanllc.com/start-a-business

Family Business

I am in family business, and I am here to tell you what it is like. So, my father founded our company ten years ago. It is based in London, but we have offices in Paris and Berlin too. My brother is in charge of the office in Paris, and one of my uncles runs the office in Berlin. It is interesting, but it is not always easy.

We have meetings every week and we discuss a lot of important questions. We have many clients overseas, so we talk about ways to increase sales. We have a nice website, but we always need to add new things to it. We often have discussions about this. We are all good friends, but our ideas are sometimes different. The important thing is the respect everyone’s opinion.