In this step-by-step guide, we cover all the things you need to keep in mind when considering starting a business.

7 steps before starting your own

• To become self-employed
• Your business idea
• Do your own full-time or part-time job?
• Start a business yourself or together?
• Buffer and financing
• Start calculation and budget
• The right time to start a business

1. To become self-employed

Even you who are going to run your company on a smaller scale in addition to a job or studies must be prepared to put in the time and sometimes hard work required to create the conditions to, at a later stage, if you want, invest completely and hold on to your new business.

To succeed, you should be business-oriented, driven, independent, flexible, a little stubborn and willing to work hard.

You often also need to be able to shoulder many different roles, especially in the beginning when, for budgetary reasons, you usually cannot employ other skills. It does not hurt to also be a bit of an incurable optimist and see opportunities where most others see problems. And just that yes, it's an advantage to be a little economical too.

If this suits you, and if you manage to fight through adversity and at the same time learn from them, you will be rewarded with all the fantastic things that come with creating and running your own business:

• Work on something you love
• Decide on your own time
• Realize your dream

2. Your business idea

Often the business concept is what requires the most thought of all the steps in this guide. Especially if your plans are of the more grandiose kind.

But whether you are planning to take over the world with your business idea or if you are just going to do the same thing that is already done in-house (for example by starting a consulting company), there is a universal truth that applies to all companies:

If you intend to be able to live on your business, you must from the start have the ability to create so much revenue that it covers the costs - and generates profit .

To achieve this, your company must find an opening in the market you are to be in. Either by stealing customers from competitors, or finding a whole new target audience.

Maybe you already have a business idea and have come a long way in thinking about it? Good. Then it's time to try writing a business plan to see if your idea holds up. A selection of important questions that you must answer:

• What problems does your product or service solve?
• Who is your target audience?
• Who are your competitors?

3. Do your own full-time or part-time job?

The type of business you want to start determines what the startup will look like. Maybe it's the case that your idea requires your full attention from the start for the company to fly - which makes it difficult to manage a job as an employee at the same time.

Flying start When you decide to invest full time in your new business, a little more buffer is also often required, as you cannot count on the company generating income from day one. Make sure you have money saved that you can live on in the beginning. More about buffer and start-up capital later .

In addition to your regular job Another option is to start your business alongside your regular job. This is possible if, for example, you are planning to start a small business that can be run entirely from home. The advantage of this type of "sneak start" is that you have your source of income left during the start-up phase, and that you do not have to feel stress to be able to take a salary from the company.

Keep in mind, however, that the workload can be high during this period. Not everyone is able to start a business at the same time as having a full-time job.

Reduce working hours An alternative is to reduce working hours. You free up more time to work with your company and reduce the risk of congestion. The disadvantage of this approach is of course that you can get a lower income.

Start a hobby business A good example of this type of sneak start-up is companies that were started as hobby activities from the beginning. However, there are guidelines about what can be counted as hobby activities, such as that there must not be a clear profit motive, for example.

4. Start a business yourself or together?

There are benefits to both starting your own business and starting your own business with others.

Start a business yourself

If you start your own business, you can make quick decisions without having to discuss with anyone else, you have full control over your business and can work efficiently. But at the same time, it is you who must cough up all the start-up capital.

Start a business with someone else When you start your own business with someone, you share both responsibility and risk with that person. You can complement each other both in terms of knowledge and personalities. You always have someone to brainstorm ideas and thoughts with.

It is easier to grow and develop a company when you are already two or more people. The step to employees if you should need is also not experienced as big when you are already more than one person in the company.

5. Buffer and financing

Now you have hopefully got a little idea of ​​what your imagined path into life as an entrepreneur will look like. Now it's time to talk money - starting your own business involves costs.

Going from employment or studies to becoming an entrepreneur requires, in addition to mental preparation, also financial preparation. H ere we have to talk about two different aspects: the private financial aspect (buffer) and the business economic ( start-up capital ). So what does it take to start a business?

Personal finance - save a buffer The buffer is the one you must save up for before you start your own, especially if you are investing in a "clean break" with your previous life as an employee or student. Then you have no other source of income than the one that your new company generates. And income is something you can NOT expect to get from day one.

Therefore, make sure that you save up for a buffer that you (with or without family) can live on during the first half of the year in good time before starting the business. So here we are talking 6 net salaries .

If you plan to sneak your business on a smaller scale, to test if the concept holds, you may be able to manage on a smaller buffer. This is because in this scenario you can keep your employment in parallel (but, possibly, reduce working hours).

Business economics - get start-up capital The business economics aspect is about the costs that must go in full to the start of the business. Do you need to buy goods, equipment and / or rent premises? Did you intend to hire immediately? How big a marketing budget should you have? Are you going to start a limited company and need a share capital ? The share capital costs SEK 25,000 just that.

Count on the rubbing as carefully as possible. Feel free to round up to take into account unforeseen costs that you have not thought of.

6. Start calculation and budget

To help you get started with the calculation work, you can start by doing a start calculation.

The purpose is for you to know what amount is required for you to survive financially the first time. It includes making a liquidity and profit calculation.

Liquidity calculation A liquidity calculation is about money in and out of the company, for example when you get paid for goods or when you pay for something.

Start calculation A profit and loss calculation calculates income and expenses, ie whether your company will make a profit or loss.

7. The right time to start a business

Now you have thought through what it means to start your own and are ready to go to work. Here is the checklist:

• Choose company form
• Choose company name (and domain name)
• Register the company, Tax and VAT
• Obtain any permits
• Take out business insurance
• Solve bookkeeping and accounting
• Set up a website or web shop