How to start your business – Practical steps

Register your company with Corporate Affairs Commission.

Arguably the first practical step to take when launching your business is to register the business with the Corporate Affairs Commission. This is not as difficult as it sounds.

It is actually a very simple process. What you need is a lawyer who is paid to maneuver the unnecessary delays and hurdles present in Nigerian pubic offices. You don’t even need to start with registering your business as an LTD or a PLC. As an SME, you can start with registering the business name first. This is all you need in order to open a bank account in the name of the business. You can later on upgrade from a business name to a full-fledged LTD or PLC after you have made some money, because it costs a little more to do this.

Another advantage of early business registration (before printing business cards etc.) is in order to lay hold of the business name its self. So many other people may have registered names identical to what you have in mind. Even if the name is a hybrid of your mother’s maiden name and your nick name while in primary school, chances are someone else somewhere has already thought about it and registered with the same name.

To avoid discouragement and heart break, it is wise that you have at least two alternative names and you keep an open mind when sending the names for registration.

The CAC will then mail you your certificate of registration which can then be used as proof that the business is a legal entity therefore allowing you to open a business account.

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