We took our passion for working with language educators and formalized it into an official business. This was powerful because it shifted our mindset and made a big difference financially. Here’s how.

1. We chose a name and set out to make it our own. We used a service called Business Development Centre here in Canada to make sure our name was available. Find a similar service in your country.

2. We registered our business with our provincial authorities. Once we knew our name was ours, we registered our company as a partnership. You will need to choose if a partnership or sole proprietorship works best for you. The key question is: Do you work alone or with others? Decide now and fill out the relevant forms.

3. We took our name and registration number for our business to a bank and opened a business account. You can use your current bank or choose a new one. We chose the cheapest one. We each chipped in $250 bucks to open an account and paid $7 a month in fees, which covered a handful of withdrawals (to cover bills) and unlimited deposits. We just deposited enough upfront for business expenses such as space rentals and refreshments for our workshops. You could probably open one with $100 if you work online and have no overhead. The reason you need to have a separate account is so that you can use your business account (not your personal account) to cover business expenses. It’s just good accounting practice.

4. We set up our tax account with our country’s tax office. In Canada, companies can create a business account with Revenue Canada. As you grow, you will need to report and remit tax collected to your local governing body. You just provide your business information and banking details.

5. We continue to stay on top of these accounts. Make sure that you update your accounts with any changes as they happen. For example, you might move, or you might need to renew your provincial or state license. Update this information in the relevant portal. It takes 5 minutes but saves you heaps of time and stress later on.

So, why should you do this? Well, this small investment of time upfront can be a powerful and motivating tool. For example, if you could work out for an hour now if it meant never having to exercise again in order to stay healthy, you would probably do it. It’s a similar notion. Putting in the time to work out these details in the first weeks of your business, you can use these resources to solidify your marketing, write off business expenses, and have an air of confidence knowing that everything is above board.📈