admin answers:

There is a company in Switzerland called Rossenbaum Corporation (www.Rossenbaum.com). They provide many business development solutions including the dealers network organization. Our company has 20 dealers in Europe, Asia and States. Rossenabaum has many options including a non-expensive and rather fast solutions to get dealers in many countries. However you should be ready to spend at least 100-150k + you will not own the dealer network, you will pay for the Rossenbaum services. I think this is the best for you anyway. There are not so many companies which provide such services. So check out Rossenbaum, Ron. Good luck!

admin answers:

Birmingham (solihull parkway) easily closest – About 100 miles away, Good motorway and Train links to London…
Aberdeen and some others about 600 miles from London mate! I believe Solihull also has an immigration office HQ – hope that is of help to you

admin answers:

I would also ask how relavent is the company to the prospects of continued growth… Is the software they produce going to continue to be a usable commodity at the currant rate it is growing? Or will it loose it’s impact after a few years? Will our society continue to need it over the next 5 to 10 years?

(If I was younger, I would definately get into oil, energy, or water.)

Will the Chineese be able to replicate it for a fraction of the currant costs? Or is this product a singularly unique product that they alone can provide. In otherwords can anyone else offer the same?

I would still go ahead and review a copy of the last three years of the Financial Statements and look at the basics just as you said and calculate the rate of growth and the profit margins.

Look at what the company spent the most money on. I can say that from what I have read, you have a wonderful common sense and that is the most valuable thing. Even if you do not have an education in finance, with your logical mind, you will see that a fanancial statement is not all that difficult to read.
Of course depending on the industry there will be some termanology that you will not understand at times, but most financial statements are not that complicated.

Idealy you would want to find strong long term personel and management, cash reserves, steady, deliberate, and sustained growth in net income and profits and signs of flexibility.

The only way know if the company is going to survice is to check out the competition and compare the numbers and do a rough check on the demographics for the product. In other words, how many “widgets” can the market bear.

And it is also a good idea to casually talk to other employees to get a feel for the moral and general company ethics. Wether you work from home or not, good strong relationships within companys are vital for survival both for the employee and for the life of the company.

The best time to take risks are when you are young, especially if you have no children. I am a very big calculated risk taker and have to say I have been extreemly fortunate, lucky, and blessed…I have a wonderful, high standard of life and took a lot of risks while I was young, do not work but continue to gain from use of common sense in the stock market.

Regarding your employment contract, if it looks like the growth opportunity is very high, then you may want to stipulate that you get shares of the company as an incentive, if you feel you have enough clout to pull it off. That way if the company really goes bananas, you could in fact become uber rich!

Good luck Mike, it sounds pretty good to me.

Sorry for spelling errors, spell check NOT WORKING!

admin answers:

You’ve got a couple of different issues here; let’s tackle them one at a time

Starting a Software Development Business:

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you’re interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you’ll inevitably have as well as many you haven’t anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* The Business of Software: What Every Manager, Programmer, and Entrepreneur Must Know to Thrive and Survive in Good Times and Bad by Michael A. Cusumano
* Software That Sells: A Practical Guide to Developing and Marketing Your Software Project by Edward Hasted
* Start Your Own Software Company: A Step-By-Step Guide to Setting Up a Computer Software Business by David J. Cracas
* Web & Software Development: A Legal Guide by Stephen Fishman

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Trademarks:

To register a trademark, that’s done either through your Secretary of State for a State trademark or the US Patent & Trademark Office for a Federal trademark.

If you are only conducting business in one state, then a State trademark is most appropriate. If you conduct (OR are planning to conduct) business in at least 2 states OR between the US & any other country, you can file for a Federal trademark.

Prior to investing your time, money & effort into a name, it is strongly advised that comprehensive research be conducted to ensure that the name you’re interested in is truly available.

This entails searching the pending & registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files. Then, if clear, you can decide if you would like to file for a Federal or a State trademark.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

admin answers:

If you already own a business than I don’t need to tell you the basics to get started.
I would start a new business name/designation – don’t add on to your existing business. Get professional marketing materials created – business cards, a website, perhaps some postcards to distribute hand-to-hand. You need to look very professional if employers are going to trust you to help them find someone to work with. You know all the extras like getting an office space for interviews and how to organize your paperwork. In terms of software, you don’t need to invest in something now. Just set-up an MS Excel or MS Access database where you can keep records of people who need a job and their experiences etc. And a database for employers who need specific types of people.
The best advice I can give you is to network. You need to make as many contacts in as many industries as possible. Ads in the paper are great but can be very costly. Networking (word-of-mouth) is the best especially for trying to make contacts to send potential employees to. Join your Chamber of Commerce, Breakfast/Lunch Networking groups, and get involved in your community – you will get business from this. You may want to consider a specialization like retail staff, landscaping, or general labour. That will also give you a good focus for marketing.
Contact me for more advice, I would love to share more thoughts with you on this as the space on this site is too small and your idea is quite big.

admin answers:

Ever heard of cheating?

I don’t mind explaining to a child how to work out the area of a rectangle or something but what you’re asking for is a step w-a-a-a-y over the line.

To be honest I hope you get caught because there’s a lot of your fellow students who will have been working hard to get their grades.

admin answers:

You can buy the product because you don’t know the outcome of the lawsuit yet.

admin answers:

Well most of those are just outside London. You need to go to http://tfl.gov.uk/assets/images/general/mapt-tube-standard-colourmap.gif

and look at that tube map.

On tfl.gov.uk you cna ifnd details of tube services but i would advise you come to the UK to see for yourself.

Plonker3000

admin answers:

Yeah, what that __ZR__ dude said

admin answers:

1. If you asking for VAT then no vat no excise and no custom duty on sale. Excise duty even if there he can claim the exemption be furnishing the deceleration that he is exporting the same or say he can clear the goods without paying excise duty under the bond.

2. No exemption to service tax export in respect of income tax.

3. No service tax on export of service and goods.

4. No. Corporate rate is applicable on to companies.

5. Tax will be on Net income.

admin answers:

Ours is also a small company and we are using Replicon Time tracking software since 4 years, without any difficulty.

There is no extra charge for any additional feature. It’s very easy to set up projects/clients and see who is working on what and their billable/non-billable hours, with Multi-level Approval Paths.

You can take a free trial and give it a try.

admin answers:

Getting assistance from a Venture Capital can be risky, and not just the possibility of getting kicked out. The plus side is that your dealings with them would be negotiated, meaning you could ascertain from them, using your own legal counsel, up front if losing your company to them is possible.
The bigger danger is losing creative control and direction in your company. VCs can and do assign directors/managers, etc to “help” oversee the business. It may not take too long before they are running the show, even though you still ‘own’ the company.
Using a VC group doesn’t have to be bad, but you should look at other options: business loans from the bank, grants from government or private sources, private investors (including so-called ‘angel funding’). Angel funding will also contain some kind of part-ownership deal, but again, this is all negotiable.

If these other options don’t pan out, you can still investigate the VC route. As far as an attorney goes, business law is a common field. As you grow, you may wish to hire a business lawyer onto the payroll. You can also use any firm that specializes in business law. Just ensure that you check them out thoroughly, as you would any potential employee.

admin answers:

It’s not easy, trust me.

Most software is underpriced because people who don’t understand business sell it so cheaply.

Here is what you need to consider when building software:

You’ll probably invest hundreds of hours (maybe even thousands) designing a few applications no one ever buys, despite your market research showing there was a demand for.

Sell something like that for $50.00 and you’ll end up making 2 cents an hour, add all your marketing costs, hosting, etc.. And you’ll find yourself earning a negative amount.

I’ve written high quality software engineered to be as solid as possible, relatively bug free (no known security holes such as SQL injections) and extensible, designed with an eye toward easy customizations.

Guess what? People don’t care about such things.

I do a lot of freelance work as well, by and large, people prefer cheaply made, bug laiden over bloated code that breaks down all the time over things that are solid, I know this because I’ve done a lot of work putting band-aids on these things for people.

It’s weird, but given the choice, even if the crappy software is overpriced, people choose the crappy software.

I’ve got over 20 years experience writing software, if you’ve got 4 years, you should probably find someone who has a product you like and approach them for a partnership.

It’s not as easy as it looks, believe me. You need someone who’s been there and done it so you can learn the pitfalls. (make sure you can get along with them…)

admin answers:

1. Yes. You need to have an auditor and they may charge anywhere between 10-20k
2. If its EOU than you will have tax exemption othersie its10.36%
3. Yes. STPI registration is compulsory

admin answers:

It’s not easy, trust me.

Most software is underpriced because people who don’t understand business sell it so cheaply.

Here is what you need to consider when building software:

You’ll probably invest hundreds of hours (maybe even thousands) designing a few applications no one ever buys, despite your market research showing there was a demand for.

Sell something like that for $50.00 and you’ll end up making 2 cents an hour, add all your marketing costs, hosting, etc.. And you’ll find yourself earning a negative amount.

I’ve written high quality software engineered to be as solid as possible, relatively bug free (no known security holes such as SQL injections) and extensible, designed with an eye toward easy customizations.

Guess what? People don’t care about such things.

I do a lot of freelance work as well, by and large, people prefer cheaply made, bug laiden over bloated code that breaks down all the time over things that are solid, I know this because I’ve done a lot of work putting band-aids on these things for people.

It’s weird, but given the choice, even if the crappy software is overpriced, people choose the crappy software.

I’ve got over 20 years experience writing software, if you’ve got 4 years, you should probably find someone who has a product you like and approach them for a partnership.

It’s not as easy as it looks, believe me. You need someone who’s been there and done it so you can learn the pitfalls. (make sure you can get along with them…)

admin answers:

1. Yes. You need to have an auditor and they may charge anywhere between 10-20k
2. If its EOU than you will have tax exemption othersie its10.36%
3. Yes. STPI registration is compulsory

admin answers:

Obviously, the best way to increase the value is to increase the sales and exposure.

There are a number of ways to take it to market, with affiliate marketing being an excellent way.

Might I suggest checking this company out:

http://www.shareresults.com/?cid=2253&sid=5470&pid=0&mid=105

With “Affiliate Marketing”, you don’t pay a dime in commission unless there’s a sale for it. That way you can get exposure on a large number of websites.

Why not email me your link, and I’ll post it on my site for you?
Https://ecommbiz.net

admin answers:

I should charge you for this answer .

Follow in the footsteps of your fellow countrymen SAP. They find and use local consulting companies to act as implementers. Of course you are not on the same scale, but the model will certainly work.

There are many small consulting companies world wide that are looking for products. Find them, and approach them with partnerships. Or find larger ones, and offer them exclusivity in their markets for your product if they can agree to terms and you believe they can effectively distribute your product.

Also their are companies that do localization. They will take your product and localize (language, tax structure etc.) for their markets and often they also then will sell your product, get them trained up and they also provide first line support.

You can do your homework yourself on the specific companies that fit your model, but they are certainly out there.

Hire a partner and alliance manager and task then to get it done, or if you are really small, prepare to do a lot of flying!

admin answers:

There are a number of freelance software development sites where you can register and bid on software projects. I recommend eLance, but there are others also. Check out these links.

If you want to be perceived as a solid, professional software consulting firm, then you need to focus on presenting a professional online image also. Sites such as eLance give you the ability to set up a detailed profile on yourself, your company, and your expertise, and even add examples of your work or projects. You should also have a professional-looking website (link to it from your profile on eLance or other freelance sites) making it easy for people to see what types of software services you provide, and get in contact with you.

If you software company is offering software products for purchase online, then there is additional marketing you need to do. But it sounds like you’re primarily focused on custom software development consulting.

Good luck!

Joanna

admin answers:

It is quite difficult for a number of reasons:
Start ups don’t generate a lot of money, so you have to be (or have the leader be) financially stable for at least a few years as his company gains popularity.
You have to find the people to work
You either have to have a new idea, or you have to fight against other companies in the field
You also will have to compete with competitors prices and quality of work.

For your particular field, I would advise against it, and for you to join another company that does similar work.