Business Start Up Guide and Checklist

1. Business March 17
Start Up
Check
List
2012
(Investor Guide to setting up a new business)
Prepared By: [Guide to
Milton Onyiro
milonyiro@hotmail.com Business
P.O.BOX 2973-00100 Planning]
Nairobi, Kenya

2. Important Business Start Up Components:
A. CHECK LIST FOR ALL NEW START UP / UNIT BUSINESS MODEL:
MODEL DESCRIPTION STATUS
a. Owners
Key Partners
b. Resource they give
c. The Function of Partners
Key Activities a. Particular activities under each service that add Value
Preposition
a. Practice areas also known as -Services /Value to deliver to
Value: Offers clients
Customer a. Customers Expectation and relation/ does the relationship
Relationship exist/
Customer
Segment a. Target or classification of customers
Key Resources a. What key resources (Expertise) unique services- to offer/to
the legal service market
Channel a. How we reach our clients/ Target segment/how do they
reach us/ how we are linked to clients
Cost Structure a. The Start Up Cost and Operation Cost for the firm
a. What clients are willing to pay
Revenue Stream b. What they currently pay
c. How they prefer to pay
d. % of expected revenue from clients

3. B. CHECK LIST FOR LEGAL FIRM PLAN:
1. Summary of your plan (one to two pages)
Highlighting the following about branch/unit/division/department business
a. What is the business?
b. What is the market?
c. Potential for business
d. Forecast profit figures
e. How much money is needed?
f. Prospects for the investor/lender
2. Partners (Management) (as many pages as needed)
a. There past employment and business record. Identify achievements,
b. The record of other key team working with you.
3. The Legal service- Practice Areas (two pages plus an appendix)
a. A simple description of key Practice Areas
b. Why the law practice areas are unique or distinct.
c. Brief survey of the legal services competition.
d. How the Legal Service will be developed further,
4. Marketing Segmentation (three or four pages with detailed statistics in an
appendix)
The market:
a. Legal service size, its past and future growth.
b. Analysis of legal market into sectors; identify sector your business is aimed at.
c. Likely customers: who, type (industrial or consumer), size, how they buy.
d. Your competitors: who, their size, position in market, likely response to your
challenge.
5. Selling:
a. How you will sell (Internet, direct mail, phone, intermediaries, and so on).
b. Who will sell.
c. Some idea of your sales pitch (for example, benefits of your Services).
d. How you will price.
6. Operational details (length depends on nature of business)
a. Where you will be based – location, premises.
b. Suppliers.
c. Operation Service facilities
d. Equipment needed.
e. Information technology strategy.
7. Financial analysis (two to three pages; data in optional appendix)
a. Summary of forecasts.
b. Monthly profit and loss forecast for two years.
c. Profit forecast for further three years.
8. The prospects (one or two pages)
a. Your objectives – short-term, long-term
b. The finance needed and what it is needed for.
c. Shareholdings of Key Partners

4. C. CHECKLIST FOR START
DESCRIPTIONS OF
CHECK LIST ITEM STATUS ACTION STATUS
COMMENT
1 Identify Clients by
Names
2 Asses Risk of Starting
Business
3 Choose a Name
4 Search availability
5 Articles of
incorporation
6 Place to incorporate
7 Register your
corporation's name
8 Decide on Legal
Structure
9 Directors for your
corporation
10 Corporation's by-laws
11 Shareholder agreement
12 Share Value
13 File your corporation's
articles of incorporation
with
14 Tax compliant status
(optional).
15 Bank account for your
corporation
16 Minute book for your
corporation's meetings
17 Hold your first board of
directors' meeting
18 Issue certificates

5. 19 Business licenses and
permits
20 Compliant with all
legal requirements
21 Business Contacts
22 Facility- Building
1. Rent
2. Lease
3. Design
4. Setting Fixtures
and Fittings
22 Office Equipment:
Furniture:
1. Desks
2. Chairs
3. Cabinets
4. Book shelves
5. Trash cans,
6. recycling basket
Electronics:
1. Telephone System
and Requisite
Service
2. Computers,
3. Software,
4. Printers,
5. Scanner
6. Photocopy
machine
7. Fax machine
8. Calculator
23 Supplies
1. Paper
2. Envelopes
3. sticky notes
4. pens,

6. 5. pencils,
6. staplers,
7. Paper punches,
8. stamp,
9. file folders and
box files
10. tape,
11. binders,
12. staple remover,
13. paper clips,
colored sticky
tabs, and etc
24 Staff
1. Top Management
2. Management
3. Supervisors
4. Support Staff
25 Library
26 Prepare a Budget
27 Insurance
28 Marketing
1. business cards
2. signage
3. Email
4. Website
29 Office System
1. Office
Administration
2. Filing System
3. Accounting System