
Pick your business location
Choose a strategic geographic location of your business. This is an extremely important factor for businesses in starting or opening their shop.
How does location impact a business?
Talent Attraction and Retention – to ensure that you have the best employees working for your business, location matters. You’ll want to ensure the people that live in that locale have the skills you require to run your business;
Cost – in cities or other city centers, they usually come with a hefty price tag;
Proximity to other local businesses/Competition – you have to consider if they will be competitive enough to take customers or even staff away from your company;
Accessibility - finding a location that can be easily accessed by both your customers and your staff can make or break a business;
Demographics – you have to take note that most customers rely on convenience; and
Tax and Regulations – Local Government Units (LGU’s) have different ordinances, rules, and requirements with respect to a specific business. Some may be business-friendly, and others may not be that much.
Know the specific government agency you will need to register and their corresponding rules and regulations.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) - for single proprietorship; however, entrepreneurs must remember that securing a business name does not provide a license to operate a business, and ensuring a legal corporate name is just part of the process of legally operating an enterprise;
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – for corporations and partnerships;
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) - government agency that assesses and collects all national internal revenue taxes, fees, and all charges;
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) - government agency that protects the rights and welfare of employees working in the Philippines. Enterprises with five or more employees are required to register with DOLE;
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) - government agency that provides health coverage to Philippine citizens such as Filipino workers, overseas workers, as well as the indigent community;
Social Security System (SSS) - agency where workers in the private sector and self-employed citizens are assisted upon retirement or unemployment due to disabilities. Employers are obligated to register with SSS upon hiring their first employee;
Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) - government agency that registers and authorizes all types of cooperatives in the Philippines;
Home Development Mutual Fund (HMDF) - commonly known as the “Pag-IBIG fund” is the government agency that takes care of the house financing of Filipino workers; furthermore, HMDF is also mandated along with SSS and Philhealth, and its contribution is from both the employer and employee; and
Various Local Government Units - registering with the Local Government Unit (LGU) where your business is located is essential before legally operating. Usually, the license from the LGU is commonly known as the business permit or Mayor’s permit.
Be familiar with the applicable taxes for your specific business.
For this purpose, you may want to consult an accountant or a lawyer. There are many ways on how to conduct a business legally, by paying not that much of taxes. This is what we call as “tax avoidance”, which is valid under the law.
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