Starting A company
by Jim Evans · in General Discussion · 09/02/2002 (1:08 am) · 3 replies
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#2
An Ltd. provides limited liability, just the same as plc (limited liability will mean if you go bankrupt, you won't have to sell personal assets to cover company debts), and both allow you to register your unique company name (there are a few guidelines to that, which you'll discover if you make an application). The main difference between them is to do with the shares and shareholders.
In a Public Limited Company (plc), shares are floated on the stockmarket for anyone to buy and sell. This option is mostly for very large companies, and few start-ups will opt to be a plc. straight away, but will be more likely to "float" their stocks at a later date.
In a Private Limited Company (ltd), shares are not publicly available. You choose who you want to sell them to, and you can even choose to be the sole shareholder if you wish. Though this will mean you won't get any outside capital from sale of shares.
Plc wouldn't really be a choice for you I imagine, unless you have an investor willing to throw a whole lotta money your way :)
Starting an ltd involves quite a few official processes, and can take hours, days, or weeks depending how much you're willing to pay. You will need to supply a registered office for the company, this can be your house, the office, anywhere, just so long as theres a registered address that you can be contacted thru..it can be changed at a cost, but you'd probably be better off just getting it right the first time ;)
You'd also have to supply a unique company name, with you wanting such a strange name, this probably won't be a problem, but it may be rejected, in which case you'll have to supply another.
The rest is a little more tricky, you'll have to supply all the information on how many shares you intend to create, how much each share will be worth, you'll need to appoint a company director, and a company secritary. These cannot be the same person. You'll have to file annual account, and the biggest *argh* that most people encounter is having to do the company taxes, so you should probably hire an accountant :)
Theres a lot more little hoops to jump thru I haven't mentioned, but starting a company isn't something to take lightly ;) I suggest you go to your library and do some serious reading.
Good luck, and if you get a bit mind-boggled, the best thing to do is to ask a freind/family member/whatever who owns their own company for help.
Oh yeh, the company doesn't have to pay anyone, you could have a staff of voulenteers.
09/02/2002 (10:15 am)
Ltd, and Plc, (inc=ltd llc(might)=plc...I'm not sure of the latter) are the two types of company you'd be interested in. There is also sole trader, partnership and limited partnership, but none really have the advantages of ltd/plc, for what you want at least.An Ltd. provides limited liability, just the same as plc (limited liability will mean if you go bankrupt, you won't have to sell personal assets to cover company debts), and both allow you to register your unique company name (there are a few guidelines to that, which you'll discover if you make an application). The main difference between them is to do with the shares and shareholders.
In a Public Limited Company (plc), shares are floated on the stockmarket for anyone to buy and sell. This option is mostly for very large companies, and few start-ups will opt to be a plc. straight away, but will be more likely to "float" their stocks at a later date.
In a Private Limited Company (ltd), shares are not publicly available. You choose who you want to sell them to, and you can even choose to be the sole shareholder if you wish. Though this will mean you won't get any outside capital from sale of shares.
Plc wouldn't really be a choice for you I imagine, unless you have an investor willing to throw a whole lotta money your way :)
Starting an ltd involves quite a few official processes, and can take hours, days, or weeks depending how much you're willing to pay. You will need to supply a registered office for the company, this can be your house, the office, anywhere, just so long as theres a registered address that you can be contacted thru..it can be changed at a cost, but you'd probably be better off just getting it right the first time ;)
You'd also have to supply a unique company name, with you wanting such a strange name, this probably won't be a problem, but it may be rejected, in which case you'll have to supply another.
The rest is a little more tricky, you'll have to supply all the information on how many shares you intend to create, how much each share will be worth, you'll need to appoint a company director, and a company secritary. These cannot be the same person. You'll have to file annual account, and the biggest *argh* that most people encounter is having to do the company taxes, so you should probably hire an accountant :)
Theres a lot more little hoops to jump thru I haven't mentioned, but starting a company isn't something to take lightly ;) I suggest you go to your library and do some serious reading.
Good luck, and if you get a bit mind-boggled, the best thing to do is to ask a freind/family member/whatever who owns their own company for help.
Oh yeh, the company doesn't have to pay anyone, you could have a staff of voulenteers.
#3
edit: And yes, even if the company doesn't have any incomings or outgoings, you still have to pay setup costs. And wqill still have to fuile annual accounts etc. You'd probably be better off waiting until you have a project further along the line, or have an investor, to set up a company.
09/02/2002 (3:15 pm)
Canada is a *very* good place to start a new media company, particularly in the gaming industry. The government right now is trying to encourage growth in that industry so theyre giving out all sorts of grants, tax exemptions etc etc. You should look into that.edit: And yes, even if the company doesn't have any incomings or outgoings, you still have to pay setup costs. And wqill still have to fuile annual accounts etc. You'd probably be better off waiting until you have a project further along the line, or have an investor, to set up a company.
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