Starting a UK Private Limited Company
Overview
It’s not easy starting a company. To the uninformed, it can be a gruelling and arduous slog! Uncertainty, frustration, setbacks, a weak mission, fragile idea, the dull paperwork - it’s all part of the mix!
The risks can be high, and so can the investment and opportunity costs. And because a lot will likely to be new to you, expect to be challenged and surprised at every turn and corner!
If you get it right, though, (…if you get it right!), the benefits can be truly immense!
- Satisfaction gained in having started something up yourself,
- Autonomy and control of something that is truly your own,
- Greater flexibility in working hours (work when it suits you!),
- A very diverse learning experience (you do mostly everything, at first!),
- Highly leveraged and attractive asymmetric returns (compared to being an employee),
- Freedom in movement and time to do more of what you enjoy!
As once remarked on by the very successful venture capitalist, and co-founder of PayPal, Peter Theil,
“Starting a company can be the largest endeavour over which you can have a definite mastery. You can have agency not just over your life, but also over a small but important part of the world” - Peter Theil
Given the above, the purpose and goal of this guide is to serve as a helpful: “How to”, about everything you need to know to get started! We can’t give you a business idea, but we can give you a leg up, and help you… ZIP YOUR WAY THROUGH … all the necessary administrative tasks that just need to get done!
As with any new, and exciting journey, the more you manage progress as you go along, stay pro-active, and learn from the experience, the more you are likely to enjoy it!,… as you take pleasure and pride, in moving your own enterprise forward!
Guide summary
Below we summarise the various areas covered by this guide:
Know why you're starting one
What do you hope your enterprise to achieve?
Appreciate the risks
Who are your rivals? Where are your customers? What are your weaknesses?
Work to a plan
Laying out the steps for growth!
Choose a Company Structure
Partnership, Sole Proprietor, or Private Limited Co.?
Benefits of a Private Limited Co.
What advantages can you make use of?
Starting off as small
What does it mean to be a small company?
External Authorities to know about
Which Government bodies do you need to report to?
The Big Picture
A summary of all parties and documents
Registrations & Filings with Co. House
Mandatory submissions to Companies House
Tax Obligations to HMRC
Mandatory submissions to HMRC
Business Bank Account
Where to open one?
Final Thoughts
Concluding remarks
Appendices
Summary of all filings, descriptions, and submission deadlines
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