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Do you need a large cost for starting a business? Rather, let’s start small as an individual.

Do you need a large cost for starting a business? Rather, let’s start small as an individual.

Who said that? That starting a business requires money.

It's true that if you register as a corporation and incorporate, it often costs around 200,000 yen. However, just because you're starting a business doesn't mean you necessarily have to register as a corporation. If you start as a sole proprietor, there are no costs. At most, you might submit a blue tax return notification.

The main reasons for registering as a corporation are when engaging in credit transactions, when conducting a business where credit cannot be obtained unless it's a corporation, or when earning a significant amount of money where registering as a corporation results in lower taxes. There's no reason to go to the trouble and expense of incorporating at the initial stage.

Now is the era of individuals. Even if you develop services as an individual, you can be active in an overwhelmingly wider range of fields than before. Since you can develop as many internet-based businesses as you want, you can start a business with zero initial costs. Just because you're starting a business doesn't necessarily mean you need significant expenses.

In my case, when starting a business, I recommend starting within your manageable scope. Monetizing with what you can do yourself, without any costs. Having a big vision, but starting from where you are. Carefully consider what you can do now, and start from where you can without incurring costs at the present moment.

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To declare with enthusiasm, 'I'm going to start a business, so I'll spend 10 million yen to create an app!' is far too hasty. That's something people with ample budgets or those hoping to receive investment would say. First, you should steadily monetize what you can do now, towards the vision you want to achieve in the future. This is especially true if it's the first business you're developing yourself. It is absolutely not an era to incur large expenses without experience in your first venture.

Just in case, I think it's a good idea to save enough living expenses to survive for about three months.

Also, there are countless examples of people who started small, from where they were, and expanded into large businesses. Facebook is one such example. It's a well-known story that Facebook was initially developed by its creator for personal use and among friends. Ultimately, even if you don't spend money and start small, good services grow significantly. Whether you spend money or not, if it's not appealing, it will fail.

Once you've decided to start a business, begin small. Start small without incurring costs. If you have a final vision you want to achieve and can provide the optimal solution to realize that vision, the service will expand even if you don't spend money on the company. Before thinking about startup costs, thoroughly think through your service or product. That is the shortest path to success.

上山 翔太

WRITTEN BY

上山 翔太

2007年からWEBデザイナー / エンジニアとして活動を開始。2015年には、セブ島にて立ち上げた日本人対象のクリエイター育成スクールと運営していたメディアを売却。その後、アメリカで事業デザインを無理やり学ぶ。帰国後は起業家育成プログラムを立ち上げ、新規事業開発、起業家育成に従事するほか、マーケティング戦略策定、ウェブ開発技術を提供。「IT留学シェアハウス」や「起業教育・支援プラットフォーム」を開発、運営。その後、株式会社QUONを立ち上げ。WEB制作事業を軸として、クリエイターと起業家を産む村づくりプロジェクトなどをバリ島と日本を中心に推進。

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