Cool, you want to own a business and enjoy the supposed
"freedom" that is usually tagged with being one's own boss. Forming your business idea into a legal company is necessary in order to enjoy certain benefits and privileges in your business endeavour, and of course, it is a statutory requirement for any serious-minded entrepreneur doing business in Nigeria.

Before you attempt to want to register a company of your own, please take a cursory look at the following - often neglected - points as stated below:

1. HIRE AN ACCREDITED COMPANY FORMATION
SPECIALIST. It may of course pay off in the long run to hire a company formation specialist to register your proposed company on your behalf. Doing this helps you to avoid the bureaucracies and bottlenecks often associated with filing company registration applications – especially if it is a Limited Liability structure. The accredited agent should be able to also provide you advisory support in case you need help in choosing the type of business structure to incorporate.

2. MAKE YOUR PROPOSED COMPANY NAME(S) DIFFICULT TO BE DENIED APPROVAL. Unfortunately, we have a CAC where company names can't be searched for and reserved online. Hence, we still have to file paper work at the CAC.
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) disapproves certain company names presented to it for approval and reservation for a myriad of reasons ranging from exact match to close similarity with an existing business name(s) on file, and to outright rejection of certain restricted words.
Gone are the days whereby you can be a Loud Media or a
First Bank or a True Communications. These days, you
need to spend quality time in crafting a suitable name, yet difficult to be disapproved by the nation's registrar of business names. Believe me – there are hundreds of thousands of approved company names on the CAC's database already, and it might just be a sheer waste of time and money trying to get the CAC to approve a simple English dictionary name such as Easy Transport. Don't get me wrong – you might just be lucky such name hasn't been used yet, at least on CAC's records.

3. COMPANY REGISTRATIONS SHOULD NOT BE DONE LAST. I have met quite a number of clients who had already put the cart before the horse when they call me up for company registration. Your company should be registered first and foremost before anything else. Doing this protects your new company from a possible name loss in the event that the proposed company name was disapproved by the CAC for some official reasons years after you had started your business.
Similar to this is the fact that some business people wait till days when a copy of the certificate of business registration is needed or requested in some official quarters before they start scrambling to register a company (now, with whatever company name that scales through! Ha! Ha! Ha!). Try to plan ahead and register your company months before an anticipated official engagement.

4. UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT COMPANY STRUCTURES BEFORE CHOOSING ONE. Owning and managing a company is a serious business, and should be seen and taken as such. Hence, the newbie entrepreneur ought to have an understanding of the various business structures and how it affects ownership, tax, profit sharing, etc. This is where the services of a company formation specialist become necessary. You may also need to ask your agent certain questions as it pertains to industry regulation on the business you intend to venture into.

5. DON'T EXPEND YOUR FINANCIAL RESOURCES ON PRINTING UNTIL YOU ARE SURE OF YOUR COMPANY NAME. If you have already printed your stationery such as business cards and letter-heads, well, you shouldn't be afraid to make new copies now that you have a new company name (different from the one you have been trading as prior to registration). But, if you are a newbie entrepreneur with your company registration on the line, I would advice that you wait a bit more (if not till you get your company certificate) before you go ahead to print
your marketing collaterals. You might just be saving
yourself a fortune for this patience.

About the author:
Ayokunle Bankole is a small business advisor, company
formation specialist, sales & promotion expert and seminar speaker.