How to Set Up Your Business for Growth from the Very Beginning

The Philippines has recently seen a surge in new business registrations, a sign of the country’s rising entrepreneurial spirit. Of course, as anyone who’s ever owned a business will tell you, starting is quite literally only the beginning. Even as customers’ payments start trickling into your personal savings and e-wallet account, you’ll have to deal with a never-ending list of responsibilities, from payroll and taxes to bank fees to misplaced funds. It’s usually when these things happen that your commitment to owning your own business gets truly tested.

For the vast majority of budding micro and small businesses, growth doesn’t just happen. Even if you happen to be exceptionally lucky at the start, keeping whatever momentum you gain is all about small but consistent decisions made right at the beginning. With a realistic mindset (and the right tools), you can skip common pitfalls and give your business a better shot at thriving in the long run. Here’s how you can do exactly that.

1. Keep Your Business and Personal Accounts Separate

Setting up a business banking account allows you to separate your business and personal finances, saving you countless hours of bookkeeping. As a nice bonus, it will also help you project professionalism when you send clients and suppliers payment details. At a minimum, you want a business banking solution like Maya with higher-than-usual market interest rates, free fund transfers, and secure tools for managing cash flow.

2. Build a Cash Buffer, ASAP

All businesses encounter slow seasons and other income fluctuations, which makes it even more important to find a savings account that does more than just hold your money. The lower transfer fees and better interest rates of a specialized business bank account should allow you to build an emergency fund faster than you could with just a personal bank account or e-wallet. Try to save the equivalent of six months’ worth of operational expenses so that you have ample funding to reorient your business when you need to.

3. Track Your Cash Flow from the Start

While new business owners talk about revenue, seasoned entrepreneurs discuss cash flow. Challenges in maintaining or tracking cash flow can make it difficult to allocate funds properly, potentially endangering your business’s longevity.

Again, the important thing is to open the right business bank account. Use a digital-first bank account that supports real-time tracking and lets you organize incoming or outgoing payments with ease. The earlier you get used to analyzing your inflows and outflows, the easier it will be to make informed decisions that keep things humming along.

4. Focus on Repeatable Revenue First

Speaking of cash flow, it’s often better to focus on building consistent repeat business instead of just chasing big wins. If you have the funding for it, look into loyalty incentives, subscription options, or bundles that reward consistency, even if it means giving up a small bit of revenue. Your core of loyal customers may not necessarily be buying big each time, but their consistent patronage can be the foundation for positive word-of-mouth, leading to volume sales and more ambitious expansions months or even years down the road.

5. Register Your Business

Growth often brings new partnerships and investor interest. To seize these opportunities, however, you will require proper documentation, if only to prove that you and your operations are all above board. Make it easier for your future self by formalizing your business structure, securing your DTI or SEC registration, and keeping your receipts and ledgers in order.

6. Think About Tax Compliance Before It’s Urgent

It’s tempting to delay tax planning, but only doing so when business starts to get busy can easily backfire. Consider consulting an accountant from the get-go or exploring affordable online tools that can help you stay compliant while you grow. You’ll not only avoid uncomfortable BIR audits, but you’ll also be setting a good example for other would-be entrepreneurs.

7. Document Your Processes Early

At first, it might feel like overkill to document how you pack orders or respond to customer inquiries. But as your business grows, these checklists will become important when you train staff or outsource tasks. Standardizing even simple workflows also makes your operations less reliant on any one person (including you), allowing you to delegate critical tasks when needed.

8. Don’t Rest on Your Laurels

The things that led to your earlier successes may not always be relevant. The wider contexts surrounding your business will always evolve, but amidst the chaos of empire-building, you may not always see how it’s happening. Every year or so, try to spend time examining the wider outlook and comparing it to your partnerships and workflows to see if they’re still working well for your business.

Success Often Follows Structure

When you read through business success stories, it becomes clear that success is less about single massive events or individual prowess and a lot more about preparation. Even in cases where luck plays a hand, it’s your forethought that allows you to maximize it. Better yet, it empowers you to take luck out of the equation, enabling steady growth regardless of what happens.

Don’t get hung up on the plateaus of the early days and start reimagining them as valuable opportunities. Now is the right time to build workflows and partnerships that can support the goals you’re aiming for.