Clear Eyes Chapter 1: Becoming a Sole Prop
Almost 8 years to the day I officially became an entrepreneur. Those of you that have been with me a while have likely heard this, but bear with me…After 13 years working at a non-profit, I emerged with the age-old-decision: What to do I want to be when I grow up?! I did what I always had – apply for jobs, smile through interviews, and try to get excited about someone else’s mission and vision. And then one day, I was sitting in an interview for an executive director position at one of Calgary’s great non-profits, and they started talking about the office, work hours, expectations, the team, and events outside of “office hours”, and I could feel my stomach turning. I had spent the last 3 months with my kids: volunteering in class, going to the zoo, and hiking in the mountains, and it was wonderful. I’d taken a total of 11 months mat leave with both our kids, and while my husband was the BEST stay-at-home dad our kids could ever have, I definitely missed out on them. I didn’t want to miss anymore.
So that was why…I basically didn’t want to have to get up every morning, drive across the city to an office, get home with barely enough time to make dinner, and then have a few hours before putting them to bed and starting all over. It wasn’t worth it anymore; for the first time in my life, my “career” wasn’t as important.
That said, with two kids in school full time, I’d repainted, reorganized, and refreshed our home, so needed SOMETHING more to do. I started helping a friend with her business – setting up systems, financials, processes and templates; then another; and another. “Wait a minute”, I thought – is this my next “job”? Decision made. I was going to start pimping myself out.
That was what started me on this path, but the real point of this post is HOW I started my business.
First thing I did was spend WAYYYYY too long deciding on what to name my business. I knew I couldn’t just use my name (if you’re wondering why, google “Tanya Tucker” and see what comes up - haha), so I moved to things that I loved, that I was passionate about, that inspired me, and that made me smile – I’d have to be proud saying this name, so I needed it to be something I could really stand behind. I’ll save the “where did “clear eyes” come from” story for another time, but needless to say, I eventually decided on a name; then did a quick google search to make sure I didn’t see anyone else using it.
With a name in hand, you’d think the first thing I’d do is go to the registry and do a “Trade Name Registration”. And while I’ll get to that part, the NEXT thing I did was play in canva to make myself a logo. We live in a fortunate time, where numbers nerds like me can flex their creative chops and come up with a “good enough” logo to get going. Truth be told, I loved my OG logo at the time and was so proud that I did it myself. It was perfect for where I was at (aka broke and desperate – hahaha!).
Alright, NOW I did the responsible thing and did a Trade Name Registration at the Registry office. As a sole proprietor, registering your “trade name” (aka business name) is how we officially declare that we’re in business, and this is our business name. Technically, and legally, you’re business is “you” - in my case, my “legal” business name was “Tanya Tucker” but with registering a trade name, I legally became “Tanya Tucker, o/a Clear Eyes Consulting” (o/a = operating as). The other thing a trade name registration does, is that it “blocks” others in your province from using your name for something similar. When you register your trade name, the registry office will do a “NUANS” search, which basically means that they’ll make sure that there’s no other business that has the same name as you. If there is, you’re SOL and need to come up with something else. Sometimes there are similar names, but in unrelated industries – in my case there is a “Clear Eyes” brand that makes eye drops. Because I was Clear Eyes CONSULTING, and I was in an OBVIOUS different industry, I was still allowed to register the name – i.e. there was no way that the public would confuse Clear Eyes Eye Drops, with Clear Eyes Consulting.
With my little piece of paper and pride of officially being an entrepreneur in hand, I headed over to my bank (RBC) to create my first business account. In order to get a business account at your bank (and well anywhere for that matter), you need that trade name registration doc – it’s what shows that you’re an actual “business”. At the bank I set up 2 accounts to get me going – a digital chequing business account, and an e-savings business account. If your bank has it, I can’t recommend enough to set up a digital chequing account. Everything electronic is included in the $5/mth bank fee, and as someone who hates paper, I never planned to take a cheque or cash for anything I do. However, do your research on banking plans to make sure it fits with YOUR business needs, and PLEASE don’t pay the bank anything more than you need to!
One thing to check with your bank too…although you’re opening business accounts, as a sole prop its still all built on your own credit, so it’s worth asking to see if they’ll give you a business credit card as well. That’s how I got my business card, and although I am now incorporated, I still use it for all my business purchases. And don’t despair, if you’re credit is meh, and they say no to a business card, just go through your personal cards and pick one that you will use ONLY for business expenses. It really doesn’t matter that its “just” in your name – as long as the charges going through there are solely business, you’ll be able to track and monitor them with ease.
The last thing I did to get started was set up my online & digital presence. This too was a perfect mix of left brain – right brain work – the mechanics of setting everything up, and the creativity of website design and content development. Here’s a quick rundown of everything:
Registered my domain name and set up my website through SquareSpace
o For me, this is the EASIEST web service to use and create a beautiful website
Created my email accounts, using my domain name, through G-Suite (google/gmail).
o With some of the SquareSpace plans, you get a free year of g-suite email; after that it’s like $7/mth – for me I loved having a unique/branded email; but you can totally setup a free gmail account if you’d rather.
Created my social accounts – for my audience I created Facebook and Instagram pages, but you might want to use linked In, Pinterest, Tik Tok – and I’m sure there’s others that this old “gen-xer” has yet to discover (or understand! ;P )
Then that was it – I was official, and I was out there. Now all I had to do was get some clients ;)
If you want my business set up checklist click the button below to download it!