ASK NINA: FUTURE MILLIONAIRE$

ASK NINA: FUTURE MILLIONAIRE$

By: JJosepha News

Twitter.com/JJosephaNews

(The following was translated from Papiamentu into English)

Good Evening Nina;

I am a young entrepreneur; and I am contacting you because I need someone to help guide me and help me understand the world of starting my own business. I have read all of your news articles especially the article about Cuban economy compared to Curacao.

In reality I don’t have the funds to attend university now, but I have a few friends who have attended university and tried to start their own business, but they have never succeeded and that makes me fearful to venture into my own business, but when I analyze it, I really think they are just too "floho" (lazy).
Can you help me understand what are the basic things I need and need to do to start my own business?

Sincerely; 
Future Millionaire$

Good Evening Mr Future Millionaire$!

Thank you for contacting "Ask Nina" and sharing your question with us. You would be surprise how many people are asking the same thing and a majority of those are from Curacao, and still there are others who are not from the Dutch Caribbean islands yet are interested in how to start business in Curacao!

Well! The first rule to business success is DON’T BE LAZY!

However, you have already analyzed and realized this fact about your friends who started their own businesses already and did not succeed!

You may find to your surprise that the Bible is one of the best books on business principles and guidelines, in Proverbs Chapter 10 verse 4, it says; "A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich…"

Let me share with you, that don’t be afraid of failing or falling, because it is what you do after you fail or fall that makes you a better person, a better human being and a productive citizen.

Let me briefly tell you of a story I learnt whilst reading about Thomas Edison, in the book: DK Biography Thomas Edison by Jad Adkins. He was a great American inventor who had very little education as a child but invented the “electric light”, which propelled him into fame. When a reporter asked him how it felt to fail 1,000 times at inventing the light bulb, Edison replied I did not fail 1,000 times, I just knew there were 1,000 times how not to make a light bulb. Michael Jordan once said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games; 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot … and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."

I will illustrate the overall basic information that you would need in five Illustrations representing the human body: the head, trunk, upper extremities [arms and hands] and lower extremities [legs and feet]. Following this module you would ensure that you have researched, and accomplished all of the important tasks. Let me also state that 1 to 7.0 and pin pointing some areas that may stand out more.

The basic is that it is easier to start a sole proprietorship business rather than a BV (limited liability company); however, the risks are higher and lack of protection of liability is greater than a BV.

You may incorporate a BV for your business.

During the time that the business is small you may opt for the transparent status. This means that this company is not taxed with profit tax, but the shareholder will be taxed with income tax as if the company does not exist as “eenmanszaak”.

When the business grows and the company is making sufficient profits, the company may opt to be taxed with profit tax.

The advantage of this way of incorporating a business is that from the beginning the business is run by the BV and you will not have problems converting a “eenmanszaak’ into a BV. Another advantage is that your personal assets are separated from the debts of the company (with the exception of taxes and social security payments). The articles of this kind of companies must comply with certain requirements.

A free zone or e-zone company is a company that renders its services almost entirely to clients outside Curacao from the Free Zone or from a e-zone.

To become a free zone company or e-zone company, the company has to rent a space in the free zone or in a e-zone. There are two free zones, one in the Schottegat and one near the airport. The free zones are used to buy, pack, unpack, and sell of all kinds of goods, factories. The e-zones are used to render services (marketing, advisory, IT-services) to clients abroad. Free zone and e-zone companies pay a 2% profit tax on their profits.

To start a business in the free zone, you may contact CURINDE (Curacao Industrial Development Company NV). You may also visit the website of CURINDE at: www.curinde.com

To protect your intellectual property you may register your idea, trademark, name, logo etc. with the Bureau Intellectuele Eigendom. Its web site is www.bip.cw. However, in my communications with them or attempted communications with them, they have never responded, even after correcting the numerous errors in their English version of their website. Therefore you may find contacting the Netherlands more fruitful and if your idea is a game changer contact the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) directly, I have always found them extremely helpful in their job.

Let me also inform you that there are no specific rules regarding crowd funding or angel investors.

Each company must be registered with the commercial register at the Chamber of Commerce and must apply for an establishment permit. Each company must have a managing director, residing in Curacao, or a local representative in Curacao.

The notary will prepare the articles, the shareholders’ register, the registration at the commercial register and the application of the establishment permit.

The costs of incorporation of a company will be:

“vast recht”, a tax Naf. 305.00 = $172.34 USD

Chamber of Commerce Naf. 114.50 = $64.70 USD

Stamps more or less Naf. 90.00 = $50.85 USD

Administration costs Naf. 165.00= $93.23 USD

Legal fee Naf. 1950.00 = $110.18 USD Turnover tax Naf. 126.90 = $71.70 USD

Total costs of incorporation, including share register, excerpt commercial register and request for the establishment license Naf. 2,751.40 = approximately $1,554.64 USD

I would recommend using a notary and the one that stands out more above the others is Mr Henri Burgers at Burgers ∧ Fung-A-Loi Notarissen. He is also probably the most responsive professional (notary or attorney included) that I have found).

Explanation to understanding the following illustrations (click on each for larger version):

The five Illustrations are graded into three categories of: (a) "Think about it"; (b) "Research it"; and (c) "Do It".

The numbers within each column indicate a chronology of events of how to best tackle each section in reference to the entire system.

In a future column I shall discuss and compare the available tertiary institution of higher learning, that could be of interest to you in terms of benefits and disadvantages in the business related fields and later I shall also dedicate another column to the much awaited and much asked question of studying medicine and medical schools in the Caribbean and especially in Curacao, the pros and cons, where to go and where to avoid.

So don’t miss our next publications. 

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About Ask Nina

"Ask Nina" is an advice column founded, created and operated by Josefina Josepha under the pen name of "Nina". The advice column is managed by JJosepha News. The advice column’s mission is to impart compassionate, sound advice and incorporating expert advice sought from authorities, while delivering a layman’s approach with the straightforward style of a good friend. Have a question, need an answer, Ask Nina!

DISCLAIMER: The advice offered in this column is intended for informational purposes only. The use of this column is not intended to replace or substitute for any professional, financial, medical, legal, or other professional advice. If you have specific concerns or a situation in which you require professional, psychological or medical help, you should consult with an appropriately trained and qualified specialist. The opinions or views expressed in this column are not intended to treat or diagnose; nor are they meant to replace the treatment and care that you may be receiving from a licensed professional, physician or mental health professional. This column, its author, the newspaper and publisher are not responsible for the outcome or results of following any advice in any given situation. You, and only you, are completely responsible for your actions.

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