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In or last article, we talked about the preambles of registering your
business with CAC. I also try to tell you that when you
ask for a name reservation, it takes about 2 weeks before the results are
returned. It is sometimes as fast as one week or 10 days but it generally takes
2 weeks. Now imagine if your chosen business name is not6available,
you have to go through that 2 week process again. If the new one is not
available as well, you have to go over the process... again... and... Again.
That is why it takes people a long time to sort out.
How To Prevent That From Happening To You?
What you need to do is to
choose a name no one else would have chosen. This is where creativity and ingenuity
have to play a part. If you choose just any name, I can assure you someone has
registered it.
Don't even think about
registering names like these...
Ø justice
Enterprises
Ø Prosperity
Ventures
Ø Good Hope
Enterprises
Ø Adamu
Hassan Ventures
Ø Wealth
Resources Consulting
If you choose names like
these, then, there is a high probability that they have already been taken by
someone else and as an entrepreneur, you don’t have time to waste experimenting
on new names at every 2 week interval.
Here is a perfect example:
Some time ago, a friend of
mine wanted to register “Success guide International” and he was so confident
it would be available. To his surprise after 2 weeks, it was already taken.
Okay, if that sounds
common, let me tell you this. I showed someone else through the registration
process and when he went to CAC, he came up with a name he felt was unique,
GRASS2GRACE ventures, but the name was already chosen.
I guess you understand me
better now when I say you’ve got to be creative. These days, I don’t just wake
up and rush down to CAC with a new name. I think hard and long before I submit
the form.
Having sorted out the name
issue and having submitted your form, you will have to wait till the result
comes out. There is nothing you can do about that. You just have to wait. All
I'll advise you to do is to get ready so when the results come out, you will be
prepared to register immediately.
What you
need as you wait for the outcome of your name reservation:
Prepare
_ 2 passport photographs
_ Stapler (believe it or
not, some CAC branches do not have)
_ The details of a partner
(you cannot register alone, add someone... anyone)
_ The partner's
photographs.
_ Your address (you can
use your home address)
_ Telephone number (use
GSM)
_ Local government area
and a few other requirements.
Why be prepared ahead of time?
Majority of upstart
entrepreneurs will fold their hands while the 2 weeks passes but I advise you
to work while you wait. Start gathering the materials you need one by one.
Why? You see, your name
reservation is just for a number of days, you have to register properly before
the grace period expires and someone else can take up that name. We want to get
your business name registered in record time so we want to move faster than
normal. When name reservation results come out, what people normally do is to
start studying the new documents they are provided with to fill. If you prepare
early, you will get your registration done once the results are out.
Important Question! What is your Business?
I was a little confused at
this point. I didn’t know how to classify my Business. I am an Internet
Marketing Consultant but that’s not all I do. I blog and publish online and
also speak to Youth in Seminars. I wondered which one to leave out and which
names to use but you see the CAC requires that you state what your business is
all about. You have to state at least one thing.
In the past you could
state as much as 20. I have seen a company that registered in the early days of
CAC. This Consulting firm is licensed to do more than 20 businesses including Car
manufacturing but nowadays the rules of the game has changed.
The maximum number of
business you can list is three. They want to know what your business is
about before they can register the name. Now, don’t waste your time filling
things like Internet Marketing, Brand and Strategy Consulting and
Infopreneur in that form. That would just be a waste of your valuable
time.
There are some kinds of
already laid down business objects that are allowed for a business name. It is
up to you to find an object that best describes what your business is about.
Here are the objects
allowed by the CAC
−Advertising/Public
Relations
−Agricultural Produce
−Agricultural Tools,
Machines And Allied Products
−Alternative Medical
Practice
−Aluminum Manufacturing
−Architects/Town Planners
−Auto Dealers
−Auto Mechanics And
Rewiring Services9
−Auto Spare Parts Dealers
−Bakery And Fast Foods
−Beauty Industry (Salon,
Pedic, Manic, Barbing ETC)
−Bookshops/Stationery
Stores
−Car Washing Services
−Carpentry/Woodworks
−Chattered Secretaries
−Commission Agents
−Computer Training, Sales
And Services
−Cosmetic
Manufacturers/Dealers
−Day Care Centre
−Dealers And Distributors
−Electrical/Electronic
Equipment Dealers
−Entertainment
Industry/Events Managers
−Estate Agency/Maintenance
−Fashion Designers
−Fish Farming/Fisheries
−Food Products And
Processing
−General Construction
(Build/Civil Engr. Contractors)
−General Contracts
−General
merchandise/Trading
−General Tax Consultants
−Guidance And Counselling
−Gymnastics And Stress
Management
−Horticulture/Gardening/Landscaping/Equipment
Services
−Hospitals/Clinics
−Hotel/Hospitality
Industry
−Human Resource Manager
−Import/Export Of Goods
And Services
−Industrial Chemical
Supply And Service
−Interior/Exterior
Decorations
−Internet Service
Providers (Cyber Cafe)
−Jewellers
−Land And Quantity
Surveyors
−Laundry/Dry Cleaning
Services
−Legal Practice And
Consultancy
−Livestock Management
−Management Consultants
−Maternity Home
−Mechanics/Welding
−Medical And Pharm.
Products (Manufacturing, Sales And Services)
−Medical
Services/Laboratory
−Others
−Patent Medicine
Store/Chemist
−Petroleum Products
Sales/Distribution
−Pharmaceutical
Manufacture/Services
−Photography/Photo
Equipment
−Plastic Manufacturing
−Poultry Farming
−Printing/Publishing
−Restaurant/Catering
Services
−Road Transportation
−Schools (Nursery, Primary
And Secondary Schools)
−Supermarkets/Departmental
Stores
−Textile
Manufacturers/Distributors
−Travel Agents
−Veterinary
Clinic/Services
−Water Works/Borehole
Drillers
Most businesses will fall
under one of these, if not, just use General Merchandise.
Now You Are Prepared...
Once your name reservation
is out, speak to any officer there and you will be given a file and some
documents to fill. In some CAC branches, they would have given you this form
and file right from the first day you applied for name reservation. You can fill
the form right away with your name, phone number, and address including LGA,
partner’s details, and passport photographs (you will staple it and make sure
you write your name behind the passports and sign them).
After you're done filling
the documents, you can then submit for what is called “Verification”. You just
need to submit. It's no longer in your hands.
Depending on the CAC
branch you go to, the verification process time will vary. It is usually done
within an hour so it is something you can wait for.
You can ask them there so
they can tell you how long it would take. Maximum is a day.
What they look for at the
verification process are things like your objects, how you filled the form and
so on. If you filled everything properly, your verification process would be a
smooth, onetime thing.
Once you pass the
verification process, you will be required to pay your registration fees. As at
the time of writing this report, it costs N4,000 for your registration. You can
ask for the current price but I can bet it is well under N10,000
Right at their office, you
will pay the fee and obtain a receipt; you will submit your files and documents
(because they will return it after the verification). You will be asked to come
back in about one week for your certificate.
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Can You Beat That? It’s that simple!
Just go back home or
wherever and come back when you were asked to.
On the day, you go there
and you will be asked to sign. They will give you your certificate as well as
some other documents you can keep. You will need such documents when you want
to open a company bank account and for some other purposes.
That is it. Now go out
there to register your business names. You can register as many as possible and
you can even make money as a Corporate Affairs and Business name registration
consultant. This way, you register others for a fee of about N10,000 to N15,000
each depending on you.
I wish you the best.
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