Category: Entrepreneurship

How to create a private limited company in Ireland

The first time I obtained an Australian Business Number (ABN for short) was when I was 16 when I first started freelancing. An ABN is required if you are working as an individual sole trader.

Now based in Ireland, I’ve found myself researching into similar bodies that I can form under.  In Ireland, registrations for these types of bodies are overseen by the CRO or the Companies Registration Office.  After some research, I’ve decided that the best body to form under my circumstance is via a private limited company limited by shares.

Registration is straight-forward to follow and you can also engage in services that can streamline the process.  These are not ‘umbrella companies’ or a personal limited company but rather yourself and at least one other Company Director create a company and follow through with the required documentation.

Paperwork

To set up, you can follow the directions at the CRO or you can work with accounting firms that can aid in streamlining the registration process.

You’ll be required to fill in the required paperwork with your details.

Being a Company Secretary and Company Director

If you are a non EEA-National, you will need to partner with an Irish national to be a Company Director.  Private limited companies require at least two directors, one of which must be an Irish national.

Further requirements for being a Company Secretary and Company Director are also laid out by the CRO and ODCE (Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement).

Tax Rates

One of Ireland’s biggest advantages is that for limited companies, they qualify for corporation tax at 12.5%.  This taxation rate (along with other advantages) is a reason why many companies are setting up their EMEA headquarters in Ireland and also helps aid in encouraging start-up companies.

Another item is that, when I compare the ability to form a limited company here in Ireland versus elsewhere in Europe, I find that Ireland wins in terms of ease of formation and other associated benefits.

Send the documentation

Documents must be sent to the CRO.

Once I’ve sent through my documentation, the confirmation from the CRO was quick and they supplied a digital copy of the A1 certificate and the Articles of Association and Memorandum.  Please note that they are now referred to as the Constitution.

Business Banking

Once that is supplied, you can also go ahead and create a business banking account. Banks have different requirements in terms of the documentation that they require for identification/KYC requirements and it is a good idea to arrange a phone call with the Business Advisor regarding the paperwork.  This is very important if you are a non Irish national.

And more to come…

This is just the very beginning of the private company formation stage in Ireland, there are a number of items to look into also such as taxation and accounting.

Working with a professional coach for an investment learning plan

In one of my earlier posts, I wrote about expat coaches and the specialist areas and concerns that they can address when working with expats. Recently, I attended an investment day expo aimed at retail investors and with that still lingering in my mind, my next session with the professional coach was around structuring a three-month investment learning plan.

An investment learning plan will differ for individuals. I decided to incorporate within that learning plan to learn more about a) active management strategies, b) technical analysis (charting and patterns), c) research on two types of investment strategies – discretionary versus systematic and also d) research into a few investment vehicles that interest me. Looking back on early 2015, much of my time in this particular area (when I’m not learning Linux commands or figuring out the Canadian visa system..) had been delving into private banking and wealth management. Much of what I know had been on an eagle’s eye point of view or from the viewpoint of a marketer when my experiences within that career was still very recent in my mind. Therefore, my approach to this plan is going to be from a completely different viewpoint.

Another issue that I mentioned in the coaching session was sifting through large volumes of information, opinion, charts, patterns, products, tools and data. We ended up allocating a key task to do each week over the next three months so that I only focus on the one task per week. Part of the information overload was around dealing with distractions which seemed to go hand in hand. We then addressed that by allocating x hours per day on this learning plan. I finalized on 7 to 8 hours per day but I spread this out over a whole day. For day trading, the hours need to be changed to consider Sydney/London/New York (and possibly Tokyo) overlaps. New York and London (8:00 am — 12:00 noon EST), Sydney and Tokyo (7:00 pm — 2:00 am EST, London and Tokyo (3:00 am — 4:00am EST).

And last but not least, one of the issues that I had to address in the coaching session was that I was completely aware of what I don’t know. I know enough to begin to structure this plan, but I don’t know if it’s actually going to be effective compared to other potential plans that I could be structuring instead. It wasn’t like I was having a coaching session with a trader or an investor coach. I think it’s too early for that. Instead I didn’t want to be swayed by someone’s approach and instead wanted to do my ownresearch journey and try to find what works for me. I think that is when a non-specialist coach is very useful in that there is more freedom to make your own way, including finding out the mistakes and weaknesses.

I imagine that I’ll be spending three months virtual currency or paper trading before I move on to real currency. I will see if this plan changes, if the hours are correct, if I need more time in a few months!

Question for readers: Did you have an investment education plan when you first learn to trade? How long did you paper trade? What resources do you recommend?  Comment below or comment via LinkedIn.