作者：Andy Esser

我们的公司是搞代码的。我们的工作室以Zero Dependency为名称经营好多年了，但直到最近几个月，我们才开始为注册公司做准备。

如果你也打算把你的新工作室注册为公司，不妨参考以下9个步骤：

第一步：公司注册

公司注册曾经是一件非常艰难的事，要写公司章程和组织细则并邮寄。公司注册机构现在改进了这个流程，提供现成的公司章程和细则模板。他们还取消了必须有两位董事或者一位董事加一位秘书的要求。这意味着现在单独一人也可以注册公司了，这就大大节省了争执的麻烦。

注册费也减少了，现在只要15英镑就行了，而且可以网上操作完成注册。你的公司执照通常会在24小时内被批准。

Business Plan(from fromwebsitetowealth)

第二步：VAT注册

经营公司经常被忽略的一个方面是VAT（增值税）注册，只是因为许多小工作室和独立开发者都不太可能有达到缴纳增值税门槛（目前是7.9万英镑）的收入。然而，自愿注册VAT有许多好处。最明显的是，能够因任何商业开支而索回VAT，例如出差住宿、往返机票等。如果你是在家全职工作，你还可以索回一部分作为商业开支。

第三步：找会计

尽管你可能没有太复杂的商业开支，至少一开始没有，但至少咨询一下会计师总是好的。如果不行，让他们帮你看一下年度收入和/或VAT回报也好。他们可以在节省额外开支、退税等方面提供实用的建议，这些可能是你之前没有意识到的。

第四步：企业标识和商标

这听起来可能太“商业化”了，一点都不“独立”，但你的工作室的商标和标识是别人对它第一印象，进而联想到你的游戏。一开始就花钱请个好的美工或设计师帮你设计能代表你的公司特性的商标、颜色、LOGO、信头等，是值得的。

第五步：分配工作时间

不要低估了商业方面需要的工作量。除了花几乎整个晚上写代码，我可能还要花50%的工作时间查收邮件、回复邮件、计算开支、计划未来工作和做其他与游戏开发没有直接关系的事情。不要低估了这些琐事可能占用的时间，且绝对不要低估这些琐事的重要性！

第六步：招聘同道中人

跟你做事的人与你的愿景一致是非常重要的；无论跟你合作的人是自由职业者还是外包，都差不多，因为你可能发现许多人抛开你的想法，给你提供的只是他们的标准服务。当然，不同的视角也是需要的。

第七步：办公地点

个人认为，当我处于“办公环境”时，工作积极性最高。我是不太可能坐在沙发上写低级图像代码的，所以我把家里的桌子和电脑摆放成办公室的样子，以便减少干扰。如果你发现自己的积极性衰退了，那就把桌子收拾好，清掉所有废纸，或者把家俱重新布置一下。这样你的积极性又回来了。

第八步：拓展人际网

最近几个月我因公去伦敦的次数比我之前5年去的还多。与人直接见面、喝杯咖啡、表达一下热情真的很重要，特别是在这个联系交流基本靠Twitter和Email的时代。网上交流不能传达情绪。与投资人或者合作人或者PR人员坐下来谈谈是很重要的。总之尽早建立人际关系网。

第九步：营销和PR

游戏开发中又一个经常被忽略的方面是营销。你希望尽可能早地开始为游戏造势是可能的（也是合理的）。如果你在发布前一周才开始造势，那就太迟了。与游戏记者、PR专业人员、其他工作室（为了交叉推广）和甚至你的目标受众建立关系，总之联系任何有可能帮你推广游戏的人。与这些人打好交道，你的游戏会非常获得人气的。

关于线上人际，我要提醒你一点：游戏行业很小，Twitter和Facebook把所有人的距离都拉近了，如果你把某人当作傻瓜，轻视他们，或者出言不逊，你会很快发现其他人对你和你的产品失去兴趣。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Start-up Special 2013: Nine vital steps to establishing your business

By Andy Esser

It’s not all about the coding. We were running under the name Zero Dependency for a couple of years, but it’s only in the last couple of months that we took the steps to registering the company and what this entails.

Here’s what you need to know when registering your new studio as a company:

Step One: Company Registration

Company Registration used to be quite an arduous task, involving writing a Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association and mailing them in. Companies House has now streamlined this process, providing model AoA and MoA documents that you can use. They’ve also removed the requirement to have two Directors, or a Director and a Secretary. Which means that a single person can now register a company without too much hassle.

The fees have also come down, now just ￡15 and it is all completed online. Your Certificate of Incorporation usually comes through within 24 hours.

Step Two: VAT Registration

An often overlooked aspect of operating a company is VAT registration, simply because many small studios and indies don’t expect to have a taxable income above the VAT threshold (currently ￡79,000). However, voluntarily registering for VAT has many benefits. Most notably, being able to claim the VAT back on any business expenses, such as business card orders, travel, accommodation, and conference ticket prices. If you’re working full-time from home, you can also claim back a percentage of your utilities usage as a business expense.

Step Three: Find an accountant

Despite potentially not having the most complicated of business expenses, at least initially, it’s always a good idea to at least chat to an accountant. If not, have them on-board for your Annual Return and/or VAT return. They can provide useful insights into extra savings, tax rebates, etc that you might previously have been unaware of.

Step Four: Corporate Identify & Branding

This might sound all sorts of ‘businessey’ and ‘not indie’ but your studio’s brand and identify is the first thing people will see of you, and will associate your games with. It’s worth spending money at the beginning on a good artist/illustrator that will design an entire identity for your company, including colours, logos, letterheads, etc.

Step Five: Allocate time for business

Don’t underestimate how much work goes on with the business side of things. Despite spending most evenings coding, I probably spend 50% of my “Zero Dependency time” catching up on emails, writing emails, dealing with expenses, planning what’s happning in the future and other activities not directly related to game development. Don’t underestimate how much work this requires, and definitely don’t underestimate how important this stuff is!

Step Six: Get people on-board with your vision

It’s important that people you work with share your vision. This goes for freelancers/out-sourcers just as much as staff, since you may find many people who get swept up with your vision and are able to provide you with much more than just their standard services. A different point of view is always welcome.

Step Seven: Secure office space

Personally, I find that I’m motivated the most when I try to model an ‘office atmosphere’ when doing my Indie work. I couldn’t possibly sit on the sofa and write low-level graphics code, so I have my desk and PC at home set up in an office-like environment, to try and reduce distractions. If you find your motivation is waning, trying tidying up the desk and getting rid of all the paper, or perhaps just re-arrange the furniture a bit. You might find it does wonders.

Step Eight: Networking

In the last few months, I have traveled to London for events more times than I had visited London in the previous five years. Don’t underestimate how good it is to meet someone face-to-face, have a coffee with them, and show them your passion – especially in an ever-evolving digital age of Twitter and Email. Tone doesn’t convey well online. Sitting down with an investor, or a partner, or a PR company is crucial. Build relationships early.

Step Nine: Marketing & PR

An often overlooked part of game development is the marketing aspect of things. You want to start generating buzz for your Game as early as is possible (within reason). If you’re trying to generate hype one week before you launch, you are way to late. Build relationships with gaming journalists, PR professionals, other studios (think cross-promotion!) and even your target audience, who more than likely want to be given information about your great game. Track them down, build worthwhile relationships and you’ll gain popularity quickly.

A good point here about online way of working, refer to Wil Wheaton’s law “Don’t Be A Dick”. The games industry is tiny, and with Twitter and Facebook bringing everyone closer and if you treat someone like an idiot, talk down to them, or are otherwise rude and offensive, you’ll find people lose interest in you and your product very quickly.(source:develop-online)