How do I Make my Own Company?

Hello everyone again!

I have been wondering for the past two weeks how to make my own Company. I see how many indie devs have their own company or brand.

An example would be Capybara Games the ones that made Sword & Sorcery and other games.

Another example: Heart-Machine the ones in charge of Hyper Light Drifter.

Does anyone know how to make a brand so that you can make a facebook page and all the social media related things in order to show your game to other people and so they can recognize you when they see the name of your company?

If you do not understand something I said, please ask

Thanks!

This is not really a Construct2 related question..

To find the answer on how to register a brand-name you should check the law in your country..

You seem to be from the USA so:

How to register a Trademark

Before even thinking to start actually your own company, you need a business plan. A business plan is short, to the point and describe the following :

1. A description of your newly business

2. Your goals, both financially and professionally

3. What exactly are you gonna do

4. Your finances (start capital, estimated costs, estimated revenue...)

5. The tools you already have (like Construct 2)

6. The tools you already need (you still do not own them)

7. Other costs like buildings...

8. Your ideas and how to make them to the real world

These points are only examples. But you need before the start to know where you are going. What are you gonna do, what type of games are you gonna make, is there a market for your games? A lot of questions need an answer.

I advise you to first create a few games without starting your own business. If your games are succesfull, then you can think of starting a company.

Keep in mind that a company not only will mean creating games and do what you like to do. A company also has a financial and a legal side. You have a lot of obligations and rules which will maybe less pleasant for you.

Also every succesfull entrepreneur has a clear vision, a strong believing and a talent to overcome all kind of problems on his way. To be a succesfull entrepreneur you need a lot of determination, fate and a sense for adventure.

Hope this helps.

Bad_Wolf

not so bad,

once you know him

This is not really a Construct2 related question..

To find the answer on how to register a brand-name you should check the law in your country..

You seem to be from the USA so:

How to register a Trademark

Sorry! I forgot to add that I would be using Construct 2. I was wondering if there was something different about that or any sort of procedure to add.

Before even thinking to start actually your own company, you need a business plan. A business plan is short, to the point and describe the following :

1. A description of your newly business

2. Your goals, both financially and professionally

3. What exactly are you gonna do

4. Your finances (start capital, estimated costs, estimated revenue...)

5. The tools you already have (like Construct 2)

6. The tools you already need (you still do not own them)

7. Other costs like buildings...

8. Your ideas and how to make them to the real world

These points are only examples. But you need before the start to know where you are going. What are you gonna do, what type of games are you gonna make, is there a market for your games? A lot of questions need an answer.

I advise you to first create a few games without starting your own business. If your games are succesfull, then you can think of starting a company.

Keep in mind that a company not only will mean creating games and do what you like to do. A company also has a financial and a legal side. You have a lot of obligations and rules which will maybe less pleasant for you.

Also every succesfull entrepreneur has a clear vision, a strong believing and a talent to overcome all kind of problems on his way. To be a succesfull entrepreneur you need a lot of determination, fate and a sense for adventure.

Hope this helps.

Bad_Wolf

not so bad,

once you know him

Thanks for the information you just gave me a really good idea. The only question I have now is, how do I make money from games? How can I start in order to make enough money to start a company?

I don't know how old you are, I am assuming you are +18 and living in the US but here are some things that you need to consider. I am myself working on these and I am still learning.

To start a company in the US dose not take much more than registering a Trademark/Copyright. I recommend thinking of a few and google the hell out of them in every context you can imagine. There are many registered names and you really don't want a lawsuit starting right out. Even if it is something that seems to no longer be in use someone still owns it and you can not simple take it from them. If it is a name you really have your heart set on maybe reach out to that party and see if they would be willing to sell to you.

I highly recommend looking into lawyers. You do not need a company lawyer in fact many firms will do if you simply are starting out. I also recommend not involving family or friends no matter if they 'seem' to know all that you need. However if you have family that owns their own business it is very worth your time to talk to them and learn.

Lawyers cost money though so be prepared to have that money available. Myself I have worked for a year and some change saving every cent I could. I am looking at about $300 for all the necessary papers.

Before you start selling games you may want to have a product ready to sell day one. Also look into how incorporating works as the Laws for doing business are vary direct. You will also need to look into opening a business account with your bank of choice.

This is vary important come spring tax season. The IRS is not vary fond of people running a business for profit and not paying tax. With a personal account and a Business account set up and proper documentation of your company even if you fail at that business you would not loose everything like your house, car etc.

Now myself I intend to form the business later the fall and am looking at lawyers and maybe not for you but I will be looking to get a personal loan. Small as my gole is to making a profit by Feb 2016.

I wish you the best of luck. Any job can be hard but starting a business is perhaps the hardest. However the payout can be well worth the work. Just look out for the many many pitfalls that are in front of you.

As some one mentioned you need a action plan. Look at every expense you have. Food, car/house payment, insurance, utility. Those are monthly and more or less fixed. Then you look at your start up costs. Buying needed software hardware or legal fees. If you need to get a server to house your game(I saw your MMO thread) That has a cost.

Next look at your income. Second job, ad revenue, donations. And do a side by side look. Are you making more than you are spending? How much more do you need each month to make profit? What is your forecast for the next 6 months?

Then for the game its self what can you make quickly and cheaply to get on the market? I have One dream game I work on but I also have two different game I bounce back and forth on. Those side projects are meant to be done by years end and hopefully sell well enough to fund me to finish my main game.

It is also important to keep in mind time. How many hours will it take you to develop your game to completion? Is there another game you could make faster? Also are your games Free with ads? What about a cash shop or is it a one time purchase. For each game you make what will be the peak amount of revenue before you start making less each month. This last part is why most games don't get support beyond the first year or two after release because there is no money in it.

If you read all this and you are still excited by the challenge and conquering the mountain before you, great! If not don't worry that is a perfectly normal reaction it just means you may need to re evaluate you attack plan a bit.

CrazyVulcan

I don't know how old you are, I am assuming you are +18 and living in the US but here are some things that you need to consider. I am myself working on these and I am still learning.

To start a company in the US dose not take much more than registering a Trademark/Copyright. I recommend thinking of a few and google the hell out of them in every context you can imagine. There are many registered names and you really don't want a lawsuit starting right out. Even if it is something that seems to no longer be in use someone still owns it and you can not simple take it from them. If it is a name you really have your heart set on maybe reach out to that party and see if they would be willing to sell to you.

I highly recommend looking into lawyers. You do not need a company lawyer in fact many firms will do if you simply are starting out. I also recommend not involving family or friends no matter if they 'seem' to know all that you need. However if you have family that owns their own business it is very worth your time to talk to them and learn.

Lawyers cost money though so be prepared to have that money available. Myself I have worked for a year and some change saving every cent I could. I am looking at about $300 for all the necessary papers.

Before you start selling games you may want to have a product ready to sell day one. Also look into how incorporating works as the Laws for doing business are vary direct. You will also need to look into opening a business account with your bank of choice.

This is vary important come spring tax season. The IRS is not vary fond of people running a business for profit and not paying tax. With a personal account and a Business account set up and proper documentation of your company even if you fail at that business you would not loose everything like your house, car etc.

Now myself I intend to form the business later the fall and am looking at lawyers and maybe not for you but I will be looking to get a personal loan. Small as my gole is to making a profit by Feb 2016.

I wish you the best of luck. Any job can be hard but starting a business is perhaps the hardest. However the payout can be well worth the work. Just look out for the many many pitfalls that are in front of you.

As some one mentioned you need a action plan. Look at every expense you have. Food, car/house payment, insurance, utility. Those are monthly and more or less fixed. Then you look at your start up costs. Buying needed software hardware or legal fees. If you need to get a server to house your game(I saw your MMO thread) That has a cost.

Next look at your income. Second job, ad revenue, donations. And do a side by side look. Are you making more than you are spending? How much more do you need each month to make profit? What is your forecast for the next 6 months?

Then for the game its self what can you make quickly and cheaply to get on the market? I have One dream game I work on but I also have two different game I bounce back and forth on. Those side projects are meant to be done by years end and hopefully sell well enough to fund me to finish my main game.

It is also important to keep in mind time. How many hours will it take you to develop your game to completion? Is there another game you could make faster? Also are your games Free with ads? What about a cash shop or is it a one time purchase. For each game you make what will be the peak amount of revenue before you start making less each month. This last part is why most games don't get support beyond the first year or two after release because there is no money in it.

If you read all this and you are still excited by the challenge and conquering the mountain before you, great! If not don't worry that is a perfectly normal reaction it just means you may need to re evaluate you attack plan a bit.

CrazyVulcan

Thanks for all the information, I am actually re-evaluating the idea of making a company right now.

I might start in a few years once I have released a couple of successful games, and I have made some sort of revenue from those games.

Have you made any games that have generated you revenue? and how?

Thanks again! Cheers!

Thanks for all the information, I am actually re-evaluating the idea of making a company right now.

I might start in a few years once I have released a couple of successful games, and I have made some sort of revenue from those games.

Have you made any games that have generated you revenue? and how?

Thanks again! Cheers!

Not yet, my main game is going to take about a years worth of work. Look at my thread "Advance C2 Building a Online Browser Game with C2" I go into a fair bit of detail on my project. The other two games, more like a game and a "game' app are much simpler. One is a board game that I am designing and would like to sell digitally as well as making a physical version. I intend to make it free with a link to a patatron account where people can donate to support my content.

I thought about running a Kickstarter for it but many game KS fail because people have little faith to put money into something that may not come around when they expect it to. Less money to start but I feel that garnishing the good will of my fans is more practical

The other was kind of a lesson I came up with for learning triggers. Its a Tarot Card fortune telling app. Only bigger than others currently on the market. While 3 card spreads are not uncommon I am going full on Celtic Cross a 10 card spread. I will run video ads from within a iframe inside the app and play it off as discussing payment for the psychics time. A bit obtrusive but other than that it will be free form the IOS or Google Play store. Have yet to really sit down and look how much I can realistically expect from that but as long as its is popular enough I should have a steady income from it.

However I will not be incorporating till those two are near the release phase as one is a mess of spread sheets and place holder art while the other is a half done proof of concept. I am not making money yet but plan to by years end though I am planing to not be making a profit by then. But that is the important thing which is having a set of goals set. I may not have a boss sitting over my shoulder to get my work done but self motivation is key.

>

> Thanks for all the information, I am actually re-evaluating the idea of making a company right now.

> I might start in a few years once I have released a couple of successful games, and I have made some sort of revenue from those games.

> Have you made any games that have generated you revenue? and how?

> Thanks again! Cheers!

>

Not yet, my main game is going to take about a years worth of work. Look at my thread "Advance C2 Building a Online Browser Game with C2" I go into a fair bit of detail on my project. The other two games, more like a game and a "game' app are much simpler. One is a board game that I am designing and would like to sell digitally as well as making a physical version. I intend to make it free with a link to a patatron account where people can donate to support my content.

I thought about running a Kickstarter for it but many game KS fail because people have little faith to put money into something that may not come around when they expect it to. Less money to start but I feel that garnishing the good will of my fans is more practical

The other was kind of a lesson I came up with for learning triggers. Its a Tarot Card fortune telling app. Only bigger than others currently on the market. While 3 card spreads are not uncommon I am going full on Celtic Cross a 10 card spread. I will run video ads from within a iframe inside the app and play it off as discussing payment for the psychics time. A bit obtrusive but other than that it will be free form the IOS or Google Play store. Have yet to really sit down and look how much I can realistically expect from that but as long as its is popular enough I should have a steady income from it.

However I will not be incorporating till those two are near the release phase as one is a mess of spread sheets and place holder art while the other is a half done proof of concept. I am not making money yet but plan to by years end though I am planing to not be making a profit by then. But that is the important thing which is having a set of goals set. I may not have a boss sitting over my shoulder to get my work done but self motivation is key.

Self Motivation! Yeahhh! Yeah I think I read your post before!

So a update on how I started my business for any who wish to see an example of how to do it with less hair pulling then I dared to hope.

I went through leagelzoom.com and selected their start a buisness package. After a lot of research on what kind of company I wanted I finally settled on forming a LLC(Limited Liability Company) Basicly I have all the protection from certain financial liabilities of a corporation but it has the flexibility of a small business. There is right now only one manager/owner and I do all the work myself so a LLC was a natural choice but do your homework. If you are a small team maybe look into S-Type Corporations.

There was a lengthy online form to fill but the site did a good job of explaining what my options were. Things like When the end of your fiscal year is for tax purposes. What state will you be operating in and what type of business you are running. I am considered a "Entertainment Company" but I may want to reevaluate that. Then I selected two choices for a name to operate under. I got my first choice and it depends on what state you live in and if there is another company doing business under that name. So my company is "Vulcans Forge Studios, LLC" and my trademark is pending once I finalize some art.

Also you get a EIN (Employee Identification Number) with the IRS that I then take to the bank and will start a account just for my business. That number is what I use in lieu of my name when doing purchase or filling tax forms. Again important to keep in mind to sign everything under your EIN or Company name and not your personal name. If you do you void your liability protection as a LLC.

I also through Legalzoom got a lawyer for a discounted price. But let's talk numbers. The fee for LZ to do all the legwork was about $900, my lawyer fees to sign them on was another $700 and add another 300 for registering my trade mark. So right now I am in for $1900. That is a lot of money, and now I need to start making that back as quickly as possible. But the reason I am doing this now and not later is that I am joining a group called tabletopia. Who are doing something similar to tabletop simulator only game developers make and publish games on their site. So you don't have the issues of piracy on TTS and everybody wins. Since I want to be protected come tax time and make sure all my earning are documented. Hate to get a audit right out of the gate.

So check out Vulcans Forge Studios on Tabletopia this November!