One of the things we love to hate is the paperwork. Finding the opportunity or investor and coming to an understanding is one thing, sealing the deal is a completely different story altogether. Before the lawyers and notaries can pass the paperwork as “done and dusted” all the proverbial i’s need to be dotted and t’s need to be crossed. Reason I want to emphasize this is because this quite often is a complicated and above all time consuming process. And of course not to mention frustrating as it diverts attention and resources from growing the actual business. There are basically five rules to complete paperwork swiftly (if there is such a thing), namely:
- Prepare; familiarize yourself with the process and requirements
- Inform; make sure all the stakeholders know what they need to do, and when
- Share; keep everyone informed about progress, status and kick-ups, but don’t inundate!
- Take your time; doesn’t matter how well you prepare, the weakest link determine the progress.
- Contingency; if things take more time than expected, you might run out of money or resources. That is no big deal, as long as you are prepared for it.
Although it is a necessary hassle and hurdle, it can be easily taken if you inform yourself about the requirements, share that (over and over again) with the stakeholders, and above all do this in a timely fashion. There is a reason for it they call it red tape….