Start-up Business
Our locally based professional business advisors can help in the generation and development of business ideas.
We offer a wide ranging practical assistance to help you get your business started.
This includes:
» Skills training, Business plan preparation, Sourcing of Finance, Choice of legal entity,
» Grant application, Market research, Industry profiles and Commercial property.
» We also offer continuous support for early stage businesses.
Starting-Up in Business Section
(Start-up Guide by Guy Stanley)
(Business Ideas, Funding and Resources by Patrick Blunt)
Thinking About Taking the Plunge?
If you are a potential entrepreneur think of starting your own business you are facing a considerable challenge. But, it is potentially one of the most exciting and rewarding things you will ever do! Many dream of achieving wealth, fame and fortune. The successful Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group is a role model for many. Others admire the inventive endeavours of James Dyson and his revolutionary vacuum cleaner.
How then can you turn your dream into reality?
When to start your business it is often a very difficult to decide when to start for some of us. Whilst others may feel they are forced into starting a business right away, as they may be facing unemployment or frustration with their current job and lifestyle and just want to try to take control of their own lives.
The secret is to find out all you can, by taking expert advice and try to make a balanced decision, before you make a commitment. Once embarked on the road to starting and growing a successful business it is often not that easy to change your mind and turn the clock back.
A major consideration has to be related to the sector and the overall economic climate that your business will operate in. It is not just your personal circumstances that should influence the decision.
Reasons why you may start your business now!
» Lower commercial rents
» Very low interest rates
» Low inflation rate
» Poor conventional return on personal savings
» Good tax and other incentives
Reasons you may not want to start your business right now!
» Uncertainty in the UK economy
» Prospects of increasing interest rates.
» Difficulty in finding suitable staff because of effective full employment
» Prospect of special difficulties in a specific industry sector
On a positive note there is never a right or wrong time to start a business and it all depends on specific circumstances, but there is a need to take expert advice and think very carefully about timing your move if you want to stand the best chance of success.
How long will setting-up a business take?
Invariably this depends on you, your resources and the business idea? The only real yardstick is that most people find that setting up business ends up taking much more time than they originally planned.
Typically if your business requires you to find, negotiate, lease/buy and fit-out premises then many months, or even a few years may be needed, with many hurdles to cross on the way.
There are many approaches to starting out in business. Often an individual, husband and wife or a group of friends or colleagues think they have a good idea and the passion to pursue it. They may then decide to take the risk and use their own money to turn their dream into reality without taking any advice or even checking out the nature of the market for their idea. They may be successful, or may be not, but experience has shown that a more structured approach to setting-up a business is more likely to lead to a successful sustainable business. Business Extra, your local enterprise agency provides a confidential and impartial service that will help you go about creating a successful business.
The Business Extra Way to Successfully Start-up in Business
Stage 1: Get to know a personal Business Adviser and take initial expert advice. theBusiness Adviser will continue to help and mentor you through all thedevelopment stages until your business is firmly on its feet.
Stage 2:Examine yourself and your circumstances. Getting a better understanding of yourself relative to what your want to achieve is a very important part of the process of being successful in business.
What are the important things to look at?
Skills- to be successful in small business you need to have good all round skills. If you do not have them then you will have to pay for somebody else to do it for you.
Finance-you may take many months before your business starts to take in cash and is unlikely that you will be able to borrow all the money you need to start the business. Do you have any savings? Are your savings adequate? Will you have any other source of income during the time you are setting up your business?
Long Hours –most small business owners work long and unsocial hours. Are you willing to work over 60 hours a week, seven days a week, and have no holidays? This is what it takes in many cases to establish a business.
Stress – setting-up a small business will be very stressful for you and your family. How well can you cope with stress? Are your family going to be supportive of your new venture, as you will need there full support to be successful.
Risk – small business owners must be willing to take risks. The nature of risk is what is called a ‘calculated risk’. If you want the safety and security of putting your money into a building society account, where your returns and capital are guaranteed then setting-up your own business, may not be for you? Another type of risk is the risk of failure?
Can you take failing to be succeed at your first attempt? You may have to succeed because even the best business plans can go wrong? Often only through the failure trying new ideas do we generate the winning formula.
People Skills – setting up a successful business requires teamwork, with staff, suppliers, customers and service providers. You need to be able to have or be willing to acquire good people skills. The desire to be independent and run your own business should not be confused with avoiding the need to work successfully with people.
Stage 3: Check Out Your Idea
Stage 4: Prepare a Business Plan
Stage 5: Objective Evaluation of the Business Plan
Stage 6: Implementing the Business Plan
Stage 7: Reviewing your Business Plan
The choice of business name is a very important step in setting-up your business and should be approached with care.
Top Tips
1.The choice of business name is must be both creative and strategic
2. Look at what the name is trying to achieve for your business
3. Generate and explore lots of ideas before you start to rationalise and make a choice
4.Have two or three preferred names just in case the most preferred name is not available
5. Use descriptive names if you want to save money in getting them known
6. Avoid complicated names
7. Check out possible negative foreign language meanings for English words
8. Avoid initials as they tend to be cold and unfriendly
Business and Company Names
After choosing you business name check it out with Companies House www.companieshouse.gov.uk.. You cannot use the name either as limitedliability company or as a registered business name if somebody else is already using it. There are also other restrictions.
Website Addresses
You will also need to check the search engines to find out if anybody is using the chosen name as a website address. If not used then register as many of the.com .biz..co.uk …etc etc etc addresses as possible at the same time. But it is no good registering thewebsite address if the company or business name is already registered.
Trademarks and Copyright
In addition some names may also be copyright (eg Harry Potter )and or are registered trademarks (eg Coca Cola) and cannot be used without the owners consent. Specialist advice should be taken prior to making a firm decision and investing time, money and effort. so as to avoid an expensive mistake that involves re-branding your business.
Contact BusinessExtra to source your expert advice now!