Starting Up In Business

Many people in the UK dream of starting up their own business, and in recent years, I have seen this become a reality for an unprecedented number of people. For some, redundancy has forced them to take action, while others are motivated by independence, and the prospect of higher rewards for their efforts. However, it always surprises me how many people launch a new business without having thought it through properly, and it is probably due to this approach that a quarter of new businesses fail in their first year.

I would like to share a handful of ‘top tips’ with you, when planning a new business. Hope they come in handy:

• Its easy to get swept up into the frenzy and excitement of the new venture, and quite right too; it has the potential to bring positive changes to your life. A word of caution though – make sure you have the full support of family and friends. You are going to need their full support through the long hours and stress.
• Most new businesses run with just one employee initially – the business owner. However, it is important to surround yourself at an early stage with a good team. When I say team, I mean professionals who have been there and done it. You will need as much time as you can find in the early months to get the business off the ground, so make sure you take advantage of the (sometimes free) advice and support that is widely available to new start ups.
• Are you 100% confident and enthused about your product or service? You really have to be if you are going to sell it to others. Do a bit of market research on friends and family and find out what potential customers think. Making the small adjustments to what you sell is best done pre-launch!
• The business structure is an important issue to address at the outset. Not only are there different tax rules, but operationally and legally, there are some big differences. Do your homework and get some advice about what structure suits the venture best.
• Funding for new ventures is often not easy to come by. Gone are the days when any high street bank would throw money at a new venture as a matter of course. You need to consider what your potential funding requirement might be, based on both worst and best case scenarios. Losses in the early days need to be funded, as do plans for expansion. Its is easier to get funding before you need it, than when you are up against a cashflow crisis, so plan ahead for different options.
• Budgeting is often perceived as a mystic art to new business owners, but it is a vital part of the business plan for any venture. If you can come up with a realistic budget that ‘ticks all of your boxes’ (profit, cashflow, turnover, etc), then you can monitor your actual performance against it, and tweak aspects of your business as you go along to keep it on track.

Fox Evans have been helping business owners to achieve their aspirations for 85 years, and every week, I take calls from business owners who have just started to trade, or are planning to do so. We offer free advice and support for new start ups, and all of our clients, however big or small, receive our fullest and most pro-active attention.

If you are considering starting a new venture, and would like some free advice, please contact me on 024-76257317 or mark@foxevans.co.uk