beg and borrow before you buy (you never know, you may not have to give it back).
when you do have to buy, buy wat is appropriate not what is the most up to date/expensive/flashiest - especially when buying IT
never date someone you work with
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Trevor Wood Redline Digital Services website development, business continuity planning and disaster recovery Network Midlands business networking events and corporate event management
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Network, network, network. Go to as many different networking groups/events that you can - open networking where anyone can come, Chamber events where only chamber members attend, referral networking where you'll be the only business of your type.
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Trevor Wood Redline Digital Services website development, business continuity planning and disaster recovery Network Midlands business networking events and corporate event management
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NEVER NEVER NEVER rely on only one source of leads / clients - whether it be advertising, networking, online networking etc. Make sure that if you were to lose one source of clients (eg you had a car crash and couldn't go networking, you got kicked off a well known online networking site, you had cashflow problems and couldn't pay for advertising etc) that you wouldn't lose all of your leads.
Oh and now you have a logo, even if you don't have a website, get a blogsite so there is SOMETHING about you on the web.
First of all decide what you exactly want to sale or which kind of business you want to start,Second Product knowledge,Market resarch,Competitor resarch,Business set up costs,Estimated Profit,Marketing and sales strategy,Implemetation of strategies,
Make a business plan and revise it frequently to adapt and survive the changing economy or business needs. Remember "fail to plan you plan to fail"
Lori
Where possible, operate within your means. Grow when you have made a little that enables you to invest in that growth, rather than borrowing and hoping that growth follows.
Best advice is to do your research and know your market.
Get as much free advice as possible from business people, and not family members.
Find your unique selling points.
Get your costings right for your services and products.
Pay for a professional business identity (don't entertain doing this yourself).
Get out and apply for everything, grants, awards etc.
Network like crazy.
Get help with accounting, business plan, and marketing plan right away.
Make sure you have a good advertising budget (don't fill your store with goods and expect people to find you - they won't know you exist)
Always Budget and keep an eye on cost, starting out buy the necessities rather that luxuries make sure you can justify any expense and analyse any variances to budget
You can end up with paralysis by analysis. If you are convinced that your product and service will sell, will deliver a return, and has been designed with the buyer in mind, then the most important thing is to get started!
I started my business with a £200 stationery set, a self-built website, and a determination to succeed. I wrote a business plan to get my bank account and promptly ignored it. The website is still mine and a bit clunky. But my business is expanding while many of my competitors are struggling.
1. Get to know your customer then market yourself accordingly.
2. Make a list of everything that you can think of that could go wrong in advance and find solutions to those problems, this way you you are on solid ground from the start.
3. Do your market research
4. Work out your start up costs then double it just to be sure
5. Plan your exit strategy early.
6. If going into a partnership then make sure everything is laid out and documented at the beginning so that you are covered should your partnership hit the rocks.
7. Never presume to know everything, even the most seasoned of entrepreneurs are still constantly learning so if you are unsure ask, luckily there are plenty of wonderful forums like this one where people are happy to advise.
8. Business is a roller coaster so don't worry if you hit a down turn or take it personally, brush yourself off and adapt.
9. Starting a business takes a lot of work, time and energy and getting a project off the ground can be all consuming. It can be easy to loose focus on what is really important, your health, happiness and the ones you love, make the time to live .
10. Last but not least, try to build your business around something you have a passion for. If you love what you are doing then it won't seem like work.
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Last edited by serendipitybusiness; 12-02-2009 at 11:04 PM..
2. Make a list of everything that could go wrong in advance and find solutions to those problems, this way you you are on solid ground from the start.
If you can do this for yourself, then you can do it for others and make a fortune. Unfortunately, I know of no-one who can list everything that can go wrong . 90% maybe, but not everything - even us disaster planning experts will miss something
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Trevor Wood Redline Digital Services website development, business continuity planning and disaster recovery Network Midlands business networking events and corporate event management
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Why... because they have a 24hr helpline. They give plentiful free (and accurate) legal advice about all things business. If you are thinking of employing someone they will give you up to date contracts, they have access to special (perhaps not so much now) charge free bank accounts, cheap credit card processing facilities, insurance, local networking meetings, telecoms, and loads of other member benefits and facilities.
Being in business is a lonely thing and to have an organization like this in your corner is a big comfort. If things go wrong, as long as you follow their advice, they take up your case against HMRC, Employment Tribunals, PAYE audits etc free of charge.
They are an organization always hassling the government on members behalf with over 1/4 million members.
Stop dreaming about starting a business, start working at it.
Do your research.
What is your market? What do the customers want? How do they make their buying decisions? What are they willing to pay for? Who are the competitors? How good are they? How will you be different?
Put together a short business plan with some numbers - it is much better to lose money on paper than in real life. It also captures your thoughts and intentions from the start so you can monitor how much you are learning and changing ideas.
Face up to the three major strategic risks
1 - is there really market demand for the product or service? - market risk
2 - how can I survive and beat the competitors? - competitive risk
3 - can I really deliver on the marketing promises and keep customers happy? - operational risk
Find a mentor - someone experienced in business who will give it to you straight - you need a strange mix of encouragement (to help you through the difficult times), caution (to stop you making an expensive mistake) and counselling (to support you). Balance cost with quality - free top quality advice is best, expensive poor advice is worst but paying for good advice is better than free bad advice.
Keep costs under control. It is much easier to spend money than to earn it so keep away from the fancy website, the posh offices, the 5 series BMW until your business is performing well.
Marketing is vital. Be clear on what you offer, focus on how your product or service makes customer lives better, offer good value - a good product at a fair price. Monitor your marketing and do more of what works and stop doing the ineffective.
Get your bookkeeping in order from the beginning. It's not a nice or productive job but the longer you leave it, the worse it gets. Consider outsourcing.
Be clear on red tape and legal compliance issues. It can suck the enthusiasm out of you but you can make some expensive mistakes that are best avoided.
Know where you are going. Starting a business is very exciting and scary at the same time. It is an adventure but have a destination in mind.
Good luck
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Hi, Ray.
Does your business, has to be registered in order to join the Federation Of Small Businesses?
For the sum required for membership, is an extremely good deal, especially in this current climate.
I know it's been mentioned several times already but writing a business plan cannot be underestimated. Its estimated that two-thirds of all business start without a plan and the same number go out of business within 3 years!!
Ray's mention about the Fed of small business is also a great idea, any advice and support you can get will help you keep on track even through the tough times. Business Link has plenty of free to access advice and there are always local networks and groups you can join.
Nurture your creativity and others.
Learn what your good at and improve it and don't ignore the people around you. An employee may be just a developer to you, but he may also be the key to your business growth.
Save money and use online application like google apps.
Google App's provides the facility for you to share documents with people around the world.
Why use microsoft office when you can use free open office.
It's a not brainer. One costs the earth and takes money out of that investment pot and the other is free. They both do the same job and use the same document types.
Offer your services in exchange for others.
Lawyers and accountants have been free for me from the beginning. Having web development and marketing skills also helps.
Learn what you usually pay for and do it yourself.
Accountant courses are cheap these days and you'll save so much more in the end.
Thats it for now, but i'll try and think of some more
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I know it's been mentioned several times already but writing a business plan cannot be underestimated. Its estimated that two-thirds of all business start without a plan and the same number go out of business within 3 years!!
Definitely agree with that (for the majority of businesses, particularly bricks and mortar ones). Emma started her beauty therapy business after qualifying in 2004 (I think it was) with no business plan. We'd not looked into (the lack of) sales/leads from 'passing traffic'. Basically, the business was poorly sited and it folded within a year. If we'd done our research...
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Your Top Tips for Starting Up in Business
. 90% maybe, but not everything - even us disaster planning experts will miss something
. Yes taken literally unless you are a fortune teller you can't predict every possible pitfall, thanks for pointing that out 
