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How To Start Your Own Business. Part 17
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. I hope that my basic guide to business start-ups has given you a good idea of where to begin over the previous 16 parts.
Over the last few weeks, this series has looked at the most important areas any business start-up or entrepreneur should consider when setting up in business. It’s taken you from developing an idea and attracting funding on to setting up in daily business and telling the world how great your company is. I hope it’s been a good starting point for your research and that it’s given you an insight into what it takes to start an SME. In case you want to go back over any of the topics we’ve covered in this series, here’s a handy set of links to every blog:
If you found the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
How To Start Your Own Business. Part 16
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. This series is the result. Today’s blog looks at the people that get your products to the customer: your distributor.
Distributors
After your product is manufactured, it’s usually shipped or sold to a distributor. The distributor then sells the product to retailers or customers, with interest generated by marketing that is normally done by your company. Distributors are usually small companies, with a specific geographical area to look after. They should carry stock levels that mean customers can have instant delivery.
It’s a good idea to appoint a distributor who specialises in your type of product as they will have a better understanding of your customers. Make sure you fully brief them on your product’s features and benefits, so they understand what they’re selling. Keep them motivated with incentives and prizes for top sellers, as well as offering a reasonable margin in the first place. Remember that your distributor saves you from spending on sales people, vehicles and storage.
Useful Links:
Federation of Wholesale Distributors
NEXT: Conclusion
If you find the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
How To Start Your Own Business. Part 15
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. This series is the result. Today’s blog looks at how to find a manufacturer and what to look for.
Manufacturers
If you have an idea for a product, then you will need somebody to make it before you can sell it. You can find manufacturers online, through adverts in trade magazines, or through directories that you can find in the library to draw up your shortlist. Choosing a manufacturer will depend on many factors, but while price is important, it shouldn’t be key – you must be able to depend on your manufacturer, too.
Your manufacturer doesn’t need to be based in the UK, although that may make it easier to build a relationship in the early days. It certainly makes it easier to visit the premises of your shortlisted manufacturers to form your own opinion of the way they work. The world’s largest retailers use overseas manufacturers, usually in Asia, because they are cheap. There’s no reason your business can’t follow suit if the volume is high enough, but the decision to import your product adds a lot of considerations, including shipping, taxes or duties, translation, local law and any cultural differences. An import/export expert would take care of all this for you – for a fee.
Larger companies may offer more peace of mind that they won’t cease trading, but tend to be more expensive, where smaller companies might prioritise your work if you become a valued account. You might find life easier if you can find a manufacturing company that already produces similar products, because they may have already worked out many of the problems they might encounter.
Ask to see a sample to verify that they can work to the quality you expect. Ask them what quantities of your product they could produce in a given timescale to check that they can handle the volume of work you expect. What payment terms do they offer? Credit is unlikely in the beginning, but may be forthcoming if the relationship develops.
If you approach manufacturers to produce a prototype, get them to sign a confidentiality agreement to prevent them making your invention public. You should seek legal advice to draw up an effective non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
Useful Links:
NEXT: Distributors
If you find the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
How To Start Your Own Business. Part 14
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. This series is the result. Today’s blog looks at suppliers.
Suppliers
If you want to sell products, then you will need to find a supplier or wholesaler. Reliability and speed of service are as important as a good price – the best price in the world is no good to you if you have no stock to sell. Larger suppliers tend to carry more stock, so they should be able to supply more quickly. For peace of mind, look for suppliers who have been operating for a few years and you could ask for a credit check.
You can find suppliers through directories like yell.com, trade associations, adverts in industry magazines, or trade fairs. It’s prudent to spread any risk by using more than one supplier, in case they have difficulties. After you’ve appointed your supplier, make regular checks to ensure that you are still getting the best price and/or service. If not, it might me time to exercise the exit clause in your contract.
Useful Links:
Federation of Wholesale Distributors
NEXT: Manufacturers
If you find the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
How To Start Your Own Business. Part 13
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. This series is the result. Today’s blog looks at another third party, but this time it’s one that many small business owners overlook at their own peril; business mentors.
Mentors
There’s an old saying that you don’t know what you don’t know – until someone tells you! That’s what a mentor can bring to your business, with their professional experience acting on your behalf. From short term projects to longer relationships, a mentor’s role can be as simple as that of a critical friend who isn’t afraid to say the things you don’t want to hear. Or they could be your business’ guru with the knowhow and experience to catapult your dream into the big time.
Research has shown that SMEs that consult a business mentor are more likely to survive. You will seek this person’s input on some of the most important decisions you will make, so it’s important that you trust them and respect their opinion. Think of them as an advisor, who has already been where you want to go, so they can give you advice based on real experience. At worst, a mentor should prevent you from making costly mistakes; at best, they will highlight opportunities to grow your business.
Choose a mentor with a different skillset to your own, so that your range of experience compliments each other. There’s no point hiring an HR guru if you’ve led an HR department for 20 years. That way, if it doesn’t work out with that mentor, at least you will have learned some important lessons along the way.
Don’t expect a mentor to agree with everything you say. In fact, they should do just the opposite. They will ask questions you won’t want to hear and challenge your decisions, but they’re not doing it to be difficult; they want you to make the most informed decisions so that your business succeeds. A good mentor will understand your business’ potential for growth, set achievable goals and help you to identify and overcome the barriers holding you back.
A mentor should also help you to grow your business network and put you in touch with other business people in a position to help. Life leading an SME can be lonely, but a mentor can not only stand by you, but also put you in touch with like-minded professionals.
If you decide not to use a business mentor, there are regional business support organisations who can fulfil many of the same functions. Find them online, or through your local council. Some are free, some ask a fee, but it will be cheaper than a mentor. You will also make numerous local business connections through a local enterprise network and some of them may be willing to offer good advice.
Useful Links:
Federation of Small Businesses
NEXT: Suppliers
If you find the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
How To Start Your Own Business. Part 12
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. This series is the result. Continuing our look at third parties you will need to work with, this part of the series deals with your legal representation.
Legal Representation
Solicitors/lawyers/legal eagles aren’t cheap, but consulting one early on might just be cheaper than rectifying a mistake later on. They can help with forming your company or securing premises, drawing up contracts or advising on employee disputes, but different solicitors have different areas of expertise, so make sure you choose the one that you need.
Similarly to accountants, a smaller local firm might be more sympathetic and helpful to your own SME, than a larger concern might be. You’d also do well to appoint one sooner, rather than later, for the help they can offer you in setting up your business, from choosing a business format to ensuring any contracts work in your favour.
Seek recommendations from friends or your business network and make a few appointments to meet in person. Ask what their fees are in advance. This is usually by the hour, so do everything you can to make their task more straightforward. The more clearly you can present the information they need, the less time it will take them to process it and the less they will charge you.
Useful Links:
NEXT: Business Mentors
If you find the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
How To Start Your Own Business. Part 11
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. This series is the result. In the course of your business, you will need to work with – or rely on – any number of third parties. These will vary, depending on your type of business and your own experience, but the next few parts of this series deal with the most common, starting with accountants.
Accountants
Your accountant can be as involved with your business as you want. They can just formalise your basic bookkeeping, or you can appoint them as an ‘agent’ to deal with your tax affairs, submit your VAT returns and deal with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on your behalf. They can also offer financial advice and help manage your growth. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to choose your accountant before you start your business, because they’ll be able to help you get the structure of your business right from the start, including your business plan.
When it comes to choosing your accountant, they should be qualified with one of the main accountancy bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants (either ICAEW or ICAS) or the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). If you’re a small business and you would like regular contact and input, you might be better going for a smaller firm, rather than one that specialises in multi-nationals. An SME accountant is more likely to specialise in the kind of accounts issues that are common to smaller firms. They’re also likely to charge less and give more direct access to more experienced partners than a larger firm.
Negotiating fixed fees means you won’t get any surprises when an hourly rate bill arrives. It’s prudent to ask what cover is in place for when they’re not in the office and whether they have access to specialist advisors. Some practices are happy to take your money for the minimum effort, but a good accountant will want to speak to you regularly, not just at year-end. Finally, it’s worth finding one that you get on with. True, you’re hiring them for their abilities, not their personality, but you could end up working closely with them and life will be much easier all round if you can relate to one another.
Do they need to be local? Not necessarily. True, it makes it easier to drop off a brown envelope of expenses and receipts, but in this interconnected world of the internet, a scanner plus recorded delivery goes a long way to removing the need for local representation. Would you rather have a specialist in your sector at the end of the phone, or a friendly face you can visit when you need to? There’s no right or wrong to this, but it’s something you should think about.
Useful Links:
NEXT: Lawyers
If you find the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
How To Start Your Own Business. Part 10
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. This series is the result. Today’s blog looks at recruiting and managing your first employee.
Becoming An Employer
Taking on your first employee is a real milestone for any start-up, demonstrating that the idea you have nurtured is growing. There are costs involved though, so make sure your business can support this additional expenditure – many business use part-time or freelance staff to bridge the gap.
Be clear on what you need an employee to deliver for your business before you even advertise. A job description will help you determine what help you need, as well as letting any applicants know what they’re applying for. Include information about pay, working hours, location and whether it’s a full-time or part-time job. Recruitment firms often charge up to 20% of a successful applicant’s first year’s pay, so many SMEs prefer to advertise on websites or via the job centre. Of course, it’s free to advertise vacancies on your own website.
Application forms make it easier to compare candidates like for like, but you’ll need to take the time to compile one. Asking for CVs might be quicker. Draw up a shortlist of suitable applications. Telephone interviews could save you a lot of time in face-to-face interviews, by screening out any unsuitable applicants. In either case, have a prepared set of questions covering their competencies, why they’re interested in the job and what they can bring to your business. You cannot discriminate in any way, based on age, race, sex or disability – you must judge each candidate solely on their suitability for the role. Remember to ask for proof that they are entitled to work in the UK, or you could be liable for a £10,000 fine. Finally, you might want to check their references from previous employers.
When you’ve decided who to appoint, call them in the first instance to make sure they’re still interested, then send an offer letter. Only advise other candidates they have been unsuccessful when your first choice – or second, or third – has agreed to start. As soon as you have made this agreement, then a contract is in place, but you’re obliged by law to give them a written statement of employment particulars within the first two months of starting work. This should cover their job description, salary, hours, holiday entitlement, notice period and other terms and conditions.
You’ll need to register as an employer with HMRC and you must make National Insurance and tax contributions through PAYE. You’ll soon have to make pension contributions for them, too. You’ll also need to decide how you’re going to pay staff – by cheque, bank transfer or cash. Your accountant can help you with these decisions and even take care of payroll on an ongoing basis. You should make sure that any health and safety arrangements are up to date and that you’ve carried out a risk assessment for the duties that your new member of staff will undertake. You’re also obliged by law to have at least £5 million Employers’ Liability cover, in case an employee sues you if they are injured at work.
Before your new recruit starts work, you’ll need to make sure they have the tools to do their job, be that a desk and computer, vehicle or other equipment. It’s common to have a probationary period to help you make sure you’ve hired the right person. During this time, you can usually end their employment with one week’s notice if they don’t match your expectations for any reason.
Give your employee objectives and monitor whether they meet them. This will both give them some guidance as to what you expect, as well as give you a framework to assess their work. Be clear and specific in any briefing you give, what you expect from them, and offer regular feedback on their performance. Bonus or commission can be a good motivator, but above all else, make sure you pay them in full, and on time. They won’t care about cashflow or outstanding invoices; they need their salary when they expect it to pay the rent or mortgage. There’s a reason they’re an employee and not an entrepreneur and if they don’t get their regular pay, your new employee will be looking for a new employer…
Useful Links:
NEXT: Accountants
If you find the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
How To Start Your Own Business. Part 9
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. This series is the result. Today’s blog looks at spreading the word about your start-up through marketing.
How Marketing Works
You could have the best product or service in the world, but if nobody knows about it, how are they going to buy it? Marketing’s job is to put you in front of potential customers, so that they spend money with your business instead of somebody else. Identify your Unique Sales Proposition (USP) early on and reinforce it with every message you send out. This is what makes your business, product or service different to all the competition and it’s the reason why any customer should choose you. Marketing activities can be general (establishing your brand), or specific (announcing a sale, special offer or new product), but they should all carry your USP.
Start by drawing up a marketing plan that sets clear objectives to help with long-term strategic goals. Setting deadlines, targets and budgets will help you focus on your priorities and gives something to measure performance against. Measurables could include sales growth, numbers of enquiries, new customers, or average transaction value. These statistics will help you identify where your marketing is – and isn’t – working. If you see an increase in new enquiries, but this doesn’t translate into sales, you need to work out why – and fix it!
Your marketing plan should start with a description of your market and any notable trends, as well as how your offering compares to your competition. Research what customers value, such as product features, quality or service, as well as which kind of customer will spend the most money with you. This might inform your decision about which market segment to target with each activity, as well as whether to attract new customers or activate existing ones. Decide which products to push and set specific objectives. If you have previous marketing activity to refer to, work out which methods saw the best response. The most common types are display advertising, leaflet drops, direct mail, direct selling, website, mobile and text marketing and social media.
Learning how each customer found out about you will help you to identify which marketing channels work for your business. You can do this by putting marketing codes on adverts and coupons, while you can track web users by page visits. Stating that customers should ask for a different person in different adverts is a clear indicator where they saw that advert and any customer who phones in should always be asked how they heard about your business. This knowledge will help you to decide which marketing channels to extend in the future.
Identify key times of the year for your market sector, such as the new financial year or Christmas and schedule your marketing to build up to these dates. You could also factor in consumer shows, trade events or relevant diary dates. In between these marketing peaks, maintain customer awareness with more cost-effective activities such as emails and newsletters. Remember that every time a potential customer sees your brand, it should reinforce your reputation. They may not act on the first contact, so don’t expect too much, too soon.
Useful Links:
Chartered Institute of Marketing
NEXT: Becoming An Employer
If you find the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
How To Start Your Own Business. Part 8
Thinking of starting a business, but not sure what you need to know? Begin your journey here with my basic guide to business start-ups. In my role as Editor for The Business Show and Business Startup, I have talked with literally thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs about what they really need to know, not what a business guru thinks they need to know. This series is the result. Today’s blog looks at what to include on your website and how to encourage people to visit it.
Get A Website
If you don’t have a web presence, then you simply won’t exist as far as a lot of customers are concerned. Your website can serve three purposes; to establish your brand, to advertise your product or service and to enable direct sales.
A professionally designed website can make all the difference to how your brand is perceived. This means that you need easy to navigate content, professional images, grammatically correct editorial and a carefully chosen colour scheme. Every website should think about including contact details, testimonials, social sharing buttons, promoting your new content, links to relevant sites, accreditations, security certificates or assurances, using tags on images, and keywords where possible – including the URLs.
Some companies like WordPress and 1&1 offer heavily templated web building services that aren’t too tricky to use. This website was built entirely in WordPress by myself. Is it the pinnacle of internet innovation? No. Are you reading these words? Yes. Job done. If you’re not web-savvy, then you’d be well advised to contract a web developer to build your site for you. You might be reluctant to spend the money, but they’ll do it a lot quicker, build in more functionality and it’ll look a lot more professional.
If there’s one phrase you’ll hear web professionals use repeatedly, it’s ‘Content is king!’ You need to give people a reason to come to your site, to look around while they’re there – and come back again. This could just take the form of a weekly blog, but it could also be pictures, video, articles – anything you can think of! Just make sure that you can easily update your website with fresh content, not only to be of interest to your customers and avoid stagnation, but also to get a higher ranking on Google – the route that most new custom will come to you. This is the single most important thing to consider for your website.
The important thing is to ensure that your content is relevant and professionally presented. It’s all too easy to set up the infrastructure of a website, then shoot yourself in the foot by forgetting to update it, so it takes on all the appeal of a graveyard on a cold December evening – or even worse – posting stuff that nobody cares about and actually removes from their ‘feed’. This is where a copywriter/content marketing professional is worth their weight in gold. If you aren’t confident that the content you provide is timely, relevant and engaging, please talk to a professional. They will also know the best ways to convert browsing into buying. Spending pennies now will bring in pounds later. Is this a sell? Maybe, but I’m happy to do it because I know the value that my words bring to businesses. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
You’ll find it easier to manage existing customers if your website has customer relationship management (CRM) functionality. Customer contact lists, email marketing and SMS alerts will all help you to stay in touch with your customers. And if your business runs on appointments, an online booking system can increase productivity while also improving customer experience with email confirmations and text reminders.
Google offer a couple of tools that can be very handy. Google Analytics is free and will enable you to track how your customers are using your website. Using this information, you can improve any areas of weakness or develop strengths. Google Webmaster Tools will tell you about your website’s visibility on Google – in other words, how easy it is for new customers to find you from an internet search, while Adwords will enable you to serve adverts to specific customers.
Useful Links:
Getting British Business Online
NEXT: How Marketing Works
If you find the series – or any of the articles in it – useful, please share them via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog. I’d really appreciate it, thanks. If you need professional copywriting for anything from your first business plan to marketing collateral and press releases, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today to find out how I could help your business.
Steve Takle 
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