Your current situation
Starting a business is really easy. You just start. Make up a name, decide what you’re going to sell (products, services, your expertise) and go for it. A good place to start is https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business .
Running a successful business is of course a completely different thing, and not nearly as easy!
You may well be expert at whatever it is you’re expert at, but what about running a business? That’s a completely different skillset.
You will need a company name, a marketing plan, probably a website, social media channels, and a clear understanding of your finances. You may need help from an accountant, a solicitor, an intellectual property expert, an HR advisor, a web designer, a graphic designer, a social media expert and many others!
You need a plan. It can be reams of words and oodles of spreadsheets, or a one-pager that points you in the right direction. Maybe you need someone to help you write that plan.
Free resources
In terms of free help, you should be aware of Growth Hubs. There’s one in every part of the UK – you can find yours at https://www.lepnetwork.net/local-growth-hub-contacts/ . “Yours” could be based on where you live, or where you plan on setting up your business. Have a good browse around that website, talk to your Growth Hub, find out what they can do for you.
Some of them run free courses on the basics of running a business. Buckinghamshire Business First is my local Growth Hub, and they run https://bbf.uk.com/be-your-own-boss – find out whether yours has a similar offering.
Your local Council may well also be of help – ask to speak to the Economic Development team. If there’s a town centre of relevance to your business, they may well have a Town Centre Manager from whom you can gain much useful help.
There are countless online resources such as https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4686-how-to-start-a-business.html. And don’t forget your local library – there will be a business section with dozens of books you can borrow for free to help you along the way as well as great business tools which are also available for free.
As per the list below, there are countless aspects of business which need your attention. With each of them, you have a choice of three ways of tackling them:
- Do it yourself, badly
- Learn how to do it well
- Pay someone else to do it (well!) for you
For more on those options, click here.
Chargeable services
The other option is to find someone who is expert in the field in which you want to be expert, who perhaps offers training as well as delivery. That could be group training or 1-2-1.
For just some of the skills and services you might want to outsource, or skills you might want to acquire, click here.
If you know someone who does these things for a living, who you like, and trust, then chat with them about how they might work with you, what they would charge.
If you don’t know someone like that, don’t worry, we do! If you contact us to outline your needs, we will put you in touch with someone suitable, so you can ask them the same questions, and potentially engage them to help you in this area. There’s no charge for that service – if and when you agree terms with them and pay them for their services, they will then pay us a small commission. We don’t charge you anything at any time.
How to do it
Doing it badly
With regard to the first option, there are some thing that are pretty unimportant, so actually, if it’s not done too well, then it doesn’t really matter.
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In our opinion, there won’t be many things about your business that fall into that category so you might want to consider the other two options.
Learning to do it well
Learning how to do something well make sense, if you have the time and potentially the money to do that.
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There are many learning opportunities at https://www.lynda.com/ with over 1200 business courses available. The first month is free, so be aware of charges after that month. Again, you can get 4 weeks for free at https://join.shawacademy.com/select-your-course-2020 while https://www.futurelearn.com/subjects/business-and-management-courses gives 7 days free access.
The other option is to find someone who is expert in the field in which you want to be expert, who offers training as well as delivery. That could be group training or 1-2-1.
If you know someone who does this for a living, who you like, and trust, then chat with them about how they might work with you, what they would charge.
If you don’t know someone like that, don’t worry, we do! If you contact us to outline your needs, we will put you in touch with someone suitable, so you can ask them the same questions, and potentially engage them to help you in this area. There’s no charge for that service – if and when you agree terms with them and pay them for their services, they will then pay us a small commission. We don’t charge you anything at any time.
Pay someone else to do it
Furthermore, there are only a certain number of hours in the day – can you actually do everything? If not, what will you outsource? The best options are the things you’re not good at and the things you don’t enjoy!
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Subject to the budget you have available, you will therefore be better off outsourcing some of the work that needs to be done to get your business up and running; and then to make the business successful, however you define the word success.
And what about a mentor or coach? Someone to help you work through the maze that will confront you, to help you prioritise, make decisions. It’s hard to do that for yourself – an external provider is clearly worthy of consideration.
If you do, then talk to them about your needs. Make sure you talk about outcomes, not processes. Talk about what they will hand over to you as completed work, not how they will make it happen.
When you call a plumber to sort your dripping tap, you tell them you want the tap to stop dripping, you don’t tell them how to do it!
Come to an agreement with them about what they will do for you, and what they’ll charge for the service. Are stage payments required (e.g. half of the cost up front)?
How long will it take them? Will there be penalties for late delivery? Do they have references, testimonials? What if you just don’t like what they’re doing for you?
If you don’t know someone like that, don’t worry, we do! If you contact us to outline your needs, we will put you in touch with someone (or a range of people) who we consider suitable, so you can ask them the same questions, and potentially engage them to help you in this area.
There’s no charge for that service – if and when you agree terms with them and pay them for their services, they will then pay us a small commission. We don’t charge you anything at any time.
Business skills
Anyone who thinks that they’re good at everything needs a reality check! Of the skills listed below, you will already be good at some of them and there will be others that your business just won’t need. For the remainder, you need help!
As per the above, there are some free resources available, but you will need to pay for others.
We have great trusted contacts across all of these disciplines – contact us for more details on any of them.
Mentoring & coaching
Andy Murray has a coach. So does Bill Gates. Seeking help and guidance from a coach or mentor is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength, a recognition and acceptance that you can always do things better.
From the perspective of the nuts and bolts of the business, most coaches and mentors have an industry sector or business size in which they specialise. We know / like / trust people who specialise in solopreneurs, and ones who specialise in businesses with (or aspiring to) a £1m – £5m turnover, specialists in the fashion industry or the IT sector, and many more specialisms. One of them will be right for you!
But there’s also the personal perspective – there are coaches who are trained psychologists who we know / like / trust who can help you be the best “you” that you can be, to maximise your potential.
Contact us with your needs and we’ll put you in touch with someone we think is right for you.
Business planning
Baldrick’s claim to have “a cunning plan” was sensible – where his claim fell down was that his plan was not actually cunning. To not have a plan is clearly madness (in our humble opinion!). And it needs to be a cunning plan, not a badly thought out plan.
Is your business idea viable? What’s your definition of the word “success”? Where are you trying to get? How will you get there? What will that cost? What help will you need? Will that help come from employees or will you outsource? So many questions!
If you can work through that yourself, go for it. A Growth Hub or other similar organisations may offer free help, but there’s a limit to the quantity of help they offer, the depth to which they go, the degree to which the help is tailored to you and your business.
If you believe paying an expert for expert help specific to your future business is what’s needed, contact us now for help with making that happen.
Marketing
They used to say “If you build it, they will come”. Now the saying is “If you build it and tell them and tell them and tell them, then they just might come for a quick look!”.
You really should have a Marketing Strategy, and a Marketing Plan.
What will the look and feel of your branding be? What’s your logo, and your marketing tagline?
Do you even need a website? If so, is it an online brochure, or an all encompassing ecommerce site with seamless connection to your CRM system and your fulfilment processes? Or somewhere in between?
How do you maximise your SEO, and if you want help, how do you discern a charlatan from an expert?
Should you be on Facebook? With a group or a page or paid advertising? What about Twitter? Instagram? TikTok? All of them??
How about a blog? Or a vlog? Or a podcast? Or a regular Clubhouse room?
Do you need a PR campaign? Can you write your own press release, and get it in front of the right journalists in a way that motivates them to publish?
How about some video for you to distribute? Shot on your mobile, or a professional production?
And what about the content? What will you say that engages your prospects? Who will compose the actual words, choose the associated images? How will your marketing nudge them towards becoming customers?
And who will actually click the buttons to get that content “out there”? You, or someone else?
Is networking something you should be doing? Will that be face to face, or online? What’s your 60-second pitch? How will you get people to know / like / trust you? And can you get someone else to do that for you?
And how about a “full service marketing agency”? If you want help across the board, or in many of these areas, with very joined up thinking and no finger pointing if things don’t quite go according to plan, that may be your best route forward – let them project manage your whole marketing function while you concentrate on doing what you’re good at!
Do you know /like / trust people who can do these things? Go talk to them! Or, for help working your way through this huge subject, contact us now for a free no obligation conversation, and introductions to high quality experts in each and every one of these fields.
Sales
If we asked you to give yourself marks out of 10 in your area of expertise, what would you say? 8? 9?? Hopefully something pretty high, or you should maybe be thinking again about starting a business!
And what about marks out of 10 for your sales skills? 8? 6? 2??
Who is going to deal with sales? Who will handle the incoming enquiries that your marketing has generated?
Might you need some sales training? Or maybe to outsource to a sales organisation or freelancer? Or hire a sales person? What are the financial implications of each of those?
The financial implications on not selling effectively are clear – you won’t have a business! You might consider yourself to be a sculptor or an accountant, but if you’re not also a sales person, or paying someone else to do that for you, then you don’t get the pleasure of doing what you love, as you won’t have a zero revenue business for long!
If you know / like / trust people who can help with your chosen route forward, talk to them. If you don’t, talk to us! We know lots of experts in this area and will find one right for you – contact us now to make that happen.
Finance
You really do need to be on top of your business finances.
A cash flow forecast is critical – it’s the best way of ascertaining whether your business stands a chance of surviving. Lots of sales are great, but will you have to pay for things before you get paid? For how long can you do that before you run out of cash? How much do you need in the bank on day one, to ensure you can survive your low point, be that in month 1, month 6 or month 12?
Will you need to borrow money? From a bank? Or elsewhere? Where is elsewhere??
What about investment? What’s the difference between an Angel and a Venture Capitalist? Which should you approach? How?? What will they want to see?
Should you use an online accounting system? Sage? Xero? Something else??
And should you just sort your own financial procedures, manage the day to day financial transactions, register for and deal with VAT, file returns to HMRC or Companies House? Or maybe outsource to an accountant, or a bookkeeper, or both?
If you know / like / trust people who can help with your chosen route forward, talk to them. If you don’t, talk to us! We know lots of experts in this area and will find one right for you – contact us now to make that happen.
Legal
You might think you won’t need any legal advice – it’s just “little old me” starting up an ordinary business. Think again.
You know all those Ts & Cs which you agree to without knowing what they say? Well, you’ll need those for your customers. Who’s going to write them?
Forming a Partnership? Who’s going to create the Partnership Agreement that you really should have.
Renting or buying premises? Going to handle all of the legal niceties yourself?
And don’t forget the dreaded GDPR!
There are lots of aspects of business where legal advice is highly recommended. If you know / like / trust a suitable solicitor, who specialises in these areas of legal work, talk to them. If you don’t, talk to us! We know lots of experts in this area and will find one right for you – contact us now to make that happen.
HR (Human Resources)
If you’re going to employ anyone (and that includes employing yourself if it’s a limited company of which you’re an employee) then you need HR policies and procedures.
Sadly, the list is endless. That why business people complain about red tape. You’ll need contracts of employment, policies on discipline, grievance and more.
Are you going to sort all that yourself? We hope not! You can get “ off the shelf” solutions, but are they really right for you?
Best to engage with a proper outsource HR company. If you know / like / trust people who provide such a service, talk to them. If you don’t, talk to us! We know lots of experts in this area, includes ones that offer a specially designed “first employee package”. Contact us now for an introduction.
Admin
The bane of every small business owner! Diary management. CRM system maintenance. Research. Social media activity. Event management. Endless, endless emails. And trust us on this, more.
Are you going to do all of those things, taking up huge chunks of your time and energy, or are you going to outsource the work to a PA or VA and focus on doing what you’re good at, your area of expertise, the point of the business?
And what about the higher end administrative work, like documenting your processes, creating and implementing your GDPR policy and more? Is that how you want to spend your time?
As well as PAs and VAs, we know / like trust plenty of experts in all of the administrative processes a business needs. If you know / like / trust such people, go talk to them. If not, contact us.
So – might you want some help with this?
Contact us now – there is absolutely no charge to you for our services, but we do make a small commission if you spend money with one of our contacts, which they pay us when you have paid them for their services.
