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For a successful business, you need a viable business idea, the skills to make it work and the funding. Discover whether your idea has what it takes.
Forming your business correctly is essential to ensure you are protected and you comply with the rules. Learn how to set up your business.
Advice on protecting your wellbeing, self-confidence and mental health from the pressures of starting and running a business.
Learn why business planning is an essential exercise if your business is to start and grow successfully, attract funding or target new markets.
It is likely you will need funding to start your business unless you have your own money. Discover some of the main sources of start up funding.
Businesses and individuals must account for and pay various taxes. Understand your tax obligations and how to file, account and pay any taxes you owe.
Businesses are required to comply with a wide range of business laws. We introduce the main rules and regulations you must comply with.
Marketing matters. It drives sales and helps promote your brand and products. Discover how to market your business and reach your target customers.
Some businesses need a high street location whilst others can be run from home. Understand the key factors from cost to location, size to security.
Your employees can your biggest asset. They can also be your biggest challenge. We explain how to recruitment and manage staff successfully.
It is likely your business could not function without some form of IT. Learn how to specify, buy, maintain and secure your business IT.
Few businesses manage the leap from start up to high-growth business. Learn what it takes to scale up and take your business to the next level.
You might be convinced you're on to a sure-fire winner, but not testing your business idea before you launch means you're asking for trouble. Even if response from prospective customers is overwhelmingly positive, you could learn something that enables you to enhance your offer and make selling that little bit easier.
Long before you take serious steps to start a business, ask potential customers their opinions of your products or services. Find out whether they would buy at your prices, and if so, what and when would they buy. Ask them what they like and dislike about your competitors, because this could provide you with important lessons.
Getting pre-launch feedback enables you to make changes (great and small) so that your offer is more closely tailored to market demand. It's easier to make changes before you start up as a result of researching your market, rather than later having to convince people to buy something they don't want, which never works.
Few small businesses need pay for professional market research. There are many simple, low-cost tests you can carry out. For example, if you want to open a shop and need to know how many people pass by, simply stand in your chosen location and take notes. Repeat the exercise at different times of the day and week to get a true picture. Politely stop people. Tell them you plan to open a shop nearby and ask what they'd like you to sell. Don't forget to find out what they think about your planned prices.
If yours is a more specialist small business, contact target customers directly. If you plan to sell to other firms, ask whether they'll meet you face to face, so you can tell them about your new business and the benefits it offers to them.
You can also find out a lot about your market using existing market intelligence - although there's no substitute for speaking to customers directly, desk research can help to plug gaps in your knowledge.
If people's responses are positive, fair enough. Perhaps you have a sound idea for a business after all (although there are no guarantees). Don't ignore negative responses if they're well founded, and don't make excuses when you're criticised. Listen to feedback and act on it where necessary.
Speak to a representative sample of potential customers, not just friends and family. Depending on your type of business, you may have to do this at different times, on different days and maybe even in different locations.
You also need to find out what your competitors offer, when, where, how and at what price. Then you can work out whether or not you can compete.
This might simply involve walking around the area in which you plan to set up. You can even pose as a customer, pay a visit to their premises and see what's on offer. You could check out competitor websites or ring them up for information (including prices). A quick scan through a local paper or business directory can also provide a list of competitors, while online searches can make the task quick and efficient. If you've already got some useful contacts, sound them out, too.
The job of market research isn't complete until you have confidence in the scope and depth of your findings. The more information you gather, the less likely you are to set up a business that is destined to fail.