ebook 25 tips for setting up a business part 1

25 Tips for Setting Up & Running A Business -Part 1

Jo Huey Business Solutions

Jam-packed full of tips, websites andinformation to help you set-up & run abusiness. For new & existing business

owners

http://www.facebook.com/johueybusinesssolutions

Welcome to my eBook for smallbusiness owners, which isdesigned to help you withstarting up and running abusiness. It is also useful as achecklist for the moreestablished business owner.

Contained in this eBook are themain tasks you could consider inyour business. They range from abusiness plan to social media andwebsites.

There are website links, tips and guidancefrom months of research and setting up myown business. I have over 15 years businessexperience across administration, purchasing,project management and training.

I have put it in order of priority but thisisn't set in stone, simply a guide. It reallydepends on your business.

I hope you find the information useful and agreat time saver. Jo

@joanne_huey

johueybusinesssolutions

http://www.twitter.com/joanne_huey


25 Tips forSetting Up &Running ABusiness

1. Collecting Information - Market Research

This is something you can do as part of writing your business plan;you can use these resources to help you find out more about yourtarget market. You can also ask your target market using focusgroups, or at network events. There are many options but itessential to really understand who your target market is.

2. Do a business plan

The purpose of the business plan is not to set out howyou will run your business, but define the business youare running -how you will fund it, staff, suppliers andmore. This information is often required for funding ifyou need a bank loan or investment. But this is not theonly reason! Your business plan is a working documentand it changes with your business. Jo Huey BusinessSolutions believes this plan is the foundation of yourbusiness and without it, planning, working andorganising will be that much harder.

https://www.princes-trust.org.uk

3. Decide on a business name

This is something that may take a little time or it mayjust come to you. If you are struggling, it is worth askingothers (and specifically your target market if you knowthem). Maybe give people some suggestions to choosefrom, you will need to make sure your website domain isavailable too.

www.fasthosts.co.uk


@joanne_huey

https://www.gov.uk/write-business-plan



https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/

https://www.fasthosts.co.uk/


5. Set up a system to track client contactinformation This is used to keep track of your clients and potentialclients. Your "list" is everything and without it you willstruggle to raise your profile and get business. You canthen use this contact information to send them usefulinformation about what you offer and alsoservices/products that they may be interested in.

www.insightly.com

4.Appoint a book-keeper/accountant or put together an Excelworksheet or use an app to track it/or do it yourself

Knowing your finances is key, cash flow is the main reason smallbusinesses fail. If you can't do this yourself, get a book-keeper oraccountant. Take your business seriously and don't think it isn'tworth it. Accountants generally charge around £250-300, book-keepers are cheaper but offer different services.

www.freshbooks.com

6. Get a graphic designer

Unless you are able to do this yourself, you will need tohire someone to design your logo and any othermarketing materials you want for your business. Alwaysget recommendations. Think about how it will look ondifferent backgrounds and the shape. Printing will beextra to the cost of designing the logo.

@joanne_huey



https://www.insightly.com/

http://www.freshbooks.com/



8. Setup technology to make life easier for you

This is a big one and a necessity. If you are at alluncertain I would suggest getting some training to helpto boost your confidence. What technology you will needis dependent on your business; you may need to useindustry standard software, but there are manysoftware apps and other pieces of software that canhelp with social media and marketing. Having a customerrelationship database is highly recommended.

7. Set up social media pages

This is imperative in this day and age - pretty mucheveryone uses social media to some degree. It isparticularly important to understand the sites yourtarget market use, don't invest in sites they don’t, it is awaste of your time! Make sure your social media sitesrepresent your brand and that you are following yoursocial media strategy in terms of what to post.

Check the times your audience is online and post then,try other times too because you are competing withother people that want business from your targetmarket. Pay someone else to do this if you need to, it isvery time consuming.

9. Mileage Tracker

It is advisable to have a mileage tracker so you can trackany miles you do in your car for business. You can thenclaim for these miles through your business and offsetit against your tax bill.

http://bit.ly/JHBSMileageTemplate


@joanne_huey

http://bit.ly/JHBSMileageTemplate





11. Goals Worksheet

This is a worksheet or document where you can keeptrack of your goals. This should link to the aims andobjectives in your business plan so that you can be sureto achieve what you have set out to achieve and have aplan going forward. It is a high level view which allowsyou to see when you achieved the goal on a timeline.

10. Identify skills gaps

As part of the business plan process, you will identifyareas you want to offer/services/products and as partof this process you may realise that you don't have allthe skills to provide them. It is worth looking at this inmore detail so you can arrange further training,research, mentoring or other to close the gap.

12. 90 Day plan

This is a more specific worksheet which allows you totrack the individual tasks you need to complete in orderto reach the goals set out in your business plan. Withouta more specific breakdown of tasks it is highly likelythey won't be achieved, so be specific and break themdown. Putting "Get a new website" is too big and you arelikely to not do it, something like "find a websitedesigner" and then further steps until it is finally built isa more motivational approach.

http://bit.ly/JHBS90Dayplan

@joanne_huey






14. List the main Topics you are covering in yourbusiness

Whether you are selling products or services, it is worthidentifying three main areas that you cover in yourbusiness. For example, if you are a florist, you couldspecialise in "Wedding Flowers, Vintage Look andSpecialised Flowers". From these three main areas youcan split each one out to think about other areas whereyou will be an expert . These are areas you can use in allsocial media communications and marketing. Every timeyou post, do a newsletter or any other communication, itwill make it easier to know what you are talking about.

13. Arrange payment methods (if necessary)

You need to know how people will pay you - will it becash, BACS, Bank Transfer, credit/debit cards or anothermethod. If you don't have the facilities your clientswant, payment will cause issues and you could losebusiness or not be paid.

www.paymentsense.co.uk

15. Set up a website

This is something you will need to do at some point but don’t rush -the fundamentals (Business Plan!) are more important. You cannotpromote a website if you are not clear about what you are selling,who to and how it will help them. There is a big cost in time andmoney in doing this so focus on what matters first and look at thislater. Facebook can act like a website initially, or a blog is alsoanother free alternative. Do it yourself if you can, if not hire arecommended person. Make sure you have the log in details for yoursite and hosting company (the people you have to pay to make yourwebsite available on the internet) and make sure you have GoogleAnalytics (website that helps you track who visits your sites) set up.


@joanne_huey



http://www.paymentsense.co.uk/




17. Order promotional products/business cards

It may be good to have promotional items - it dependson your business type - but be wary of rushing out andspending a lot of money. Business cards are a little old-fashioned now but a lot of people still like them. Becareful who you give them to - don't hand them out ifthe recipient is not your target market or likely torecommend you.

www.vistaprint.co.uk

16. Set up a blog

This allows you to share your views, expert opinions andexperiences with your target market. It allows you to advertise if youwant to. You can use this as a great way to raise your profile andmarket yourself. You can ask others to "guest blog" for you, so theywrite a relevant story for your readers and you can do the same forthem. Make sure you check your grammar because everything youwrite and how it comes across affects your brand.

www.blogger.com

18. Join local network groups

This is highly recommended. As a start-up no one knows you, so youneed to do everything the best way to promote yourself. There aremany tips on networking and how to do it well. If you have done yourbusiness plan you will already have your "pitch" - what you will saywhen someone asks you what you do. That said, it is alwaysimportant to say how you solve your clients problems, not what youdo itself. They don't care if you are a NLP Practitioner, HolisticTherapist or a Chartered Accountant. They want to know you willsort their books for the tax return, get rid of their pain, resolveemotional issues etc. Look into the network groups near you thatare likely to include your target market (for example if you specialisein helping women, focus women only groups).

www.eventbrite.co.uk


@joanne_huey

http://www.blogger.com/

http://www.vistaprint.co.uk/

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/




20. Get any relevant licences

Depending on your business you may need to get certainlicences in order to trade (for example food licences,event licences and so on)

www.gov.uk/licence-finder

19. Get professional & public liability insurance

You need to protect yourself and your clients from anypotential issues that arise with the services/productsyou provide. You may not need both but you will needone of these insurances, if you are employing people youwill need employers liability insurance too

www.policybee.co.uk

21. Arrange premises (if needed)

If you need to find premises to work from for your business then thisis something you will need to look at early on. A serviced office maysuit your needs, or co-locating with other businesses.You may find ithelpful speaking to your peers to see if they know of premises,putting something or on your website or social media websites.

www.gov.uk/starting-up-a-business/find-partners-suppliers-and-premises


@joanne_huey

22.Health & Safety

If you have premises or visit other’s premises you needto have awareness of health and safety. If this isintegral to your business (e.g. catering) you will alreadyknow about it. If you are new to a business area thenresearch what you need to know about being compliantwith health and safety regulations.

www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety


http://www.policybee.co.uk/

http://www.gov.uk/licence-finder

http://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety

http://www.gov.uk/starting-up-a-business/find-partners-suppliers-and-premises



25. Find a suitable website for sourcing images

It is important to use only images you have either paidfor or that are free. You will need to be aware that evenif they are free now, the owner may change that in thefuture and then come back and ask you to pay if theyfind you using them (unlikely but possible). Many sitesonly charge 75p-£1 per image. Make sure the imagesyou use fits with your brand, the type of image needs tocomplement and be consistent with your business.

www.pixabay.com

23. Register on Linkedin Groups and Facebookgroups

This is different to having your own social media pages;this is about joining relevant groups for support. Thisalso helps to get your brand and name out there,because if people see you commenting and like what youhave to say they will follow you and possiblybuy/recommend you to others. Depending on yourtarget market you may find one site more suitable thananother.

www.linkedin.co.uk


@joanne_huey

24. Get a support network to help you in your business

If you are new to business generally then this is a definiterequirement! It can be a lonely place being an entrepreneur so findpeople that can mentor you and help you with your business. Thelocal trades of commerce and other local support projects may beable to help; or you could swap services with other business owners- this is a great way to support each other. Network groups andonline forums and Facebook groups are great as well as Linkedingroups.

www.britishchambers.org.uk

http://www.idiskhome.com/main


http://www.linkedin.co.uk/

http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/

http://www.pixabay.com/



Social Media Sites

www.facebook.com

Websites

Accounts Software

www.xero.com/uk

Customer Database

www.zoho.com

Business Plan

www.gov.uk/write-business-plan


www.gov.uk/business-legal-structures/overview

Collecting Information About Your Target Market

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html

www.twitter.com

www.Google.com

www.instagram.com

https://uk.pinterest.com/

www.fasthosts.co.uk

Registering Websites

www.nominet.uk/domains

Stationery/Promotional Items

www.moo.com

Networking Events

www.eventbrite.co.uk

@joanne_huey

http://www.idiskhome.com/main

https://uk.pinterest.com/

http://www.google.com/

http://www.instagram.com/

http://www.facebook.com/

http://www.moo.com/

http://www.gov.uk/write-business-plan

http://www.twitter.com/

http://www.gov.uk/business-legal-structures/overview

http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/


http://www.xero.com/uk


http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html

http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/

http://www.zoho.com/


www.wordsmithservices.co.uk (copywriter)

Websites

Blog

www.wordpress.com

Images

www.picjumbo.com

@joanne_huey


Legal

Insurance: www.simplybusiness.co.uk

www.kozzi.com

Backup

www.idrive.com

www.google.co.uk/drive

www.onedrive.live.com/about/en-gb

Templates

www.johuey.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

Website shortening sites

www.ow.ly/url/shorten-url

Other Resources

www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk

www.johuey.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

http://www.ow.ly/url/shorten-url

http://www.wordpress.com/


http://www.wordsmithservices.co.uk/

http://www.onedrive.live.com/about/en-gb

http://www.google.co.uk/drive

http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/


http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk

http://www.johuey.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

http://www.picjumbo.com/

http://www.idrive.com/

http://www.johuey.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

http://www.kozzi.com/


@joanne_huey


I hope you found this eBookhelpful, if you would like to find out

more, why not check out Part 2available by clicking the link below:

http://bit.ly/JHBSsetupebookPart2



http://bit.ly/JHBSsetupebookPart2