starting a business as a woman
TRANSCRIPT
Table of contents
Starting a business as a woman 2
Introduction 2
Formulate your business idea 2
Creating a business plan 3
Formulate a marketing plan 4
Starting up - structure and legal issues 4
Running a home-based business 5
Funding and support for female entrepreneurs 5
Business networking 6
Helplines 6
Related guides on businesslink.gov.uk 6
Related web sites you might find useful 7
Starting a business as a woman
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Subjects covered in this guide
Introduction
Formulate your business idea
Creating a business plan
Formulate a marketing plan
Starting up - structure and legal issues
Running a home-based business
Funding and support for femaleentrepreneurs
Business networking
Helplines
Related guides on businesslink.gov.uk
Related web sites you might find useful
You can find this guide by navigating to:
Home > Starting up > Starting a business -meeting the challenges > Starting abusiness as a woman
Introduction
This guide will help you decide whetherstarting a business is for you. It will guideyou through the basics, such as coming upwith an idea, business planning, sources offunding and where to get help, advice andtraining.
Women represent half the UK's population,but are the largest under-represented groupin the UK in terms of participation inbusiness. However, recent researchsuggests that women are increasingly likelyto believe they have the skills to start abusiness. There is also evidence thatwomen are more likely than men to seek outthe business support and advice that canhelp them succeed. This is especially truefor start-ups.
Starting a business can be an option that fitsin well with your work-life balance, whetheryour priorities are increasing work flexibilityor entering traditionally male-dominatedsectors, such as IT, science, engineeringand technology.
Starting a business can be a challenge, butthere is a significant amount of advice andinformation available to ensure that you getthe best start possible, and to help you tounderstand your responsibilities.
Formulate your business idea
If you are seriously considering starting yourown business then you may already have anidea. If this is the case, then the next step isto undertake research to test if there is amarket for your product or service and toformulate a business plan.
Starting a business as a woman
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If your business idea involves an inventionof some sort then you need to find outwhether someone else has alreadyimplemented or registered the intellectualproperty.
If you don't already have an idea then thereare many options. Start by thinking aboutyour existing skills - do you already have aspecialism that would lend itself to starting abusiness? Someone with a marketingqualification, for example, could start theirown marketing company or a musician couldoffer tutorials.
Some women are keen to start a businessso that they have better work-life balance. Itcould be that starting a business from homewould be logical, perhaps selling goods viayour own or someone else's website, forexample.
Another option might be to start a franchise.A franchisee licences a business modelfrom a franchisor and then runs it with thefranchisor's help, who takes a slice of theprofits in return.
Once you have a business idea the nextstep is to research it and write a businessplan. Doing this will help you focus yourmind on whether the idea is a good one.Organisations such as banks or financialinstitutions will also request your businessplan if you need to approach them aboutstart-up capital.
Creating a business plan
A business plan is a key document for anystart-up business. It describes the business,its objectives, its strategies, the market it isin and its financial forecasts.
A business plan is important for thebusiness owner because going through theprocess of writing one helps to focus yourmind on everything from where the businessis going to be based, through to where youare going to find your first customer.
It is also a blueprint for the futuredevelopment of the business and thedocument that any potential investors willwant to read before they lend to you. Thepeople or organisations that might requestto see a copy of your business plan includebanks, friends and family, grant providersand any potential partners.
Some of the key things a business planshould include are:
• An executive summary.• A description of the business.• A marketing and sales strategy - who
you think your customers are goingto be and how you are going to reachthem.
• Information on your managementteam and personnel.
• Information on your operations,including your business premises(which might be your home), your ITand management informationsystems.
• Financial forecasts - how much youneed to start the business and whereyou are going to get this money from,how much you think the business isgoing to make and what salary youplan to take, etc.
As well as having a business plan, awell-thought out marketing plan is essentialtoo.
Starting a business as a woman
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Formulate a marketing plan
After the business plan, you might want tothink about a marketing plan. Sometimes, amarketing plan is the next most importantdocument that a new business owner willwrite, setting out how you are going to targetand interest potential customers in yourproduct or service. However, before you sitdown to work on it you will need to:
• understand your market• know who your potential customers
are• know the competition
Besides setting out what your marketingstrategy is going to be, a marketing planshould also set targets, such as how mucheach marketing activity should increasesales, what the budget is for each activityand who in the business will be responsiblefor each activity. Some of the marketingstrategies you might consider, for example,include:
• advertising and public relations• a direct mail campaign• taking a stand at an exhibition• an email marketing campaign• setting up a website
Business support organisations, such asBusiness Link, can help with setting out yourmarketing and business plans and you mayalso be able to attend start-up events orcourses which cover writing a marketingplan as part of their content.
Starting up - structure and legalissues
When it comes to starting a business, one ofthe first things you need to work out is whatlegal structure your business is going totake, whether that is a sole trader,partnership, limited liability partnership orlimited company.
The structure you choose will depend on anumber of factors but it is important to give itcareful consideration because your decisioncan affect a number of things including:
• the tax and national insurance thatyou have to pay
• the records and accounts you haveto keep
• the way management decisions aremade
Some of the options include:
• sole trader - this is the simplest wayto run a business, keeping accountsis straightforward and any profitsbelong to you but you are alsopersonally liable for any debts
• partnership - two or more peopleshare the risks and responsibilities ofrunning the business, which meansan equal share of any profits but alsodebts
• limited liability partnership - similar toa partnership but liability is limited towhat each partner has invested andany personal guarantees they havegiven
• limited liability company - limitedcompanies exist in their own rightand can raise money throughshareholders
Other company formats include franchises,social enterprises and co-operatives. It isbeneficial to take legal advice or to carry out
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careful research before choosing the legalstatus of your business.
There are many other times when takinglegal advice might be useful, including whenbuying and renting business premises,taking steps to protect your intellectualproperty and when buying a franchise.
Running a home-based business
One of the key questions you will need tostart thinking about straight away is whereyour business is going to be run from.
If you are planning on opening a shop oranother customer-facing business, then youwill need to find suitable premises. However,many other types of business are suited tobeing run from home. Many businesses arerun this way because the business ownerdoesn't want to take the risk of renting orbuying business premises straight away.
Starting a home-based business can beparticularly useful for women with caringresponsibilities because it can allow them tohave better control over their work-lifebalance. In fact, there are some businessesthat lend themselves particularly well tobeing a home-based operation.
There are some issues you will need to beaware of though. Although running ahome-based business will benefit yourwork-life balance, you also need to takecare to separate your family and work life. Ifyou decide to work from home it can help tohave a separate office, for example, and totry and keep family and work life asseparate as possible.
There are also legal issues you need toconsider when starting a home-basedbusiness. In some cases it might haveconsequences on your mortgagerepayments or you might need to changeyour home insurance or start payingbusiness rates. Speak to your mortgageprovider, home insurer and the ValuationOffice Agency, which advises on businessrates, to find out more.
Funding and support for femaleentrepreneurs
It is completely natural to have concernsabout starting a business. You may haveworries about money - especially if leavingpaid employment - or you may have someself-doubt about your skills and abilities.
Help with funding
Once you have written your business andmarketing plans, you will have a good ideaof how much money you are going to needto get started. There are various options youcan consider, which may include bankloans, loans from friends and family, venturecapital and business start-up grants or amixture of these. There are variousschemes to help fund start-up businesses,including specific funds aimed at femaleentrepreneurs.
Support available
There are many business supportorganisations - both general, such asBusiness Link, and those aimed directly atwomen - that can help. For example, theProwess website gives details of allwomen's business support organisations byregion, and these can give you advice ongrants and loans in their area.
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Loans to help with ongoing training
If you need to improve your business skillsbefore or after starting up a business, youcan apply for a Professional and CareerDevelopment Loan. This is a deferredrepayment bank loan aimed at financing thetraining and qualifications that will helpindividuals further their career or business.
Search our Grants and Support Directoryof grants, advice and support.
Find out about Professional and CareerDevelopment Loans on the Directgovwebsite - Opens in a new window.
Business networking
Besides being an extremely exciting time,taking the decision to start your ownbusiness can sometimes be a bit daunting.You might wonder whether you are doingthe right thing and question whether youhave the skills to succeed.
Talking to other women who have alreadyset up their own business can be helpful,allowing you to gain confidence from theirexperiences and share any concerns.Networking can also help from a businessNetwork point of view as you might meetsomeone who you can partner with. Awedding-cake designer might be able to dojoint advertising or share an exhibition standwith a local wedding-dress shop, forexample.
There are lots of business organisationsaimed specifically at women on a local andnational level. These include the Women inBusiness Network, everywoman, Prowessand Women at Work. Many offer access toface-to-face networking events - either
where the sole point is to network or wherenetworking is a secondary bonus. Othersmight give you the opportunity to networkonline, while Business Link also runs plentyof events where you could meet otherfemale business owners.
Some women also find it extremely useful tohave a business mentor - usually someonewho is a business owner or has been in thepast - to support them in starting anddeveloping their venture. Organisationssuch as the Prince's Trust offer mentoringservices for young women, whilst the MakeYour Mark Campaign can provide you withaccess to mentors and networks.
If you are a student or graduate the NationalCouncil for Graduate Entrepreneurship maybe able to offer you with advice and support.
Helplines
Business Link Helpline
0845 600 9 006
HMRC Newly Self-Employed Helpline
0845 915 4515
Related guides onbusinesslink.gov.uk
Search our Grants and Support Directoryof grants, subsidies and advice | Listento expert advice on starting a business inour series of audio interviews | Starting abusiness during a recession | Protectingintellectual property | Buy a franchise |Prepare a business plan | Use yourbusiness plan to get funding | Create
Starting a business as a woman
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your marketing strategy | Write amarketing plan | Use our interactive toolto find out which legal structure is rightfor your business | How to choose andmanage a solicitor | Meet the need forwork-life balance | Choose the rightpremises for your business | Businessrates | Choose the right finance whenstarting up | The Small Firms LoanGuarantee | Online networking | Learningthrough networking with others |Networking and mentoring |
Related web sites you might finduseful
Business support for women on theProwess website - Opens in a newwindow
Business support on the Women inBusiness Network website - Opens in anew window
Business support on the everywomanwebsite - Opens in a new window
Franchise information on the BritishFranchise Association website - Opensin a new window
Identifying your intellectual propertyfactsheet (PDF, 212K) - Opens in a newwindow
Sample business plans on the Bplanswebsite - Opens in a new window
Business plan templates on theMicrosoft Office website - Opens in anew window
Online marketing courses on the
learndirect Business website - Opens ina new window
Homeworkers' business rate informationon the Valuation Office Agency website -Opens in a new window
Local business support for women onthe Prowess website - Opens in a newwindow
Professional and Career DevelopmentLoans on the Directgov website - Opensin a new window
Networking information on the MakeYour Mark website - Opens in a newwindow
Online business mentoring on thehorsesmouth website - Opens in a newwindow
Business support on the Women at Workwebsite - Opens in a new window
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