First, let’s look at the positives and negatives of starting your own business. The upside is that you are in charge of your own career and pay and if your business really takes off, you can end up with a massive salary which is much more than you can earn at the regular job. The downside is that many businesses fail in their first year and it’s not for people who prefer working to a nine till five schedule as most of the time, in order to succeed, you have to work round the clock. A seventy hour working week is not unusual. The key to starting a successful business is recognising a gap in the market and taking advantage of it. Others however choose to come up with ways of improving an existing product. Whatever road you decide, research is essential as it can make or break you. Do you have an idea that no one has thought of yet? How about an improved design that costs less to make than the original, or makes it work more efficient? How dedicated you are to your idea will reflect on the outcome. There are different approaches, such as a tried a tested business model, a specific business opportunity, taking control and changing your life or working part time, depending on what road you want to take. Once you have come up with a product or service, you need to refine it. We do this by developing it by using research. Does it satisfy a need? Once you have done that, you need to brainstorm your idea with friends and colleagues. Everyone brings forth their own perspective on the idea and can inform if there is someone doing the same thing. Think about how you will run your business e.g. will it be sorely run online or will it have stores? What makes it unique and better than the competition? Make sure your product complies with any legislations and safety regulations. Once you have come up with a product or service, you need to protect it. We do this by having a record of ownership over it, known as Intellectual Property, IP for short. There are four types of IP and the type of product you have determines the type of IP you should use.

New or improved products that are capable for industrial application.

Used to protect brand and corporate identity of goods and services, allowing distinctions between different traders

Protect product appearance such as lines, colours, contours, shape, and texture, materials of the product itself or its ornaments.

Literacy, music, films, audio, broadcasts, software and media can be protected under this category. It should be noted that it often is not possible to protect IP and gain IP rights without being applied for and granted. Copyright IP’s however arise automatically without registration, as long as proof of creation exists. Importantly, you need to create a business plan, because without one, you aren’t going to get anywhere as an entrepreneur. A high quality business plan can help attract the right type of funding to keep your capital high. You need to have an executive summary, stating exactly what you’re business is and why it exists. Basically, it is an overview of what your business is all about and this is vital as investors will make a judgement based on this section alone. Its purpose is to draw attention and make the reader want to find out more, possibly making them want to invest in your idea. If it has caught their attention, it has done its job. Make sure you do not use hype as an experienced investor will see right through this. Then, you need a short description of the business opportunity, detailing who you are, what service or goods you will provide and who is your target market. Detail when your business will start, or when it did if it already has. The industry and sector it is a part of and its key features should be written. Any relevant history should also be noted, such as past owners et cetera. You also have to detail your current legal structure and what your vision of the future will be. Define your products differences to competition and what benefits it brings forth. Also noting what development you have in mind and if you own any patents or IP’s. Once you have finished that, it’s time to put your strategy to the test. Write down what marketing and sales ideas you have. How will you get people to buy your product and where will they be able to buy from? What are the markets key current issues and how big is it? It is also important to know your competition. Note how you will go about positioning your product in the market place. Also detail pricing policies and how you will go about promoting your business. Maybe you’ll use advertising, PR campaigns, direct marketing, email or e-sales. You need to conduct market research and see if you idea truly fills a gap in the market effectively. An effective way of researching a need is to convey surveys of the public, whether they would use the product. Ask customers of competing products for what improvements they would like to see. Monitor the competitions activities as this keeps you in the know whether they start a new service or release a new product that may compete with yours to a greater extent. Another utility that you should put to use is using focus groups to test out your product, using feedback from them to evolve your business. It is very important that you cover everything you can and conduct as much market research as possible as mistakes made later on due to poor information can be costly. Hire a market research agent to help out and make sure you haven’t missed anything as the more information you have, the better you can satisfy your customers. Now that you have your point of sale ideas down, you need to work out who makes up your marketing team. List your credentials and the people you plan to recruit to work with you. Give details of the number of people you have in your workforce in total and by departments. How much time each employ spends working and how much they earn should be given here and any other numbers that affect the total amount of profit brought in by the company. You should also note down a timescale, noting costs and any training that will be given. Onto operations and time to note down the premises you’ll be operating from, production facilities, your management information systems and your networking and IT. Do you have a business property or do you rent it? What are your long term commitments to the property and what facilities does it provide or will there be investments put in this field? Noting down all of this as well as how you go about using the facilities effectively really show that you know what you’re doing and you won’t be wasting time, as time is money. Any established procedures for stock control, management accounts and quality control should be put in this category as well as any IT experience you have because as technology evolves, so will everything else and you can’t risk falling behind. Make sure your business plan reflects your personal vision, keep it simple and realistic and your business plan should work well. Once that’s out the way, research is next, especially financial. Make sure you have Unique Selling Proposition and a business model at hand, showing how the revenue will come in. Also note forecasts for profit and loss, sales and cash flow statements. To help your business survive its first year, you’re going to need to cover your financial needs. Many businesses don’t make a profit in the first year, making only enough to cover their outgoings. So it is important to have funding if you want to survive. Plan out a budget using a personal budget spreadsheet detailing your domestic financial needs for the year. Keep a record of your spending and try and cut back on unnecessary buys. Appling for funding can really help and make things easier. You can do this in a number of ways. Sources of help include local business links, start-up schemes and financial advisors and accountants. The Prince’s Trust (eligible age 18-30), that can provide a low interest loan of up to £4,000 for a sole trader and up to £5,000 for a partnership. They also provide up to £250 on test marketing, as well as access to a wide range of products and services to help your business stay in business. Business Link: a company that provides a service in business planning, borrowing shares and equity, grants and government support banking, financial and debt recovery. It also has a wide range of information for entrepreneurs. Chamber Of Commerce: “The National Voice for Local Business” employs more than 5 million people and also the widest business community to help fund you and give you the skills and information to succeed. But you can also do things yourself to help fund your ideas, such as releasing equity from an existing asset, such as trading in your car for a cheaper one. Sell things you do not use or really need, get a loan from family members and friends. Get an overdraft with your bank account Besides help with funding, there is also the choice of incubation. There are a good amount of incubators to choose from In the UK. They are designed to nurture your company, help guide your business, supply you with workspace and also provide you with the right information and advice with a combination of business development processes and infrastructure. Research has shown an 87 % and upwards survival rate for incubated companies compared to only a 40 % survival rate for non-incubated. Incubators include Digital Inc in Liverpool ICDC, who currently house 12 small businesses and brought in a profit of over two million pound in the 2004 – 2005 year and is the UK’s first business incubator to be focused on the digital industries. Its current funding ends after 2008 but its manager Mr Peter Leather is putting together a sustainability model is confident that Digital Inc will become a centre of excellence. Another incubator that has just recently opened is the Liverpool Science Park, which is run by Peter Leather, ex-manger of Digital Inc. This is a new modern building with office space and lecture rooms that can be utilised by small and corporate businesses. As with every incubator, an affordable fee is paid for the space needed, which is worth it considering the knowledge they’ll be passing on to you, as well as support given by staff and help lines. Once you have enough information, you need to decide how you will trade. Will your business be a Limited Company or a Sole Trader? A Sole Trader is a business which legally has no separate existence from its owner. All debts of the business are debts of the owner. The advantage in being a Sole Trader is control and business administration, due to their only being one owner. A Limited Company has liability limited by the law. Funds can be raised by selling shares of the business. The drawback is that you risk losing control if shareholders join and equal a greater amount of ownership than yourself. One final bit of advice is to make sure you hire the right type of people. Often, businesses can be hurt due to lack or determination or commitment put in by others besides the owner. You need to explore the options available to you, such as freelancers, fixed term contract employees, temporary staff, consultants and contractors. Whoever you hire, make sure they work to a high caliber, with the right mix of skills. It’s not an easy process but one that will pay dividends. —————————————————————————————————————– Business Link Helpline 0845 600 9 006 Prince’s Trust Helpline 0800 842 842 Patent Office Central Enquiry Unit 08459 500 505

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I always ask my clients and people I come across in life that are in business, why? What motivates you to want to be under all that stress of running a business? What’s your motivation for you entering into this world of business? I find all kinds of answers both great and puzzling. I get the opportunity to understand people better and how and what motivates them, could it be for some financial freedom, or for some the opportunity to be part of something and the most common answer I hear is I don’t want to work for someone else. What a great answer for all of them as I look back and engage in conversation with them. I get the opportunity to travel a lot and speak at seminars across the country and meet all different walks of life. What a true blessing. There are so many people and business owners out there we will never have the chance to meet and I feel honored every time I get that chance to talk it up with someone I have never meet.

I want to talk in this article about what it means for us to be in business, what’ in it for you. You need to ask yourself some of these key questions before entering business, why are you doing this? What is the driving motivation for you to start a business, how you have some sort of tragic episode in your life that you just decided to throw in the towel on your 9-5 and become part this movement in our country that seems to be sweeping the nation. You know there were more millionaires made during the great depression than an other time in history, unbelievable, not quite, people were able to have the Forsyth to see the opportunity and seize the moment. Become one of those individuals and business owners. Take advantage of the movement that is out there now. Now I’m not saying take advantage of people but in every down time there is a great chance for us business owners to see and identify the need for people to try something new. In every time in history when things were bad people saw that as an opportunity to change things around. We need to understand what’s in it for us, what it that drives you is, that opens your mind to be able to see the chance to use the resources we have around us.

I notice talking to business owners when things are down and out, and believe me as we all know the economy is bad for some and people are losing their jobs they have had for 20+ years and losing their stocks, leveraging everything they have and just getting stuck in that downward spiral that the world wants us to believe exists. Why not turn it around, look at the opportunities that are now even more available more than ever! They are out there. Go green, do something, use your God giving talents and brains that you have been giving and use them to your advantage to turn things around, again what’s really in it for you as a business owner. Are you in it to change people’s lives or just genuinely love to help people or most importantly are you the owner looking for that next chance to take the risk it takes to become great and become successful? Ask yourself why?

I know I got into business because I saw the chance to seize the opportunity to take something bad (economy) and use it to my advantage to help people understand that there is a chance, its not as bad as people or the news make it out to believe. Did you know that 80% of the American population actually pay their bills on time, but we see on the news that they make it sound like it’s the majority that don’t. Let me give you one example of the housing market crisis, most of your banks wont even talk to you as a home owner until you have defaulted on your home or paid you bills late and then all of a sudden they want to help, but by then its too late! How many of us fall into that category? How many of us truly just want to succeed and be safe for our families and our own stability in life. Business and life sure is unique and as we all know if it was as easy as we would like it to be everyone would be doing business right, so remember be unique find out your true why and maximize your ability to separate yourself from the “herd” of people that think they can and the business owners that know they can. I will leave you with this thought: I had a dream one night of opening a business and for years I had the same dream as if it were real. One night while dreaming I actually saw the business going forward and then saw the end result of it making it and succeeding. The point being, dream it, live it and do it! Thanks for all your reads and remember as they change we change! Take care hope to see you in the winners circle!

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The format of a Business Plan is something that has been developed and refined over the years and is something that should not be changed. Like a good recipe, a business plan needs to include certain ingredients to make it work. When you create a business plan, don’t attempt to recreate its format. Those reviewing this type of document have expectations you must meet. If they do not see those crucial decision-making components, they’ll see no reason to proceed with their review of your business plan, no matter how great your business idea.Executive Summary SectionEvery business plan must begin with an Executive Summary section. A well-written Executive Summary is critical to the success of the rest of the document. Here is where you need to capture the attention of your audience so that they will be compelled to read on. Remember, it’s a summary, so each and every word must be carefully selected and presented. Use the Executive Summary section of your business plan to accurately describe the nature of your business venture including the need that you plan to fill. Show the reasons why people need your product or service. Show this by including a brief analysis of the characteristics of your potential market. Describe the organization of your business including your management team. Also, briefly describe your sales and marketing plan or approach. Finally include the numbers that those reviewing your business plan want to see – the amount of capital you seek, the carefully calculated sales projections and your plan to repay the loan. If you’ve captured your audience so far they’ll read on. Otherwise, they’ll close the document and add your business plan to the heap of other rejected ideas. Devote the balance of your business plan to providing details of the items outlined in the Executive Summary.The Business SectionBe sure to include the legal name, physical address and detailed description of the nature of your business. It’s important to keep the description easy to read using common terminology. Never assume that those reading your business plan have the same level of technical knowledge that you do. Describe how you plan to better serve your market than your competition is currently doing. Market Analysis SectionAn analysis of the market shows that you have done your homework. This section is basically a summary of your Marketing Plan. It needs to show the demand for your product or service, the proposed market, trends within the industry, a description of your pricing plan and packaging and a description of your company policies.Financing SectionThe Financing section must show that you are as committed to your business venture as you expect those reading your business plan to be. Show the amount of personal funds you are contributing and their source. Also include the amount of capital you need and your plan to repay this debt. Include all pertinent financial worksheets in this section: annual income projections, a break-even worksheet, projected cash flow statements and a balance sheet. Management SectionOutline your organizational structure and management team here. Include the legal structure of your business whether it is a partnership, corporation or limited liability corporation. Include resumes and biographies of key players on your management team. Show staffing projection data for the next few years. By now you’re probably thinking that you don’t need Business Plan just yet. Well you do, and there is business plan building software that can help you through this immense project. These software packages are easy to use and affordable. Use one today and produce a professional-quality Business Plan – including all critical components – tomorrow!

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