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Top Ten Questions for Budding Entrepreneurs to ask Themselves

December 13, 2011 By

In this climate of financial insecurity and redundancies many people are thinking about working for themselves. This can be a hugely rewarding experience both for fiscal reasons and work life balance but you need to start any venture with your eyes wide open. Here is a list of the top ten things to ask yourself if you’re thinking of starting your own business to help you decide if it is a good idea or should be destroyed in the office shredders:

  1. What is your product or service going to be? Who else is doing it and how does your offering stack up against the competition?

  2. What is your market place? Who are you going to sell to and are people going to be interested?

  3. What is your business plan, including any plans for growth and expansion?
  4. What are you going to charge and is this rate competitive and will it give you the profit you need for the company to be viable?

  5. Are you going to open a shop or office or operate from your home address? If you are working from home have you got the workspace you need?

  6. Do you have all the required equipment from UK shredders to telephones, a van perhaps or even warehouse storage?

  7. Do you have any capital to fund the venture or do you need to borrow money? How will this affect you?

  8. How much money do you need to earn to support your family and is this realistically represented in your business plan?

  9. How are you going to advertise, market and communicate about your business to potential customers and business users?

  10. How will you measure success or failure? How long are you going to give yourself to decide if the business is worthwhile and what is your exit strategy?

Filed Under: Business Development, Young entrepreneurs Tagged With: , ,

International business currency advice

December 12, 2011 By

If you have international business interest which include mainland Europe, you’ll probably know only too well how unsettling the Eurozone crisis has been for everyone.

Now, news that the UK is the only EC member state not to have backed the tax and budget multi-country EC pact to tackle the Eurozone debt crisis is even more unsettling – regardless of whether or not it’s the right decision to have made. All the 17 countries that use the euro have so far agreed to the deal.

Businesses hate uncertainty. They can deal with bad situations effectively – but they don’t like not knowing what the plan is, exactly, regardless of whether the business leaders actually agree with the strategies or not.

So when business people are trying to make decisions during a time of uncertainty, the logical decision is to defer decisions and to put off any major purchase decisions that don’t really have to be made right this minute.

The knock-on effect of these entirely logical decisions can be disastrous for small businesses involved in international trade.

There are ways in which you can fight back, though. International currency hedging through trading foreign exchange markets, or “Forex”, for example may be very logical if you need to take the fear out of any major seismic currency shifts whose potential you may be over exposed to.

Similarly, gold trading may be a very logical decision for you to take. Gold is traditionally seen as a safe haven in troubled times – which is why its price has risen so sharply of late. If you feel you’re under exposed or maybe even over exposed to gold, then trading in gold futures, for example, enables you to hedge against any pending disasters.

Thinking laterally about the future is key; recent events have shown us that pretty much anything is possible.

This article was written by David – a keen financial blogger. He often tries his hand at gold trading, keeping up to date with the latest news online to help him out.

Filed Under: Business Development Tagged With: , , ,

Internet security for entrepreneurs

December 12, 2011 By

One of the most important things you can do for your own business is to get good antivirus software for your computers.

If you’ve recently left a bigger business to start up on your own, something that may not have occurred to you is the absolute necessity for antivirus protection, especially if you have been used to the IT department taking care of that kind of thing.

If you’re a one-man band now, though, you have to consider every aspect of the business, from sales and revenue, through to insurance, internet security and everything to do with your premises – if you have them.

Choosing antivirus software doesn’t really require too much knowledge about technology. Have a look online at the different programmes available and consult internet forums to see which are the most popular or reliable.

You’ll soon see which companies offer the best deals – but if you’re not sure about their reputation, find a forum to ask a question. The people on these kinds of forums are far more interested in these topics, and therefore far more knowledgeable than you, and will be more than willing to share their wisdom.

There are lots of free antivirus downloads available. Once you’ve decided on a reputable brand, search their website for a free download – or a trial version. Follow the onscreen instructions to download and install the software. If it’s a trial version, don’t forget to put a reminder in your calendar before the first payment schedule comes up – if you forget, you’ll be paying automatically if you’ve given your credit card details when you signed up for the trial, even if you uninstall it.

Once you’ve sorted out the computers, don’t forget to do the same thing for your mobile phone – these are just as susceptible to virus attacks.

 

Filed Under: Business Development, Young entrepreneurs Tagged With: , , ,

How to run your business vehicle fleet

November 23, 2011 By

Part of running your business means making sure you take care of all internal admin as well as taking care of your customers. If your business has any vehicles owned or leased by the business, you should keep accurate records and maintain them regularly.  This will not only help protect your employees when they use the vehicles, it will also protect you and your company in case of accidents or legal claims.

Remember the following guidelines to keep everything in order.

Safety inspections

Ask your employees who use the vehicles to carry out regular visual inspections. Any defects should be reported and logged.

Book in regular mechanical inspections with a professional mechanic. A quarterly check can give early warning on mechanical issues and it’s better than just doing an MOT once a year, which only checks whether the vehicle is roadworthy on the day of the test.

Fix problems immediately

Make sure drivers inform you about any problems immediately. As soon as you can, get these defects fixed, and keep meticulous records of when problems were fixed. This can be as simple as holding onto the invoice from the garage who did the repair.

Diarise

Timetable any important dates for the vehicles.  This includes MOTS, renewal dates for insurance and tax.  Give one person overall responsibility, and ask the drivers to take personal responsibility for the car they drive.  This will give a double check system, so it’s less likely to fail.

Seek value

When lease contracts come up for renewal, hunt around for any better deals – or vehicles – on the market. The same goes for any aspect of business – why keep paying more simply because you don’t want to invest the time in looking around for a better deal?

Get someone else to do it

No, this isn’t a joke. Business gurus like David Lichtenstein and Dale Carnegie follow the mantra that you should stick to what you’re good at, and delegate the rest.  If you have a great administrator in the office, give them fleet control, which will free you up to concentrate on the income- generating side of the business.

Filed Under: Business Development Tagged With: , , , ,

Is a franchise for you?

November 11, 2011 By

With employment difficult to come by and redundancies at a high, many self-starters are looking at ways to go into business for themselves and take the matter of their financial security into their own hands. If this sounds familiar but you have no viable business idea, and lack the experience to start from scratch then it might be worth considering a franchise.

There are a huge number of opportunities out there from the famous, high investment brands such as McDonald’s to a whole wealth of smaller-scale options. With so many to choose from across a broad scale of budgets there is bound to be a franchise with your name on it. Office support is an expanding market: everything from stationery supplies, to paper shredder emptying and providing water coolers. Another area might be household deep cleaning of ovens, carpets or furnishings.

The place to start when considering entering the franchise market is very definitely with your own skills and interests. To be successful you need to be passionate about what you are doing and play to your natural strengths. If the thought of selling a confetti cut shredder leaves you cold then maybe you would like to work with children and could consider a play or craft-based business. Many Mums are entering the franchise market in these types of roles as children-facing activities are a subject close to their hearts and can fit flexibly around family life.

One of the most attractive points about buying into a franchise is the support you will get, and the instant feeling of not being alone. This for some people is the key deciding factor as it gives them the confidence to take the plunge and work for themselves in a structured environment. Whatever your reasons, franchises are definitely worth considering so have a look at what is on offer and see where your new venture could take you.

Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , , , ,

How to name your business

November 9, 2011 By

Choosing a name for your business may seem like the fun part of the deal – and it is. But it’s absolutely vital that you get it right. What about the involvement of Sean Parker as portrayed by Justin Timberlake in the 2010 movie The Social Network? At one point, Parker says to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg): “Drop the ‘The.’ Just ‘Facebook.’ It’s cleaner.” And, he helped make himself a few billion dollars in the process by this complex “drop the THE” business insight!

Your company or product name is usually the first thing your customers read or hear and it will form an immediate impression in their minds of what’s on offer – whether you like it or not.

So put a lot of thought into this.

The name(s) you choose are likely to be around for quite some time, particularly if they’re successful. If they aren’t – well just maybe the nomenclature will have contributed to that failure!

One of the safest options is to call the company something relatively conservative, but to name the product/s in more innovative ways. Procter & Gamble is relatively staid, for example, but it doesn’t stop the products having whizz-bang names down the years.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as coming up with a great name. There are legal complications, potentially.

If it’s a company name you’re concerned about and yours is or will become a Limited Company, then you’ll need to register the name with Companies House (or use an agent to do this for you). Their website includes information on company naming and what names aren’t available – and there are a lot of these unfortunately.

And if it is available, there are still a few more rules, as follows:

It must end with ‘limited’ (or Ltd), ‘public limited company’ (or plc) or Welsh equivalents if you are a company.

If you have a limited liability partnership your name must end with ‘limited liability partnership’ or LLP (including Welsh equivalents) if you are an LLP.

Also, you must ensure that your chosen name isn’t offensive and doesn’t include any sensitive words or expressions unless you’ve obtained specific permission to use them which, let’s face it, is unlikely!

With product naming, the trademark issues can become even more complex. Go to the UKgovernment’s Intellectual Property Office at www.ipo.gov.uk for further advice.

This article was written by David, who specialises in offering advice to start-up businesses. He frequently blogs his advice too, telling people about everything from the latest payday loan to the best banks.

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November 6, 2011 By

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International Business

November 6, 2011 By

International Business A truly international (vs. US-focused) text offering a comprehensive overview of the subject and a critical look at its latest issues - including the current economic crisis 'Any leader worth his or her salt today must be confident in a global...

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Business Leadership in China

November 5, 2011 By

Business Leadership in China Tagline: Bridges the gap between Western business concepts and Chinese thoughts and wisdom The second edition of this successful book from Frank Gallo reviews ways in which the executive in China - either Western or Chinese - can better...

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Governments, Globalization and International Business

November 5, 2011 By

Governments, Globalization and International Business It is a cliche to say that we live in a globalized world in which investment flows, communications, and the operations of multinationals from all parts of the world have changed the character of the international business environment.

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