Lots of people seem happy to work for someone else, why do I feel uncomfortable with this idea?
The thing is that some people are followers, they prefer others to make the decisions, they want others to control, manage and create a structure for their lives. The fact that you are not at all like this is great and the UK needs more like you to have belief in themselves and their ideas and go out and make it happen. It is worth having a look at http://www.businesslink.gov/ or pop into Business Enterprise Works at the Coventry University Technology Park and have a chat with the team. BEW is full of people just like you and it will feel like being at home … see you there
What sort of things will tell me if I am an entrepreneur?
One of the main things will be having ideas to make money and possibly you will have had lots of business ideas over the years. The ideas could of course not necessarily be about making money but will be about helping to improve a service or an aspect in your community. The latter is called social enterprise and at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) at Coventry University Technology Park we can help you with these social enterprise ideas as well as business ideas which have a profit motive. Other entrepreneurial traits will be more self confidence than average, a willingness to make decisions and a desire to be in control of your own life rather than let someone else run it. All of this and much more is explained at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
I want to be as successful as Richard Branson/Anita Roddick what do I do?
The first thing is to find a business enterprise mentor. He or she will help you with your ideas and drive and will channel your energy in the right direction. By the way Business Enterprise Works supplies mentors free of charge on their Enterprise scheme as well as providing courses that will help you make your Branson/Roddick ideas happen. The second thing is to get along to the BEW networking events and meet like minded entrepreneurial people, who are following their dream like Richard and Anita did. All of this and much more is explained at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
How old do you have to be an entrepreneur?
Age has got nothing to do with entrepreneurship. It is all about ideas, belief and energy to actually go out there and implement your ideas. At BEW we have had entrepreneurs under twenty and over seventy. It is the drive that makes the difference and it is how you feel inside that is crucial. All of this and much more is explained at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
Where is there an entrepreneurial club where I can meet successful entrepreneurs who think like me?
Business Enterprise Works runs hugely successful networking events for entrepreneurs once a month at the Coventry University Technocentre in the evenings. Most of them are free to attend and are full of people following their dream, walking their talk and making it happen. All of this and much more is explained at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
I get lots of ideas… what should I do with them and how do I know if my idea will work?
That’s great if you get lots of ideas and the first thing to do is write them down before you forget about them. You should carry around a small notebook like Richard Branson so that like him, when you get an idea you can write it down immediately. The notebook should also be kept beside your bed for when you wake up with an idea. If you are not very good at writing things down then get a small digital recorder and hang it around your neck ready for the next idea. The next point is that there are a great number of people whop have lots of ideas and do nothing with them because they are just ideas. In order to do something with the idea, the best thing is to test it out with some other people, a sort of mini market research project, and get their feedback. This will give you some idea if your idea will work or not, but meanwhile ring up Business Enterprise Works on 02476 236001 for an application form for the BEW Programme or look on http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/
Starting the Business
The Business Link website has lots of very useful general information http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?r.l1=1073858805&r.l3=1073862288&type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073789245&r.l2=1073859137&r.s=sc
We recommend the book “E-myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber. It gives some excellent information about how to start and run a business. There is a website with the same name with some very good information, but beware it is very commercial
Visit your bank and ask them for their “Starting a Business” pack
Have a look on the Federation for Small Business website http://www.fsb.org.uk/general/about/ and the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies http://www.nfea.com/
Please register at http://www.shell-livewire.org/ as there is a wealth of information there and we will be returning for a look at different subjects regarding setting up your business
For anybody interested in setting up a rural based business this is a useful website http://www.ruralindex.net/smallbusiness.html#starting
I find that starting a business is a very male dominated environment, why is that?
You are right and research shows that men seem to have a little more confidence that just gives them that edge to take the plunge, go out on their own and start their own business. That said at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at Coventry University Technology Park, we are bucking this trend and we have almost 40/60 female and male start ups. Sufficient to say that good ideas do not depend upon the gender, it is all about the implementation and the ladies work extremely hard and bring certain flair to business that seems to be missing from the men. The thing about BEW is that it is like a sort of large family with everyone helping each other and it all provides a huge positive energy bubble that everyone finds very motivating. So male or female come on down to BEW we help everybody.
I’ve never started a business … what’s involved?
That is a big question. Basically you need an idea, some energy, a desire to make some money, some get up and go, some self-confidence and a willingness to learn new information and work hard. Apart from this it helps if you are numerate, i.e. can add up and subtract, and like chatting to people. These are the basics of what is involved on a personal level. On a business level, it is about doing some market research to check out your idea and ensure you know about the competition and the market. Armed with this information it is then a question of writing a business plan and implementing the plan. All of this and much more is taught at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshop plus all the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
I’ve heard people talk about a Business Plan, what are they talking about?
The Business Plan is a sort of map of what your business idea looks like and what you
Need to do get your idea trading or maybe you can think of it like a recipe of ingredients and a description of what you need to do to get your idea off the ground. The list of ingredients is the same for every business:
Vision of what you want to achieve
Description of idea
Details of you and your team’s skills and experience
What market you are going to enter
What your typical customer looks like
How you are going to market your idea, detailing the 8P’s
What production system you will implement
What costs and sales you expect, laid out in a Cash Flow and Budget
Explanation of the profitability of your idea
How much finance you will need and where it is going to come from?
Its length will vary from a few pages to dozens or hundreds for a very complicated idea, but it is important to remember that length or lots of pages is no substitute for quality. It is very important to realise that there are a number of people like accountants and consultants who offer to write Business Plans for start-ups and businesses and unless they really understand your idea and are very supportive and understand in depth what you want to do, it will be precious money wasted. All of this and much more is taught at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshop, plus all the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
The Princes Trust provides a free mentor service .. where can I find one?
Having a good mentor is about 80% to 90% of the recipe for success of any business idea, so having a good one is crucial to your success. The Princes Trust provides soft loans i.e. money at lowish interest rates with repayment holidays for deserving people who come from minority community groups as well as a personal mentor with practical business experience. This means that they know what they are talking about and that is the key for your success, having access to someone who is interested in your success and knows where the pitfalls are, how to avoid the minefields and how to motivate you when it appears that it is all too much and your idea sounds and feels great to you but the market does not respond the way you expected. It is crucial to remember that mentoring comes as part of the package at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park, where free mentoring is an integral part of the process. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
Sole Trader .. is that what I need to be or should I start a Limited company?
The title or legal entity of being a sole trader is the easiest way to start a business in the eyes of the Inland Revenue and providing you let them know within a few months of you starting to trade, sell or send out invoices all will be fine. The question of whether you should trade as a sole trade or a limited company is a longer, more complicated question. It all depends upon what the product is, who you are, how big a company you want to build, who you want to sell to – individuals or other limited companies, and the image that you want to portray. All of this and much more is taught at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, which is all very clearly explained together with free mentoring that is provided. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
My friend and I want to start a business together …what should we do next?
The next step really depends upon how much you know about the product or service that you want to sell. Assuming that you know what you want to sell or provide, the next step before forming a company is to have a really in depth chat about what you both want to get out of the business and what part each of you will play in running and managing the business. This is normally laid out in a document called a Shareholders Agreement, which has got lots and lots of questions in it, that deal with tricky items like how much each person wants to invest, how much each person wants to earn, what happens if one of you goes ill or is unable to work, or how do part company if someone does not pull their weight, or how you sell your shares or close down the company, etc. Lots of questions and it is invaluable for when you start to write the business plan, because you already know what each person will do and who should write those parts of the plan that will be their specific responsibility. All of this and much more is taught at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
I have heard about Franchises .. which one is best?
This is another short question with a long answer. The basic answer is which one suits your passion, personality and experience. Without doubt a franchise has a much higher rate of success than any other form of business set-up because there is a tried and tested process, which although costs money to purchase, invariably turns out to be much cheaper in the long run. It save on time, going down wrong routes, has supply lines already sorted, has lots of experience of the route to market and the marketing, has all the packaging sorted, the promotional campaign created and knows what the cash flow looks like and how much finance is involved. They often have banks already on hand to provide the necessary finance. The best way to find out about franchises is to go on the website above and also go along to the various franchise exhibitions and talk directly to the people offering them. The most important thing is to investigate those franchises that offer a product or service that will provide the returns and income that you want in the market sector that interests you and where your passion in life lies. All of this and much more is taught at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
Finance
I haven’t got any cash to start my business… where can I get money from?
If you have no cash you will probably have a difficult trail to blaze. It is unfortunately a pre-requisite of any business to have some cash, even a few hundred pounds. If you don’t even have this amount, often this is where the Princes Trust can help if you are under 30 years old http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/ . Certainly the banks will help fund start-ups but they will always want security in the form of property or a guarantor for any money lent. All of this and much more is explained at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
People ask me how much money do I need and I don’t know, so how can I work out how much I need?
Crucial to any business idea is to work out how much cash will be needed to get it off the ground. The starting point is to know what you are going to offer as a product or service. Once you know what your offer is, you then need to research what you will require in terms of equipment, software, stock, R&D, marketing – advertising, website, brochures - employing staff, sales, premises, etc. All of these things will depend on your idea, your experience and knowledge of the market, how fast you want to grow and how big your dream is. Finally once you have all this information the figures have to be put into a Cash Flow and a Profit & Loss spreadsheet. Once this has been completed you will have a good idea about how much finance you will need. All of this and much more is explained at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.gov/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
Seems to be lots of banks and people offering to lend money but which is the best bank to go to?
There are lost of people offering money and all this advertising makes it seem easy to borrow money. In general it is a lot easier than in the past but it is still necessary to be a good credit risk i.e. paid all your bill, have no bad debts and no county court judgements against you. You can find out what your credit risk rating is at http://www.experian.co.uk/ As well as being a good credit risk you need to demonstrate a well thought out business idea backed up by a business plan. This then needs to be supported by some form of security. Once you have all this you can then start to visit at least three banks in order to get a feel for what is on offer in terms of amount of finance available and interest cost. There isn’t really any best bank as they are all after making a profit out of you and to ensure that they will get their money back. Each bank though has preferences for different sorts of market sectors and one of them in particular is the Coop bank, which is hugely supportive of charities, ideas that involve social enterprise and ideas that help the environment and are ecological sound. All of this and much more is explained at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
I don’t particularly like going into banks .. what sort of questions will they ask me and where can I get the answers from?
As mentioned above all banks will want to know how sound is your business idea, your experience, the team that will be involved and the security that you can offer for any finance that you borrow. It is important to remember that nowadays money is just a commodity like pasta or cars and banks are in business to lend it out and make a profit. For this reason it is very important to go to at least three banks to compare their offers and even use one to lever a better deal from another. All of this and much more is explained at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
I have heard that cash is king .. what do people mean?
Cash is king is the basic rock of business, in that even if you are not making profits you must have cash in the bank to pay your bills, invoices and wages when they become due for payment. It does not matter if you are making huge profits but you have not been paid yet, the fact remains that you still need “working capital” in your bank account to pay staff or suppliers when they want it. This involves planning flows of cash in and out of the bank account and it is always shown in a spreadsheet report called a Cash Flow. The Cash Flow contains all the invoice payments due to come in and all the payments going out on a monthly basis. This will give a position at any time during the year of how much you will have in your bank account and will prompt action if you don’t have enough money or even if you have enough cash to meet your bills it will demonstrate how you can improve the Flow of your Cash for your business. All of this and much more is explained at Business Enterprise Works (BEW) http://www.businessenterpriseworks.org/ at the Coventry University Technology Park in the free four module workshops, plus the free mentoring. With all this help starting a business just got very much easier.
I don’t like talking about money … how do I get money from my customers who don’t pay?
Lots of people don’t like talking about money but in business it is very important to be able to talk about your prices, invoices owed, outstanding payments due to be paid by your customers and invoices that you need to pay to your suppliers. You