Starting your own business - live webchat with Robert Ashton Weds 20 June 1-2pm

I hated Twitter until last Jan - then I made time to explore, understand and become confident.

You can run a biz without using social media- but it's there and it works so why wouldn't you?

Hi, sorry I miised you yesterday.

You don;t need to do any legal/compliance stuff before you start selling. Just keep records of income and costs and if things start to grow, do the basics like open a second bank account to keep biz dealings seperate from your own.

Well folks, I've really enjoyed 'meeting' you here on gransnet. Brilliant questions and clear evidence that maturity can be a real boost to entrepreneurial ambition!

I'm off now o meet some more interesting people this afternoon,but do follow the link to my website and sign up to my monthly newsletter if you'd like to keep in touch. I'll also keep an eye on this forum and try to answer any questions that leap out and grab my attention.

Good luck!

scribblegranny

Can you give any tips on establishing and building a brand? What are the key things to bear in mind in terms of creating a positive impression?

To start with, your brand is you. People will buy what you do because of you. So building a brand can mean nothing more than being out and about and consistent in how you describe your business.

The other key point about brand is to give your business and its products names and identities that clearly project what you do and what benefits you bring to your customers.

tidymind

I am addicted to Dragons' Den. I love watching people pitching their business ideas and seeing the responses. But it's so scary it's put me off actually trying to do anything myself. Have you got any reassurance - or is it really as tough as that?

I too enjoy watching Dragons Den. Not because it is about typical business starters, but because it is great, entertaining "reality" television. I am convinced that the people selected for the programme are those most likely to boost the viewer figures and not because they are representative of people seeking investment.

Look around your local business community and you'll find there are business angels around who invest in good ideas. I know quite a few of them and they are almost always really nice people and not at all like those fire-breathing dragons.

The fact is that nice people do better in business than aggressive people and that's why most investors are nice people!

ChrisMW

I registered my new business as a Limited Company to protect the name and have left it dormant while I operate as a sole trader. My business is a consultancy for older people and their relatives who do not have access to social services. I want to become a Social Enterprise because Social Services and the NHS won't do business with a private company. Does this sound worth doing and what are the first steps I need to take?

Firstly, pass my congratulations to your local social services for being so supportive of the social enterprise movement. They could have simply contracted everything out to SERCO and left you high and dry.

There is no clear legal definition of a social enterprise, just interpretations and assumptions. You could, however, change your limited company into a community interest company by adding the relevant bits and pieces into the Memo and Arts.

The most important document to look at first is CIC 36, this is the form you use to define your community of interest, filling it in is in itself a really useful exercise. You can download this and more information from the CIC regulator.

gillybob

Hi Robert. My husband and I have had our own business for around 20 years. Recently due to economic downturn (and successive governments not supporting small manufacturing businesses ) things have gotten so bad that we no longer have a life outside of work. We are both either at work (at work) or at work (at home) if you understand what I mean. We are struggling financially and have quite literally put everything we have into keeping going as we have people relying on us for their jobs. I really miss having a "life" and a weekend away or dare I say a holiday would be impossible. How can we get our life back? Do you make sure people fully understand the serious pitfalls of running their own business before they go into it? I would seriously never encourage my children to have their own businesses and given how they see us I doubt by ever will. Sorry I know this thread was about starting a business but I thought it was relevant to point out that it isn't always a bed of roses.

Clearly, I don't know the specific circumstances about your business. But as a rule of thumb, when times get tough, the people who make hard decisions quickly and without regret are those that survive the turbulence.

I also believe that a business is like a human being. It is born, it grows, it learns, it matures and in time, inevitably, either reinvents, merges with another or simply dies.

I am addicted to Dragons' Den. I love watching people pitching their business ideas and seeing the responses. But it's so scary it's put me off actually trying to do anything myself. Have you got any reassurance - or is it really as tough as that?

suffolklass

Hi Robert

All this sounds really great and I think I have a good business idea. Where can I find this online course you mention?

The Gransnet taster is here www.gransnet.com/learning/starting-a-business/ - do take a look!

I am not very good at keeping my domestic costs under control. Can you give me any tips for keeping business costs to a minimum - general principles, obviously!

timekeeper

I have an idea for a social enterprise - which would be at least as much about meeting a need as making money (though I think we could make enough to cover our costs and reinvest eventually). Are there different rules for this? Where should I look for ideas on how to set up this sort of a business?

There is a lot of hot air spoken about social enterprise. You have an idea for a business which has a strong social purpose as well as the ability to make money. The only rule you need to worry about is that you can only make a difference when you are also making money. So make sure you follow your head and your heart in equal amounts.

In terms of structure, if you want to seek grants to help establish a social enterprise or give peace of mind to public sector organisations who might contract with you, it would make sense to set up as either a community interest company or a company limited by guarantee. There's more on this here

Hi Robert

All this sounds really great and I think I have a good business idea. Where can I find this online course you mention?

stuffnonsense

All the guides to setting up a business say 'do market research'. But what if you're not a trained market researcher and you're on a tight budget?

There are two kinds of market research
1. Professional, extensive and also expensive
2. Common sense, customer feedback and intuition

People usually invest in 1 to justify what they believe as a result of 2. My advice is go for 2 because it's you, your business, your marketplace and your instinct will probably serve you pretty well.

kittyp

Hello Robert

I work two days a week (as an employee) and am thinking of using some of my spare time to start a small business from home. But what will happen to me in terms of tax if I am PAYE for work and self employed the rest of the time? It's been putting me off getting going. Many thanks

This is really easy. Your employer will continue to deal with your PAYE and you will account for your self employed income via your annual tax return. You then pay any tax due on your self-employed income in arrears in January and July of the following year.

partnerincrime

Is it realistic to think of starting a business while you're still in paid employment - or is this a definite no no?

And what are the ethics of this? Should you tell your boss?

It all depends on what the business is going to do. If you plan to start supplying your employer's customers in your own time (moonlighting) then the answer is a definite no.

If, however, you have a great idea but it doesn't quite fit with what your employer is all about, then with their consent and approval, it should be ok to develop the idea in your own time.

You would not be the first person to do this and find your employer willing to invest their money and even your time in a good idea.

If the business is really small simple and not time consuming then my advice would be just do it!

Can you give any tips on establishing and building a brand? What are the key things to bear in mind in terms of creating a positive impression?

coldwork

Is it a good idea to get a mentor? And how do you go about that?

Mentors are really important. But be sure to choose somebody who has already succeeded in the field you are entering. It's important to make sure that your mentor is really doing it for the right reasons.

Good mentors will encourage you to reflect, think, and act objectively. Bad mentors will tell you they know the answers and get you to live out the dream they lack the courage to realise for themselves.

The best way to find a good mentor is to ask around your marketplace and see who the most respected players are. There are also some national mentor brokering schemes you can look at, but make sure, if you find someone this way, that the chemistry works between you. Mentors Me is a good starting point.

What is the commonest mistake people make at the beginning of a business?

northerngran

I'm interested to know what proportion of small businesses fail within the first year? And what tips you have for making sure that mine wouldn't

If you have a good idea, keep your ambition within realistic proportion and listen to your customers, your business will not fail. Then remember a lot of people when made redundant have business cards printed and say they have a business, but really they are looking for another job, so those would count as business failures.

Nationally, the business birth rate is usually equal to the business death rate, but, as I have said, businesses close for many reasons, some of them actually quite positive.

The biggest factor that will determine your success is your ability to maintain your enthusiasm and energy and keep doing what your experience shows you works.

distaffgran

Sorry, thought I was going to be around for this later but now realise I'm not, so I shall ask my question now....is now really a good time to be starting a business? We keep hearing stories about banks not lending.

And, related to this - I have what I think is a brilliant idea but it is quite capital intensive. What would be the best sources of investment to look into?

Now is a fantastic time to start a business. That's because when the pressure is on people's budgets, they will be far more receptive to a new supplier who offers something different.

The internet and in particular social media have reached a point where the smallest business can make the loudest noise about what they do. Previous generations of business starters had to spend lots of money on expensive marketing.

There are also some very useful crowd-sourcing funding platforms that will allow you to recruit customers, get them to invest up front and therefore fund your business start up. My favourite of these is called Buzzbnk.

If you are really worried about your business idea being capital-intensive, maybe you need to find a company that has the expensive stuff you need already who can sell you spare capacity.

Is it a good idea to get a mentor? And how do you go about that?

All the guides to setting up a business say 'do market research'. But what if you're not a trained market researcher and you're on a tight budget?

marthamuffin

Hello Robert

Can you tell me - how important is it to have a business plan and where do you start with one?

Thank you

Martha

A business plan is really important, because it should tell you on one piece of paper what you do, why you're different, how much you are going to earn and how busy you are going to be. My online course has a workbook which, as you complete it, cunningly becomes a ready-to-print business plan.

Writing a business plan is only complicated if you make it too big and try to describe things that frankly don't matter.