Small business tips: Start Your Own Business

We hope you all had a merry Christmas and wish you a happy new year. We have decided to usher the new year in with an article about our tips for starting a small business or our small business tips.

Initial Small Business Tips and Ideas

The creation of a business idea is the first step to starting a small business. Think of something that people need in a way that is improved or different enough from what is being supplied by existing companies. Use this idea, and its uniqueness as a central concept for your brand. A business can be born out of a hobby, something you’ve done in the past or something completely new!

After the initial concept start working on a business plan for the first year. However, be prepared to not stick to it, adaptability is the key. Before you start create systems for keeping business records, make sure you have good internet and supplies. Good stationary can be essential depending on what you do (it is for us). Researching competitors, how to do SEO and how to create a strong social media presence are also great things to have knowledge on. However, these aren’t necessarily essential to starting a business. Have a good idea of what financial support you can get too, whether it be from family, friends, or small business loans (which you can learn more about here).

Trademarking your business name and logo is also a good step slightly further down the line, so that others can’t steal your brand. Requirements for licences, insurance, rules for selling and buying domestically and abroad as well as storing personal information are all things you might have to think about. There is a government page that may give you some more clarity on what you might need to consider, here.

Next Steps in Starting a Small Business

Peer review your ideas with operators/customers or competitors and start establishing support as well as a way of financing. A website is an essential first step to putting your name out there and allowing for a place that potential customers can come and find out more about you. This can be done by yourself or you can contract it out. Make sure the content you write for the website is relevant and tells customers exactly what you want. SEO optimisation for your website is also hugely important for getting higher up in search results.

Visiting an accountant to figure out the most efficient way of setting up your business. You’ll need to choose one of three; a sole trader, limited company or as an LLP. Consider the need for additional staff or additional outsourcing such as accounting (an accountant is required for a limited company), serviced offices or IT support.

For JS Reakes we then started a ‘soft’ launch by contacting existing relationships that we had gathered. We also produced a brief document detailing what the company provides. Adding company letter heads and email signatures adds an  authenticity and professional touch too!

Getting the Word Out

Handing out business cards, introducing yourself, sending flyers and emails were ways we advertised in the early days to get the word out about what we do. This is a continual process that requires consistent attention to provide the best results. Joining groups such as BARBIE and being listed on official websites like the RICS (for valuers) also help to produce more customers and contacts. These methods change depending on your requirements. Creating social media pages or doing Google Ads are ways we have found of doing effective low cost advertising.

Then all that’s left is to set up a limited company on companies house and start trading! Good luck!

Last Remarks on Small Business Tips

This is a list of programs that we have used at JS Reakes for various tasks. We thought we’d include them to save you the hassle. These work for what we need but there are various other places that do similar things so explore them all before you settle.

Trello – Organising job statuses and documents.

Quickbooks – Finance managment.

Mailchimp – Producing newsletters.

For more articles like this, go to our Articles page (or click here for our previous article), and also consider signing up to our Newsletter! See our other articles about small businesses on COP26 and lifestyle businesses.