Going Solo: Help For Start Ups

Going Solo: Help For Start Ups

Image Source

Introduction In 2013 the number of registered UK startups topped 500,000 but with research suggesting that as many as 4 in every 5 new businesses fail within their first year of trading, how can you be sure that your venture doesn’t become just another negative statistic?

Check out these handy tips for a few essential points to consider before you take the plunge and go it alone with your own business.

Image Source

What is your USP?It might sound obvious but the chances are you’re not coming up with a completely original product or service offering. You’re going to be competing in a crowded marketplace and that means you need to know how to stand out.

Don’t assume what works for somebody else will work for you. Whatever you are choosing to pour your heart and soul into needs to be something you’re certain you can get right.

Determine what you can offer that your competitors cannot. Whether it’s as simple as a desirable and convenient location or more related to your personal level of expertise.

Do your research and be sure that there is a market for what you’re going to be doing and your way of doing it.

Monetising your idea

A great idea won’t always translate into a profitable idea. Although valued at over $18bn and recognised the world over, microblogging service Twitter has still yet to turn a profit, eight years since its launch!

Unless you’ve got incredibly deep pockets you’ll probably want to ensure your venture is bringing in more money than you’re spending pretty sharpish.Image Via Pixabay

Monetising

Work out how you charge for what you offer. A shopkeeper simply needs a cash register and a price list but if you’re providing a service you need to determine precisely how you bill for it.

If you are going to be invoicing customers/clients you’ll need to ensure you have a system in place to manage this. You could create each invoice individually or you may want to look into invoicing software.

Be sure to work out a suitable price point that ensures you can make money without pricing yourself out of the market you’re looking to reach.

Image Via Pixabay

Keep on top of your costsOne of the primary reasons for such a high rate of failure among new businesses is because of the difficulty in reining in the spending.Do you need a shiny bricks and mortar outlet or expensive city centre office space? Don’t let vanity overrule your bank balance and don’t be ashamed to start from humble beginnings.

Image Source

Some of the world’s best known brands were once like youThe two biggest companies on the planet started small.Steve Jobs started Apple out of his Los Altos garage.

*source: http://www.mercurynews.com/60-second-business-break/ci_25087437/biz-break-apple-and-google-now-worlds- two

From humble originsThe mighty Google empire was trading out of this uninspiring office space above a parade of shops in Palo Alto just 16 years ago.

Image Source

Keeping track of your spendIt’s all very well saying that you won’t spend money on anything you don’t need but if you don’t keep strict tabs on your outgoings it can easily spiral out of control.• Set out a budget and stick to it.• Record everything you spend money on.• Allow for contingencies you might not be able to predict such as

repairs to faulty equipment.

Image Source

Stay organisedRecording your income and expenditure isn’t just useful, it’s essential for when it comes to declaring your earnings to HMRC and determining your tax liability. You may wish to:• Employ an accountant• Utilise an

online accounting software solution

• Keep an ongoing manually recorded account of all your incomings and outgoings

Image Source

Systemise your processes

Working from job to job on an ad-hoc basis can soon become unmanageable and the sooner you put in place a system of processes for your day to day activities the sooner you’ll be equipped to hand over and delegate certain tasks once your business expands and you can take on more staff.

Having everything documented leaves no grey areas or margin for error.

Image Source

NEVER forget about the Tax ManThere are only two certainties in life• Death• TaxesIf you forget to allow for your tax liabilities you could suddenly find yourself with a hefty unavoidable bill. Begin budgeting for this at the earliest possibility

Image Source

Keeping on top of TaxesIn the UK your tax liability is determined by a variety of factors such as how your business is set up and the amount of money it makes, after allowing for legitimate business expenses.

To get the lowdown on how your operation would be liable, read this Tax Guide.

Keeping Ahead in Business

History is littered with examples of once mighty globally recognised organisations failing to keep up with the times. Be sure to keep on top of industry trends and technological advancements to ensure you don’t go the way of brands such as:• Kodak• Blockbuster• Woolworths

(OK maybe that last one wasn’t quite globally recognised)

Enjoy What You Do

There are a whole host of factors that will determine whether you can make a success of your new startup but beyond being sensible and putting the time into proper planning, the most important thing is to take pride in what you do and actually try and enjoy it. After all if you exude the confidence of someone who loves what they’re doing then others will love what you do too!

Image Source

For more information about the subjects I write

on follow me on SlideShare or tweet me on

Twitter @JeffNevil