Posts Tagged ‘Starting a new Business’

How To Get Customers For Your New Small Business

Monday, June 25th, 2012

Starting A New Small Business Can be A Challange, Finding New Customers Doesn’t Have To Be …

So you’ve finally set up your new small business, but how do you get customers? No business can survive without customers. In order to do so, take a minute to step back and think about what your new small business is going to offer.

Let’s say, for example that you have opened up a home cleaning service. Who are your target customers going to be? Will they be stay at home mums or career people who work long hours? More importantly how are you going to reach your desired customers?

There are many ways to market your business but you will need to be careful as it is easy to spend a fortune on marketing without getting any return for you money. People are generally impatient and therefore whatever marketing ideas that you use, you will need to capture their attention immediately. When marketing a small business, try to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. What would you be looking for when choosing a person or service?

Generally speaking when starting a small business it is better to market your business using a form of promotion rather than advertising.

What Is The Difference Between Advertising and Promoting? I hear you ask.

Well basically, a promotion is an offer that is only available for a short period of time which offers a great incentive for a customer to take immediate action to buy quickly. Whereas an advertising campaign is an ongoing marketing process aimed more at building your brand over a longer period of time.

Offering promotions is a great way to entice customers to start buying from you. For example when I opened up my convenience stores I offered promotions such as buy one get on free or offered free tasting of baked items on my bakery counters, to entice customers to buy their goods from my store.

There are many different ways that you can offer a promotion. For example you if you run a restaurant you could offer a free glass of house wine to the first 10 customers. To make it even more fun during particular times of the year e.g. Halloween you could offer a free glass of wine for the first 10 customers who come in fancy dress.

Another example would be if you started a window cleaning business. On your first visit you could offer to clean the upstairs windows for free when cleaning the downstairs windows. Provided that you satisfy the customers with sparkling clean windows, chances are that they will ask you to continue cleaning their windows as lots of people are looking for a good, reliable window cleaner.

There are endless ways that you can use promotions to attract customers to your new small business…all that you need is a bit of imagination.

How Do You Make Customers Aware Of Your Promotions?

There are several inexpensive ways to do this.

Firstly you could post leaflets in the neighbourhood or hand out leaflets to people passing by your business. You could also leave leaflets or business cards in doctor’s surgeries, dentists, hairdressers etc. Word and mouth is another great way to promote your business like when on the school run for example.

Another free and great way to promote your new business is using social media. Facebook and twitter in particular offer a great way of promoting local businesses for free. But first of all you will need to set up a business page on facebook and open up an account with twitter.

You will then need to build up followers and connect with them by offering interesting content to build up a trust with them, before trying to sell to them. It is better to try to build up a list of followers that are closely linked to your type of business. For example if you own hairdressers in Bristol you would be better trying to build up a following with people living within that area. After all there is no point in promoting your hairdressing business to someone in America or vise versa.

The more adventurous among you could also promote your new business and offers via video marketing. This is not as complicated as it seems and can offer a very powerful way of marketing your new business. You will merely need a flip type video recorder and a computer to download the information on to websites like You tube.

Again, when making your video try to offer some free advice at the beginning of the video in order to convince the potential customer that you are an expert at what you do. For example if you have a cleaning business try to offer some free cleaning tips in order for the viewer to connect with you and want to know more about your business.

There are also inexpensive forms of paid advertising that can prove effective with small business marketing such as using mobile marketing and banner advertising. These can be great ways of making people aware of your promotions and enticing them to take immediate action to buy from you.

To conclude, it is important to remember that starting a small business is a learning curve. It often takes time to test and perfect what particular marketing works for your business. Therefore it is important to only spend a small amount on advertising until you have tried and tested the best marketing strategies that are working for you.

All in all there is no magical answer on how to get customers for your new small business other than to try and test all of the free and cheapest means of marketing to discover what works best for you. Just remember the more creative and unique your business marketing ideas are, then the more you will stand out from your competitors, hence increasing your chances for success.

For Online Internet Types of Business the strategies are similar although there are some more targeted ways to attract new customers, something that we cover in our other training modules. One such unique site that teaches some online tricks of the trade is Empower Network or Pro Elite

If you would like more information regarding starting a small business please feel free to contact me at any time.

Kind Regards
ROY DERRICK

Tags: attracting customers to your business, finding new customers, how to get customers for your business, marketing your business, promoting a small business, Starting a new Business
Posted in How to promote a small business, Small Business | 1 Comment »

How To Start Trading Your New Business

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

To Get Your New Business Up And Running Is A Lot Easier than You Might Think

So you have decided to start a small business and you’re ready to get started but you’re still unsure on how to start trading.

How do you start trading your new business? Here are some key points that you need to consider towards getting your new business idea off the ground and trading.

Sole Trader or Limited Company?
The first thing to consider is whether you are going to trade as a sole trader, a partnership or as a Limited Company as it is referred to in the UK or LLC in the American States. The type of small business that you are going to start will largely determine which option that you choose.

A sole trader is a business that is owned by one person (with no staff) who is solely liable for the company’s debts and fulfilment of contracts. These types of small businesses tend to be favoured by traditional skilled tradesmen like gardeners, plumbers, decorators, plasterers etc.

The advantages of being a sole trader are:

Having full control over the business.
It is easy to set up as there are fewer regulations to comply with. You will just need to ensure that you contact the Inland Revenue (or IRS ) to advise them that you are to become self employed within 3 months of starting the business.
You won’t have to complete a lot of forms unlike limited companies, but you will nevertheless, need to have accounts prepared ready for your annual self assessment tax return to declare annual profits and tax liabilities.
As there are no staff you will keep all of the profits yourself, which can remain private as you will not have to declare them to Companies house (UK) or Edgar in the USA.
You will not have to register the company and therefore can be known as anything hence why so many sole traders refer to themselves as “trading as …”
You can build up a more personal rapport with the customer.
It will be cheaper for you as accountants will charge you less as they will only need to complete a profit and loss account for you.

The main disadvantages to this type of company are:

You will be solely liable for any failures or liabilities such as your business failing or property being damaged ( hence why having adequate insurance is important).
It can be harder to compete with larger companies who have more staff and can therefore complete work quicker.
If you become sick you will have no income. Even though you can take out critical illness insurance, some will not pay out until after 1 month.
If your business fails you could be forced to sell your personal assets, such as your house, to fulfil your liabilities.
However, as your business becomes more successful you can minimise the risks by forming a corporation or limited liability company instead also referred to as an ‘LLC’ in the USA

Unlike being a sole trader, when you form a private limited company you are registered in such a way as to ensure that you have limited liability, with your company and personal finances being kept separate. A limited company is owned by shareholders and operated by directors. By registering your company as a Limited Company you will need to consider the following:

You will be subject to corporation tax.
If you anticipate your turn over exceeding £77k or more per annum, you must also register for VAT.
As a director you will have more legal, financial and administrative responsibilities.
You will have less control over the overall running of your business as you will be answerable to the shareholders.
You will need to register with Companies House ( or Edgar in The USA) and will be required to submit an annual return along with annual accounts to them each year.

N.B .The difference between a private limited company and a public limited company is that in a Private Limited Company all of the company shares are kept in private hands whereas in a Public Limited Company the shares are owned and can be purchased on the stock exchange by the public.

The main advantage of registering a business as a limited company is that the directors and shareholders only have “limited liability” and therefore their personal assets cannot be touched, unlike being a sole trader should any thing go wrong with the company and falling into serious financial difficulties.

Staffing
When you start a small business you are in effect becoming self employed and will therefore need to inform the Inland Revenue that your income may change. Even if you keep an existing job you must still inform the Inland Revenue (IRS in the USA)

The same applies if you are going to employ staff. You have an obligation to collect and pay their Tax and National Insurance contributions to the Inland Revenue. The Inland Revenue will them provide your new business with a Unique Tax Reference and PAYE number . You can manage these tax affairs yourself or you can appoint an accountant to all of this for you. You can even appoint an accountant to pay the wages and salaries to your staff on your behalf, which is what I do with one of my larger businesses.

Choosing a small business name
Creating a good name for your business is important. When doing so, it is important to make sure that the name is not already in use, otherwise you could be sued for copyright issues.

You can either check with Companies House (www.companieshouse.gov.uk) whether the trading name that you have chosen is available to use or if you’re considering an online business or creating a website for your business you can go online and use sites such as ‘Go daddy’ to check whether the domain name that you want is also available to use.

I personally used to think that when naming a company it was important to ensure that the business name reflected what your business was about, but many people argue that the name should be something that is easy to remember or one that is unusual and leaves a lasting impression like “confused.com” or “funkypigeon.com” or even “Facebook”. After all who would have imagined that these types on names would turn into multi million pound enterprises?

If you plan to start a limited company, once you register a company name with Companies House they will issue you with a company registration number that will be unique to your new company.

Regardless of whether you use Companies House in the UK or Edgar in the USA, both governing bodies will keep details of your new business, including address and annual accounts details, for third parties to be able to view at any time, especially for credit reference checks.

Small Business insurance
Regardless of what small business you start, you will need to take out a small business insurance policy to protect your business and your customers. There are many specialist insurance brokers who can put a package together to suit your company’s requirements. Make sure that you have your insurance cover already set up before you start your small business venture to ensure that your equipment and your premises are insured whilst you are setting up your business.

Once you have implemented the above points, you will be ready to start trading your new business.

If you would like any further advice on how to start your small business or how to increase profits for an existing business please feel free to contact me or to visit our website www.perfectprosperity.com.

Kind Regards
ROY DERRICK

Tags: business trading, how to get your small business up and running, small business start up, Starting a new Business, ways to brand a new business, ways to start trading as a new business
Posted in Business Start Up | 6 Comments »

Getting New Business Ideas Off To A Flying Start

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

Get Your New Business Off The Ground

Did you know that a rocket uses more than 90% of its fuel to take off? In much the same way it will take 90% of effort on your part to launch any new business ideas that you may have.

With us now facing one of the worst global downturns since the Second World War resulting in higher numbers of people being made redundant or having pay freezes, it is not surprising that more and more people are now considering starting their own business and are thinking hard of find new business ideas

Ironically the opportunities for find a new business idea and starting a successful business in a recession are huge. Indeed, famous companies like Apple, Microsoft and Face Book were all started in a recession.

However, before committing to starting your own business you will need to first of all ask yourself whether you will be suited to becoming your own boss. You will need to research what will be involved with running your own business to see if you have got what it takes to cope with…no guaranteed income, lots of hard work at the beginning, no spare time for family and the stress of controlling your own financial destiny and so on.

If you decide that you have what it takes then the following points will help you to succeed:

Write a business plan
Writing a good business plan can make the difference between your business succeeding or failing. Not only will it detail your objectives and goals but it will also help to convince potential lenders to have the confidence in your idea to lend you money on the strength of your proposals.

Many banks, if they feel confident with your business plans, will sometimes also offer what is known as a facility, which is an amount of money reserved for you that can be taken as and when you want. The advantage of this is that you will then only pay interest on the money that you have actually used which can be a massive help financially when you are starting off in business.

Research Your Business Idea
Carry out thorough research on your business idea. Find out what your competitors are offering and think how you can offer better.
Examine who you think your target audience are? Young, old, the lifestyle they have and why will they want to buy from you rather than your competitors?

Keep start up costs down
Try to keep your business start up costs low in order to keep as much spare cash as possible as a cash flow for your business.
For example do you need to go to the expense of having office premises or could you just as easily run a business from home operating from a spare room in your house?
Talk to H M Revenue and Customs who will be able to offer valuable advice about tax issues that may be able to also help you to save money.

Good Bookkeeping
Make sure that you have a good bookkeeping system .Good bookkeeping can keep track of your business progress from the onset. Make sure that you keep all receipts and invoices, even ones from before setting up your business if they relate to your business.

It is also beneficial to make sure that you monitor your cash flow weekly and that you stick to your budgets.

Make sure that loved ones are “onboard”
Starting a new business can involve working long hours at the beginning with having to make sacrifices along the way. Before you start a business from home make sure that those closest to you are fully aware of what will be involved with your venture…Working long hours especially in the first year, no extra cash for a while and a part of the home becoming an office ,to name but a few.

There will be enough pressure in the first few months of starting a new business, without the stress of falling out with loved ones too.

Let your customers know that you exist
In order to get the all important customers for your business you will need to find the best ways to market your business.
This will be largely dependent on what type of business that you start. If, for example you are starting a plumbing company, advertising in local press or sending out flyers will be an effective form of marketing for your business. Whereas if you are starting an online business you will need to ensure that you have good SEO in order for potential customers to know that you exist and to find your website.

You will need to test various methods of marketing and be prepared to be flexible to change if certain forms of marketing do not work well for your business.

Have an alternative means of income
When starting your own business it is better to work it part time around your current job before taking the step to lose a regular income. This will give you valuable time to test the success of your business idea while making extra money at the same time.

If you have been made unemployed and cannot work around a current job, it is advisable to keep some money aside to cover your outgoings while you are waiting for any business profits. It can take anything between 6-12 months before there will be any profits from your business which will mean needing an alternative means of income for that period of time. Even when you have succeeded to create a profitable business it is better not to take too much income for as long as possible in case your business suffers a temporary slump in sales.

Sadly there is no fool safe way to know how to run your own business, but the most important factors to take into account are to work hard and to allow time for your business to grow. It will not happen overnight but if you carry out thorough research and market your business well and ensure that you stick to your budget and regularly monitor your finances, you will eventually create a successful business.

Just remember actually setting up your business is what will require the most effort and hard work on your part. Once you have put in the effort, like the rocket that successfully completes its mission, you too will reap the rewards from the eventual success of your business.

To Discover The Most Profitable New Business To Start

Click Here To Download This Unique Guide

Tags: best new business, how to start a new business, new business ideas, small business start ups, Starting a new Business, tips for startning a new business
Posted in Business Building, Business Start Up, How To | No Comments »

The Joys of ‘Working From Home’

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Do You Enjoy ‘Workng From Home’

Or Do You Hate Mondays?

Over the weekend, we very often experience how good it would be if we never had to work again. Sleeping in longer in the mornings, being able to do what we want, when we want… surfing, puttering around the garden, taking the kids to the park, flipping hamburgers on the grill, walking the dog etc.

But is really all possible….. ?

Reality then hits home and the Monday morning alarm clock rings out loud… , we stumble out of bed, get dressed, grab a quick cup of coffee, and inch along at a snail’s pace to the office. Mondays remind us of all of the wrong choices we’ve made along the way. They very often remind us of the dreams we had as kids that never came true and the ‘roads’ we very often wish we had taken.

Surveys reveal that most people hate Mondays, except those that work from themselves. In fact most actually detest and loathe them. As the world economy takes it’s toll, lots of people are now being forced into working for themselves and or starting a business to be able to create a new future. more and more people are looking for work from home ideas so that they can become more independent and create an income of their choosing. Internet-based home business start ups are also on the increase as they offer an easier way to earn money rather than having to invest large sums of money into starting a traditional bricks and mortar type of business.

I personally don’t miss having a boss one bit…. and in any case I still have my lovely wife as my boss ! (ONLY JOKING) I still work very hard developing my home based businesses, sometimes harder than I did as an employee but that is because I thoroughly enjoy doing it. That’s the big difference. After all, I’m reaping the full benefit of my efforts for myself rather than slaving to make an employer rich. I plan my own future, how much money I make and I have the freedom to work and play as I choose.

This all sounds like great fun but please don’t be misled. Starting a new business / home business from any of the working from home ideas that you may have found, requires a lot of hard work to begin with. If anyone tells you otherwise then they are simply telling lies.

Individuals who have started a new online home based business always tell me that it was tough to begin with… but it was fun and taught them so much more about themselves and family life and that is what they cherish most. Once they have created and developed their business, they then feel they can take a day off whenever they choose. They don’t feel rushed morning, noon, and night, instead they choose and give themselves the luxury of time and the freedom that comes with it to suit themselves.

However, like any caring hardworking self employed entrepreneur, they still worry about their business and their customers when they take time off. This is perfectly natural and just goes to show how dedicated home based career minded individuals / entrepreneurs really are.

I personally remember when my business finally brought in enough extra income every month to enable me to quit my full-time job. I thought about all the things I could now afford, all the things my family and I could do. You’ll probably laugh, but what I really I wanted most was to spend a quiet hour in the morning drinking a cup of coffee and reading through all of my emails, messages and socialising on the social networking sites.

We all have similar dreams or even bigger ones which is what very often motivates us towards starting a new business or changing careers. Whatever your dream and ambitions may be there is always someone out there that can help you. But let us not forget some home truths.

Starting any type of business is a new world that you will be entering into. The benefits and rewards can be huge but take some sound advice in that you should consider starting your business venture around your existing job. This will give you some security as you develop your new venture and get it established. Don’t be afraid to ask for help rather than ‘going it alone’. You will learn more, far quicker and make more money far easier than by making mistakes that will hit one place only ……. YOUR POCKET !

If you’re still sitting on the fence dreaming of starting a home business of any kind, Don’t keep singing the Monday Morning Blues, do something about it before you regret it !

Kind Regards
ROY DERRICK

Tags: New Career, New Start, savings, second income, Starting a new Business, Success, Working From Home
Posted in Home Business, Learning new skills, New Career, New Opportunity, Running A Home Based Business, Self Motivation, Starting A Business | No Comments »

Motivation Beyond Belief, Or Is It ?

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

Nothing Stops To Amaze Me

I clearly remember the days when I was flat broke and desperate.

In fact I never forget how difficult it was to think clearly and what that sick, tight feeling in your stomach felt like when you knew you can’t pay the mortgage or afford to put food on the table.

Deciding to create my own home based online business, with the right support and people surrounding me offering me help if I need it, changed all that, to such an extent that I now offer the same services to individuals all over the world. need-help-photo

Sally ( a ficticious name for the purpose of this story) recently contacted me in the hope that I could help her get out of the hole she was in. She claimed she had no money to be able to get started or even to submit and application. Within a few minutes of conversation I got her thinking as to how desperate she really was, how determined and motivated she was towards climbing out of the mess she was in.

By asking a few simple questions between us, we were able to determine that Sally did in fact have numerous options, numerous ways and means of turning her life around far quicker than she thought possible. How I can hear you asking !

Well, first and foremost, never feel to embarrassed to ask for help…. Two minds are always better than one in finding a solution. A fresh open and honest point of view can very often help individuals to see light at the end of the tunnel.

I offered Sally a number of options towards eliminating her debt and being able to create a salary not only to be proud of but one that could be created around the needs of her children and from her own home. However, to do so she did require a small amount of money to invest in her new business. Remember what she said at the beginning… ‘she didn’t have any money’……

Well, guess what…..

Sally gathered everyhting she felt she no longer required from within her home, cupboards, garage and garden and sold the items on Ebay raising over $2200.00 dollars ! Wow….

Her determination, motivaiton and williness to succeed paid off. Sally didn’t spend the money on anything other than her new business. With my help she now earns more than she thought she could and inaddition she is one happy working from home mum.

Yours Truly

ROY DERRICK

Tags: asking for help, commission, ebay, seeking advice, selling goods on ebay, Starting a new Business
Posted in Dealing With Debt, Home Business, Learning new skills, Self Motivation, Starting A Business, Success, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Benefits Of Starting A Home Based Business

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

The Real Benefits of Starting Your Very Own Home Based Business

In this current climate of employment uncertainty and redundancy, there’s no end of reasons to stress about job security. Even people who thought they had a job for life are finding that their services have become dispensable. It is for these reasons that more and more people are opting for the flexibility offered by a home based business. Although leaving what you had always thought of as a secure job and setting up office at home may seem frivolous, there are numerous advantages of this way of working. Here’s just a handful of great reasons to start up your home based business:

You’ve had enough of the daily commute. If you’re fed up of trains, trams and tubes and traffic jams, just think about the luxury of simply walking down (or up) the stairs to work. Working from home will relieve you not only of the hassle of travelling to your workplace but could save you up to an amazing 3 hours per day, 5 days a week. That equates to an astounding 86 days a year! Not to mention a whole load of cash. With travel costs hitting all time highs, it really is time to think again. Setting up a home based business will save you travelling time, travelling costs and travelling stress. It really is that simple.

You want more flexibility in your life. Although 24-hour, 7 days a week super-market opening has allowed the weekly shop to fit into even the busiest lifestyle, not all aspects of real life are open all hours. One of the biggest reasons people choose to work from home is the flexibility it brings. We are only too aware that children get ill, elderly parents need taking to appointments, central heating systems need servicing. These are all aspects of life that don’t necessarily fit with the 9 to 5 work pattern most of us are forced into adopting. Working from home means that you set your own work pattern. You can arrange your work around the school run, around your commitments to your elderly parents, to really fit with your life. You can be at home when things need doing without losing a day’s holiday ever again.

You want a low risk alternative. In comparison to most other business start-ups, a home based business is relatively low risk. There is no commitment to property leases, to property purchases or to monthly rents which need to be paid; you simply use the space you already have more wisely. Converting your attic, adding an extension or taking over your spare room is the most that’ll be required (apart from a computer and a great business idea of course!).

You want to lower your stress levels. Working from home allows you to control the stresses you allow into your working environment. You become the master (or mistress) of your own destiny and you no longer need to allow yourself to become stressed by office politics, colleagues or bosses. What’s more if your children need you, you can be there for them and compensate by working later in the evenings; you no longer need to find yourself in the push:pull situation of work and home life balance.

You’re seeking personal fulfilment. So many people who set up home based businesses find themselves saying “I wish I’d done this years ago!”, Many people who take the plunge have always believed in their potential to run a successful business, but were held back by fear or by pressure from envious friends and relations. If you’re one of those people who put your heart and soul into your work and never seem to get anything back, setting up a home based business might just be the solution for you.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg; we haven’t even touched upon the potential to make a really good living; to use working from home as a starting point for bigger and better things or as a way to really get your life back in balance! These are just some of the many reasons that more and more people are choosing the home based business option. It certainly is food for thought.

If you would truely like to become part a sort after Home Business then get in touch and I will help you achieve what you thought was never possible then Simply Apply Now.

Warm Regards

ROY DERRICK

Tags: Alternative Businesses, Benefits of Starting A Business, How To Start a Business, Starting a new Business, Working From Home
Posted in Home Business, Online Business, Starting A Business, Success | No Comments »