Minuteman Press Stockport

A quick guide to starting your own small business.

The vast majority of businesses in the UK are small businesses. The reality is that these small businesses are opening and closing at an alarming rate! On a walk down to our bank yesterday, I saw the pie shop had disappeared, replaced with a takeaway. A few units down another barber had opened up for business, replacing the opticians.

It might seem counter intuitive but opening up a business in UK is relatively easy. My son lives in Heidleberg and trying to start his taikwondo club was a quite a beaucratic challenge. So far so good... but...

1) Running ones own business requires a huge dose of character. Can you be still sticking at it in 5 years time? Or will you have lost all hope and shut the door forever? It requires repeating the same routines over and over again day in and day out. Holidays? Forget those. Making loads of money? Most small businesses are not doing so well as you might think.

2) How about a franchise? We are part of the Minuteman Press printing franchise. At the end of the day the Franchise is also a business. Will it be still there in ten years? The majority of printing franchises have imploded. Business friends have been part of Cartridge World and an educational franchise using animals. Both fizzled out.

3) You may quickly want to reach out for help. It would be nice to think there is loads of help out there. The amount of business help wax and wanes. Even then you won't know where to find it. The business help that will be the most accessible will also be the business help that will supply the least impartial advice and cost the most. Even if you find business help it will probably be aimed at bigger companies, particularly those with the best chance of making lots of money.
For example, the solicitor who 'helped' us to negotiate our shop lease, lost the copy of the lease he had negotiated.

4) Marketing & Sales. It would be nice to think that the service or product you will be providing will attract loads of customers, those who are prepared to pay you loads of money. It does happen. The far sighted will catch the wave of the next big thing, make money for the next 5 years, sell the business and start again. However, for the most part, having got your business model sorted (the franchise model helps with this) you may have to wander into the uncomfortable area of marketing and sales. Phone call after phone call, attending networking meetings and selling yourself to others, maybe delivering flyers to thousands of homes, hours managing ads online.

5) Risk. To minimise risk it seems prudent to avoid renting premises. Buying premises could work well, property is usually a good investment. Renting adds to the endless bills that will come your way.
For example, some tenants mysteriously disappear overnight to avoid having to pay landlords for putting the premises back into tip top condition (yes, that's a clause in your agreement).

6) Managing your outgoings... Lease payments. Cleaning. Book keeping. Web site fees. Insurance. Vehicle costs. Telecoms bills. Card machine payments. Professional body membership fees. Printing costs. License costs. Training costs. Electricity bills. Waste disposal costs. Maintenance and service costs. Plant and equipment replacement. Bank fees. Solicitor fees. HR consultancy. Staff costs (Wages, National Insurance, Maternity/Paternity cover) Parking charges. Coffee and sundries. PAT tests. Marketing costs.

7) Cash flow. There is a well known business phrase: 'cash is king'. This means hanging onto your money as long as possible. Your customers will often try this on and avoid paying you for as long as possible. Best get paid up front. It might be tempting to enter the tender process, a big contractor sub-contracts to you. They will be particularly difficult when you are trying to get paid.

8) You're on your own. For example, you employ someone and they prove to be a liability. Thankfully, the current government has given you 2 years grace in which you can follow due process and ask them to leave. After that, you can risk legal action by the employee or go through endless HR hassle.
Another scenario, a company comes along and promises to help you get paid (factoring). Sadly for you, the guys working for the factoring company will get paid no matter what. They will give up. Take the creditor to court? Best keep in mind this is just a useful threat. if you eventually get to court you'll probably be met with a disappointing outcome ('I can't afford to pay your honour'. 'No problem pay back £1 a week') Even if you can track your debtor down.

So, running a business is really exciting (seriously) but requires something special. Most give up and go back to being employed by someone else.