Are you tired of the 9 to 5 slog that is affectionately known as your job? This post aims to give you some advice on how to make it in the big bad world of business on your own.
Most men dream of setting their own rules and not answering to anybody, but government statistics show that one in ten new businesses fold after a year. So here are some tips for taking the plunge into being your own boss.
Writing a business plan
This may be fairly obvious, but you need to make a thorough plan on where you need to spend your time. Putting your goals onto paper lets organise your thoughts and allows you to come back and refer to it. Thankfully people have helped this process by developing software; Paloalto (paloato.co.uk) is one of the leading pieces of business software in the UK.
Getting your timing right
Business is all about timing, you need to be aware of current trends and capitalize on opportunities in your desired industry. Once you have detected a gap in the market start planning away.
Make sure you are secure
Before you quit your job and go on your own, you should save up some funds, around six months of your salary should be sufficient. You should also start building a potential user base, which will help you when you start the business and will look good to investors.
Acquiring funds
You should have established how much money you need from investors or a grant in your business plan. The general advice seems obvious, the more the better. Sites like bussinesslink.gov.uk can provide ideas on additional sources for getting funds.
Naming your business
Once you have sorted out your funds from investors, its time to name your business and register it with Inland Revenue. You need to think long and hard about the business name as it will affect marketing your company. Bussinesslink.gov.uk will give advice on the areas surrounding registering your business.
Location, Location, Location
You may decide to work from home while your business is small, but if you are going to rent somewhere to work from, you should start looking for locations as soon as possible. A location can make or break businesses, but usually more important if you are a retail business. You should still consider the location of your business when thinking about image and costs.
Taking the final step
Ideally you should hand in your letter of resignation about a month before you decide to leave. Then you should try and get worked booked up for when you start and if possible, get some of the money paid upfront as cash is extremely important for any business. When you start out, you want to make sure you have more cash coming in than going out.
If any of this sounds like a lot of work but you still want to be your own boss, why not consider a franchise opportunity. There are some great opportunities if you decide to take up a lettings franchise.
Tags: Advice
