Category

Starting a Business

Advice on how to start your own business, with guides to help you plan, develop and finance a start-up company, plus recommendations on registering the business, its legal structure and finding financial backing for growth. Whether you are just beginning or have already taken the first steps and want to keep everything on track, our expert articles will give you the knowledge to help lead you to success, whilst maintaining a good work-life balance.

Starting a business can initially seem daunting, but with good support and a strong idea you can quickly pass through the key stages of the setting-up process and be able to launch your company with a solid foundation.

Topics covered include: regulations and requirements for company owners, finding and selecting the professional services you may need (such as banking, insurance, accountancy etc.), legal structure options (self-employed person, sole trader, a partnership or a limited company), business planning, UK start up funding sources and finding your first customers.

How to start a new business if Covid makes you redundant

COVID-19 is expected to decimate the UK jobs market, with unemployment doubling to 7.5% by the end of 2020. How to set up on your own if you’ve been made redundant.

Advice

Advice

5 reasons why setting up a business in a recession is a good idea

Thinking of starting your own business during a recession? 5 reasons why now could be a good time and 4 legal steps you should take

Startup Funding and Grants

Looking for investment? Start obsessing about market need

Matthew Cushen, co-founder at Worth Capital, explains how start-ups must obsess over market need to gain investment.

Business Ideas & Planning

What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Daniel Verblis, The Moving Home Warehouse

Daniel Verblis launched The Moving Home Warehouse when he saw that traditional removals firms weren't meeting the needs of customers.

Advice

7 investor personas: how start-ups can understand their motivations

Matthew Cushen, co-founder at Worth Capital, explains how start-ups can understand the motivations of 7 different investor personas

Business Ideas & Planning

Books for summer reading take a focus on the future

Some books for summer reading deal with making a business a success, selling that business and entering retirement and using the body's physical intelligence to live a stress free, happier life.

Success stories

What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Zaffrin O’Sullivan, Five Dot Botanics

Zaffrin O’Sullivan wondered why so many makeup brands listed impenetrable artificial ingredients. Her answer was to create sustainable eco brand Five Dot Botanics.

Success stories

What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Shane Lowe, Vitrue

Vitrue Health uses the camera technology developed for Hollywood blockbusters to help sports stars recover from injuries

Success stories

What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Zaffrin O’Sullivan, Five Dot Botanics

Zaffrin O’Sullivan wondered why so many makeup brands listed impenetrable artificial ingredients. Her answer was to create sustainable eco brand Five Dot Botanics.

Success stories

What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Shane Lowe, Vitrue

Vitrue Health uses the camera technology developed for Hollywood blockbusters to help sports stars recover from injuries

Business Ideas & Planning

Start-up valuation – an investor guide to valuing a start-up

Matthew Cushen, co-founder at Worth Capital, explains the ins and outs, the art and not the science behind a realistic start-up valuation.

Success stories

What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Ed Bird, Bird Eyewear

Ed Bird wanted to create a sustainable fashion eyewear business with a social conscience. Entering The Start-Up Series competition helped him hone his vision

Success stories

What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Les Dawson, Uniblock

Les Dawson was facing an uphill battle trying to change the minds of Britain’s conservative housebuilders with his Uniblock building system. Until The Start-Up Series gave him the investment – and validation – he needed

Starting a Business

New company launches fell by a quarter between January and May

But company registrations bounced back in May, just 3% down year on year as entrepreneurs take the plunge.

Business Technology

Why you should upgrade your tech now rather than later

To run an optimal business, you must have optimal tech. We explain why you must upgrade your business technology on a regular basis

Investing in a franchise

Should I buy a franchise or go solo?

Starting a new business is an exciting venture. But – especially in well-established industry sectors – a key question is whether it would be better to buy a franchise or go solo.

Partner content

16 ways to improve your business cash flow

Read here for 16 tried and tested tips and tricks to improve potential cash flow problems

Business management

How to create good cashflow habits

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