Category Small Business / SOHO

Entries 21 Total

The Real Deal – Don’t Accept Anything Less

Mar 19, ’12 8:55 PM
Author Tony Robinson OBE Categories Business Funding, Business Ideas, Business Marketing, Business Startup, Finance, Freelancer, Getting Things Done, Reader Stories, SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, Self-employed, Small Business / SOHO, Start-Up, be successful, do a reality check, market and sell, plan your business, start-up in business, start-up in business

Entrepreneur Conferences need a business health warning.

November and March are always the biggest months for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship conferences. Last week, I was lucky enough to be in Liverpool for the Global Entrepreneurship Congress. Last year it was in Dubai and next year it’s in Rio de Janeiro so we were lucky to have it in the UK. Liverpool is awesome, as is the Beatles Story, but I’m afraid the Congress didn’t float my boat. However, I did learn something important, for start up success, that I’d like to pass on.

On jumping into the taxi to take me to Lime Street station from my hotel I said to the taxi driver ‘Heck you were quick, you surprised me’. To which the taxi driver said ‘That’s what my wife says’. I laughed and it was a fab trip to the station and the taxi driver certainly earned his tip for cheering me up and educating me about all the new exciting development in Liverpool. That Liverpool taxi driver was the real deal. Everything you hope a taxi driver will be and that comes from real experience of handling hundreds of fares.

Intrepreneurs ain’t entrepreneurs

However, many of the speakers at the Congress weren’t. The reason they weren’t is they were people with monthly salaries in jobs. They were passing on what they think is important to be a successful entrepreneur. But really they were still just successful people in jobs not the real deal entrepreneur/enterprise owner. That’s different. They have budgets and functions and staff – it takes quite a bit o success before a start up gets any of these. They hadn’t taken a risk, on their own, with their own money to start and run their own enterprise. Only those that have are the real deal and can new starts authentic advice.

It’s simpler than they make out

The problem is they were magnetic, interesting people and you could tell why they’d got to the top and why peers might regard them as great leaders and entrepreneurs but what they were saying was dangerous. Indeed it is safer if prospective enterprise owners ignore their advice – difficult I know – because they’ll overcomplicate things for you and over-complication usually leads to very expensive ways of doing business.

Sir Richard Branson and Lord Sugar, despite their many critics, are definitely the real deal and although they’re now at the top of large organisations they haven’t forgotten what it is to start your own enterprise. Hearing from them is a reality check. Some things they said that show they are still totally in touch with practical realities. Branson is in favour of student type loans for start ups, and so am I. The difference between him and many of the other speakers is that he says, something like ‘it doesn’t take much money to start a business’.

Lord Sugar says something similar when he advises start ups that a good tip is to ‘work out how you’re going to make the salary you need in your first week of trading’. They know the value of a £pound and they see a few £thousand as a significant investment. Many bank advisers aren’t interested in loans under £50,000. Yet you or I investing £500 in our start up enterprise will be regarded as a serious entrepreneur by anyone who has started their own business.

Enterprise isn’t complex and it’s about your ability to sell products and services. It is not about leadership, business planning, strategy and pitching to investors.

Multiple income streams and test trading

Two weeks earlier I’d been in Leeds City library at an event for people thinking of starting their own business. Apart from my wonderful co-founder of the Enterprise Rockers, Tina Boden, the speakers made setting up and promoting your own business sound very complex. Why? Because all of them were speaking at the event for free. They hoped that the delegates might seek them out afterwards and pay them for their advice. If they made starting up sound easy no-one would pay them to help them. Again, advisers are not always the real deal.

What was disturbing were the number of people I spoke to that after listening to advice from the stage thought they had to work one business idea into a serious business plan and then get the finance to fund their plan. Two people I spoke to were very relieved to hear from me that you should test as many ideas as you can.

In fact testing is more important than planning. Certainly you can start with more than one product or service and can have multiple ways of making money. You may even choose to have money from a part time job or freelancing to help you in the early months.

Happiness is more than one egg in the basket

One person I spoke to went away happy that he could start, virtually the next day, seeing if he could make some money from both landscape gardening and making bicycles easier to ride by perfect fitting and alignment. He had been trained in law and was very confident at writing and was even more pleased that he could blog about totally different subjects and lead prospective clients to two very different websites.

The big lesson to me from all this is that real entrepreneurs that have started and run their own business know that the focus is on what can I sell, to whom, by when in order to start earning my living through my busness. That’s the real deal.

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The Questions I Would Ask If I Were Marketing Your Business – Comment and Part 1

Mar 12, ’12 10:01 AM
Author Adrian Swinscoe Categories Marketing/PR, Small Business / SOHO, grow your business, market and sell

About a month ago I read the following post: The Questions I Would Ask If I Were Marketing Your Business on the MarketingProfs site. It’s a pretty interesting article and worth a read, particularly where it pushes for more data and real examples to be used to back up all the advice and information that gets bandied about concerning marketing most of the time.

However, there were two other things that struck me about this article:

  1. It talks about marketing in the title but only refers to social media marketing in the post. Let’s be clear. Social media marketing is an element of the marketing tools and tactics that are available to us as businesses but it is not the whole thing.
  2. The post spends most of its time analysing and commenting on the folks that are writing about and marketing their marketing services and less about marketing end producer/consumer businesses.

I understand that  the MarketingProfs site is mainly targeted at marketing professionals but, even so, I felt that there was a disconnect between the title and the content.

But, this post is not all moan as the original post did prompt me to think about the title and what would be the questions I would ask if I were marketing someone’s or your business.

I thought about this for a while and came up with a long list of questions but then boiled them right down to two questions that will tell you everything you need to know to start with:

  1. How much of your current business comes from existing clients and how much comes from new clients?
  2. How much of your marketing efforts are focused on generating new clients and how much is focused on generating repeat business from your existing clients?

Answering those questions will give you a set of numbers that will help you understand quickly the marketing make-up of your business, start to identify what is working and where things can be improved to generate better results.

Do you have those numbers to hand?

In my following post(s), I’ll explore what I think those numbers can tell you about your business and what you can do with them.

Til then.

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Gurus with Forked Tongues

Mar 7, ’12 2:56 PM
Author Leonora Soculitherz Categories Balderdash, Business Books, Business Startup, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur, Freelancer, Freelancer, Home Business, Lifestyle, Small Business / SOHO, Small Business Support, Work/Life Balance, be successful, grow your business, manage your time, not to do it!, start-up in business

Today, I want to offer some advice to all my start up and micro-business owner fans on what advice not to take from silver tongued experts and gurus.

I’m on the train. I’ve been at my publishers in London checking on new cover designs for the third edition of ‘Stripping for Freedom’ and before that I attended an entrepreneurship conference. Unfortunately, I’m with my co-author, the hopeless Tony Robinson OBE. This accounts for the unusual over garments I’ve put on for the train journey. These include a sou’wester, a plastic mac, gloves and plenty of loo paper covering my shoes.

Regular readers will be pleased to know that I’m all French today. Namely, I’m dressed by Jean-Paul Gaultier and accessorised by Louis Vuitton. I’m shod, red soled, by Christian Louboutin plus I’ve a few random dabs of Chanel – pour la bonne chance.

The first reason I’m now covered up is Robinson will at some time try to open the Dairy Stix for his coffee and later, he will open his badly shaken bottle of Diet Coke. The second reason is that when he gets bored of watching YouTube videos of himself he will want to play his favourite ‘Buzzy Bee’ game with me. This involves him telling me to say to him ‘Buzzy bee, buzzy bee, have you any honey?’ He’ll then take a few mouthfuls of Diet Coke, holding the liquid in his mouth. I’ll say ‘Buzzy bee, buzzy bee, have you any honey?’ He’ll then spray Diet Coke all over me.

Now, back to my advice on what advice not to take from the many so-called small business experts and entrepreneurship gurus you may encounter at events:

1. Ignore anything that you cannot immediately see how you could make it work for your business. There is lots of advice, purported to be useful for ‘SMEs’, 99% of all businesses, which is clearly nonsense and straight from corporate gibberland. The advice doesn’t work for the 70% of all businesses that have no employees at all and 96% of all businesses with less than 10 employees where the owner just wants to earn a decent living and does all the important work themselves.

2. Ignore anything that sounds expensive. Serious entrepreneurs with serious businesses seem to make serious investments in all sorts of things that could leave you seriously overstretched. Most start-ups and micro biz owners risk their own money in their business but have no intention of building a major corporate entity, taking on major bank loans with guarantees and/or sharing their business with outside investors.

3. Ignore anything where the speaker is not telling you ‘how’ to do something but rather is advising you to pay someone just like them to give you some good advice. It seems to me that some of the entrepreneurs speaking at events actually make their money from advising businesses or from their celebrity and investing in others’ businesses. There seems little evidence that they know how to start and run their own micro-business.

Google the speaker’s name before you attend the conference. If they aren’t credible at knowing what it’s like to be doing what you do then skive off to Harvey Nicks – it’ll be a much better use of your time.

Finally, remember the Golden Soculitherz Rule, which I understand has been adopted by those crazy #Enterprise Rockers @EnterpriseRocks: ‘If you’re starting and running a micro-biz only take advice from someone who has started and run a micro-biz or is employed by someone who has started and run a micro-biz’

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It’s SME Jim, but not as we know it…

Mar 1, ’12 8:24 PM
Author Lorraine Allman Categories Business Infographics, Economy, Micro Business, SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, Small Business / SOHO, Small Business Support

We all know how important small and micro-businesses are to the economy so it’s great to find some neat little INFOGRAPHICS which enable us to see at a glance some basic facts and figures about the number and characteristics of small and micro-enterprises across the UK.

The statistics which prove why small and micro businesses are so important

There are, however, a number of areas of concern I have with this kind of information:

  • Firstly, much of the data has been sourced from the Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills – the  same government department which simply refuses (at least at the moment) to recognise the separateness of micro-enterprises from the all-encompassing term ‘SME’ which includes companies employing up to 250 staff and turnover in the millions. In fact for bank lending purposes under Project Merlin four major high street banks define SMEs with a turnover anywhere between £15m-£25m per year. I wonder where small and micro-enterprises feature in that definition?
  • Secondly, the estimated number of micro-enterprises in the UK in 2010 was 4.33 million followed by a statement that of these 4.33 million, 3.3 million employ no-one.  Unless I’ve missed something obvious here surely those 3.3 million micro-enterprises/sole traders are by their very definition making not taking a job and if that were not the case then our unemployment figures would be even more shocking than they are. Yes, I understand that encouraging more businesses to take on employees is important but at least first recognise and support the brave step those 3.3 million (and growing) have already taken to make a job for themselves.

I know that many small and micro-enterprises in the UK and beyond are simply getting on with the job in hand – running their businesses, trying to make a living. Yet life could and should be so much better for them – a life where they can make a move from just surviving to thriving, a life where a support infrastructure recognises micro-business and gives proportionate allocation of areas such as government funding and a good package of support particularly at the start-up stage.  This kind of recognition and infrastructure isn’t just achievable it is absolutely necessary to ensure the best possible outcomes for the economy and society as a whole.

Whilst we’re waiting and campaigning for this to happen there are a couple of things you could be doing…

  1. The next time someone mentions in conversation the term SME, ask them what exactly they mean by it – are they referring to Small and Medium sized Enterprises or to the ‘engine room of the economy’ – Small and Micro Enterprises.
  2. If you agree with what I’m saying here (or even if you don’t and want to debate it) rock on over to Enterprise Rockers – a voluntary organisation committed to making life in micro-enterprise better and fairer. You’ll be joining a happy band of people who believe micro-enterprise really Rocks and instead of complaining we’re getting off our seats and doing something for ourselves.  I’ll see you there!

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Competitive strategies for small business

Feb 15, ’12 10:29 AM
Author Lorraine Allman Categories Customer Service, Small Business / SOHO, Small Business / SOHO

The danger of trying to undercut competitors. How can we add value in different areas?

This was a question posed on Twitter last week and my immediate response was: “Don’t compromise & undercut competitors, offer something special/better in areas such as customer service, added extras…”

My thinking behind this reply was that all too often we focus on price as a way to compete yet this can be a disastrous strategy for small business operating within already tiny margins.  If you are in an industry competing with big business, it’s essential to find and build on competitive alternatives. This may be in areas I mentioned in my Twitter response such as customer service and those ‘added extras’ which big business are just, well, too big to offer. So, here are some ideas to get you started.

Your flexible friend – the thing about big companies is that decision making is often a laborious process, going through layer upon layer of staff before action can be taken. If there is a change in the market then you as owner of the business can act immediately, taking decisions quickly and efficiently.  You can adapt your business plan at a moment’s notice – a business plan should NEVER be set in stone after all. Use the flexibility you’ve been given as a small business to try new ways of doing things, whether that’s online, offline, using technology etc. While big businesses are still talking about ideas you can be out there putting them into action.

Collaborate – I’ve written an earlier blog about collaboration so I will just reiterate the importance of building alliances with other small businesses offering complementary products/services as an effective way to compete with bigger companies. If you want to go for a big contract but are missing an essential element (e.g. design) go and find a company who can and are willing to provide that service as part of the winning contract.

The power of plenty – this is a wonderful phrase I’ve borrowed from the UK Enterprise Rockers movement. Small businesses joining together can secure cost reductions in overheads and every day purchases through for example group purchases, marketing costs e.g. sharing exhibition space and much more.

Customer Proximity– chances are as a small business you know your customers by name and/or face or are at least getting to know them. How many big companies can say that? You can offer continuity of customer care throughout their buying experience, tailoring the service to what best meets their needs. You have the flexibility to follow up on that purchase and incentivise loyalty and are far closer to understanding their needs and wants than many of your larger competitors.

Differentiate – take a look at your larger competitors and think about where the gaps are in what they’re offering.  Often logistical and/or financial issues mean it just isn’t worth a bigger business offering particular products on a small scale even though they may meet customer needs, however as a small business it may well be worth your while producing them so just because your competitor isn’t offering them, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

Online – many small businesses have a web site now but chances are they’re not making the most of that online presence to connect with their customers.  Be clear about your brand and present that consistently and professionally online. There is no reason why anyone has to know that you’re just a one or three person band provided you deliver on what you’re offering. Most large companies are using social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) to engage with customers and you can do the same, again provided you are consistent and genuinely have a two-way communication with them, so there is a far more level playing field online when it comes to securing customers.

Be social – not social in terms of having a chat (although that’s always a good way to engage with customers) but through offering social incentives for customers to buy from you. There are many ‘shop local’ initiatives taking place and if your business operates in a growing and thriving local community then getting involved in charitable events e.g.advertising, sponsorship, donations and working with other small businesses to offer each other’s customers loyalty discounts can be a great way to build your customer base.

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Data management – failing to plan is preparing for failure

Jan 31, ’12 6:00 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Disaster Plan, Guest Blog

In the 1980s, the idea of protecting your company against a data loss may simply have been a policy of “back that file up on a floppy disk”. Fast-forward a quarter of a century and the reliance on digital systems is so massive it is a safe conclusion to say that the vast majority of companies would be unable to function should their IT systems breakdown. With this in mind, two new business sectors have developed: Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery.

How does Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery work?

Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery are very closely linked and essentially describe a company’s ability to react and recover well in a time of crisis. This is achieved through the planning and procedures involved in Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery.

Effective examples of company’s adopting Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery work include:

Putting measures in place to minimise and eliminate threats to key personal and facilities;
Creating strategies to manage crisis communication;
Putting action plans in place to protect the reputation of a business in the aftermath of a disaster;
Preparing network communications and IT infrastructure so that a company is confident it can get back up and running as quickly as possible in a worst-case scenario.

The importance of Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery

An effective Business Continuity Plan and Disaster Recovery procedure can be the deciding factor between the long-term success or failure of a company. It is estimated that for every 20MB of data that is lost, someone would have to spend 19 days re-typing it, while nine in every ten companies that suffer significant data loss, without having put plans in place, go out of business within two years.

Key factors to consider when putting procedures in place

Scenario assessment – establish what the impact would be, before the disaster strikes;
Resuming business – put step-by-step plans in place detailing how to get back on your feet should the worst happen;
Data capture – take extensive measures to reduce the risk and amount of data that could be lost in a disaster;
Best practice for recovery – it is crucial to know exactly how you are going to implement your plans, often communicating across various locations;
Compliance – make sure your plans are in-line with regulations for safeguarding sensitive data.

Getting it right

Remember, reacting to a disaster effectively is crucial for business, but it also plays a significant role in the lives of all the staff associated with the company. When livelihoods are at stake, it is the company’s responsibility to get it right for the sake of its employees and its shareholders.

GUEST BLOG: This business advice article was provided by Iron Mountain Incorporated.

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Collaborate to Accumulate

Jan 26, ’12 9:57 AM
Author Lorraine Allman Categories Entrepreneur, Small Business / SOHO, Small Business / SOHO, grow your business

There’s no denying times are tough for small business. Competition for customers is fierce, overhead costs are rising, and although there is much talk of ‘going global’ the reality is for many small enterprises the costs of breaking in to new markets are often prohibitive.

Yet there is a way for small business to remain competitive, increase capacity, enter new markets and secure new customers with expansion costs being kept to a minimum – collaborate.  In its’ simplest form, collaboration involves two or more people working together with a common goal to improve their position. In many cases this will involve sharing knowledge and planning how best to use the joint resources (client lists, technology, networks, investments etc.) to achieve the goal or goals for each party.

Technological developments means your list of potential collaborative partners no longer needs to be restricted geographically, so the opportunity to share the development costs of entering new markets, taking on larger clients, and securing new customers is open for all to take. There are  also plenty of ‘tools’ available to assist your collaborative efforts from the simplest of email and telephone, to web conferencing and the increasingly popular document & calendar sharing, social media, and web forums.  The majority of these tools cost little or no money to use so the ‘barriers to entry’ for collaborative working are minimal.

My own company actively works in this way with a number of projects on the go with different collaborative partners, some over 300 miles away! We speak regularly, have plans mapped out (Gantt charts can be useful for time sensitive tasks and identifying responsibilities), keep an eye on shared costs, and are clear about what we each want to achieve from the collaborative effort.

Tips for a successful collaboration

  • Think carefully about your collaborative partner(s).  They may be a company you already have a relationship with, in which case consider whether a collaborative project would enhance or be detrimental to that, but if not then take the time to research who might be suitable. Some basic ‘due diligence’ in terms of trading history, previous successful collaborations, and general reputation is a good idea.
  • Consider how the collaboration may be viewed by significant others in your business e.g. customers, suppliers, shareholders if appropriate. If there is any question that this approach will not be positively viewed, have a re-think.
  • Be clear and put in writing the objectives of the collaboration, who is responsible for what and when, costs and how these are shared (who pays for what), and crucially be clear about ownership of Intellectual Property.
  • Be clear from the start about what you want from the collaboration in terms of furthering your own business objectives and make sure that these are complimentary (they don’t have to be the same) to the company you are partnering with. The whole point of collaboration is to achieve a very specific quantifiable goal (e.g. secure a public sector contract, increase client numbers) rather than just a general mutually agreeable relationship with no clear focus.

I’m a keen advocate of collaborative working and have been doing this myself for many years. I’m not, however, saying you should just hop in to bed with the next business that comes along! Collaboration for collaboration’s sake is unlikely to be successful, but you may be surprised where opportunities arise. Keep an open mind as to whom you could partner with, including those you currently view as competitors, to achieve greater recognition and success.

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Crowdfunding – could it work for your business?

Jan 18, ’12 7:21 PM
Author Lorraine Allman Categories Business Funding, Business Startup, Finance, Finance, Micro Business, Small Business / SOHO, find funding

Crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly popular method for small businesses and social ventures to raise much needed funds.  The map below gives you some idea of the scale of growth in Crowdfunding over recent years.  Interestingly, the same source indicates that 46% of all UK Crowdfunding platforms were launched in 2011 alone, so with the growth in such sites I wanted to write about the ups and downs of Crowdfunding from a small business perspective.
Worldwide map of Crowdfunding platforms

What exactly is Crowdfunding?
The idea behind crowdfunding is a relatively simple one. You have a business idea or want to grow your business but need money to make this happen. Visit your chosen crowdfunding platform, create your pitch, set your financial target, and promote your project to anyone online or offline who you think might want to invest in it, for example family, friends, clients, suppliers, twitter followers, linkedin (you get the idea). You offer rewards (traditional Crowdfunding) or a share of equity/revenue (commercial Crowdfunding) in return for the investment. When you reach your target, you get your money and get delivering on all those promises.

Sounds simple enough! So once your project has been listed you sit back and let the money roll in?
Alas, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact if you haven’t already been building your profile and marketing to your target audience before you post you’re going to have to work flat out to raise the funds you need. The onus is very much on YOU to promote your project and get the investors in.  At the time of writing this blog 31 projects, that’s 67% of those listed currently on the commercial Crowdfunding site Crowdcube® have 10% funding or less (many at 0%). Looking at some of the successes on the site it’s not difficult to spot the more established companies securing their investment fairly quickly (Kammerling’s £180k; The Rushmore Group Ltd £1m).  I’m not saying they didn’t have to work to secure their investment but a more established brand is likely to have a head-start.

How much does it cost to post a project?
At the current time the majority of sites don’t charge to list your project, but do  take a fee when projects reach their investment target. The average seems to be around 5% of the target achieved.

What do I have to offer in return?
Different sites have different rules so be clear about this before deciding whether to part with equity or offer rewards. Rewards (or ‘perks’ as they are called on some sites) could be anything relevant to your project such as free tickets to a show to an acknowledgement on a website or free/discounted products depending on how much is pledged.  Crowdcube® require you to release equity in return for pledges so you’ll need to make sure you have the right company structure for this and think carefully about how much equity you’re prepared to offer.  Most sites have an area where you can interact with investors and let them know how plans are progressing.

The art of pitching
Creating a memorable pitch (usually in video format) is a crucial part of the Crowdfunding process and it’s probably true to say many small businesses don’t have spare video footage hanging around that can be used. Even if you did, you need to know how to make your video appealing to potential investors and get your message across in a very short space of time.

You have to remember that whilst the Crowdfunding websites are providing a platform for you, that is all they are doing. It is YOU who has to put the work in to promote it, market it and reach your intended audience. You’ll be competing against plenty of other businesses so creating a compelling pitch, sometimes in less than a minute, can be a real challenge.  It’s worthwhile looking at the different sites and watching the videos of those projects who have secured 100% funding to get some ideas for your pitch. It may even be worth having a chat with one or two of them to find out just how much work they put in ‘behind the scenes’ to reach their target.

Dribble Delights – an example of a small business Crowdfunding
I caught up recently with Cheryl Ryder owner of Dribble Delights who currently has her project posted on Bloom VC a site which allows you to ‘make a promise’ to investors in return for their money. I asked her about her Crowdfunding experience so far.

Cheryl’s idea for a range of dairy-free foods for babies and toddlers stemmed from her own experiences as a Mum of a now 3 children, all of whom are dairy-intolerant. She became exasperated at the lack of choice on the shelves when it came to party food and treats in particular.  She entered the company into The Pitch 2011 competition with just an idea and became one of five finalists in the Scottish heat. This spurred her on to take the idea forward but as is often the case, funds were needed to turn it into a reality. Enter Crowdfunding.

“It seemed like a good idea” said Cheryl “we had nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying to raise funds this way”. Although Dribble Delights have not yet reached their target funding (they have 30 days left but have so far secured just 3% of their target £7300), Cheryl is keen to point out what a positive experience it has been for them and the value of using the Crowdfunding platform to get their message out there.

“If anyone enters Crowdfunding simply to get money then they’re fools” said Cheryl. “It’s a bonus if you get your money but the exposure and opportunity it presents is priceless. We’ve had amazing coverage and recognising  we’re operating in a very niche market, but being able to reach that, ask questions and effectively test out what we’re doing has been incredibly helpful”.

Cheryl isn’t put off even if they don’t raise their funds in the next month, but feels that the most successful projects are those who have been working on building their market well in advance of posting their project and already have a following.

Making your ideas public
I asked Cheryl whether she had any concerns about drawing attention to her business idea before it was off the ground in case somebody came along and copied it. As her company was already very much in the public domain having been a finalist in The Pitch 2011 it wasn’t really an issue, but for others it could be so you have to balance whether the exposure with potential financial return balances out or outweighs the possible risk of someone with deeper pockets taking your idea and turning it into reality before you have chance to.

Here’s my summary of the ups and downs of Crowdfunding for small business:

Some good reasons to choose Crowdfunding:

  • More straightforward (and less expensive) to raise finance than through Business Angels/VC
  • An alternative to bank finance which is difficult for small business to secure
  • Free PR for your business – gets your message out there
  • Positive endorsement from potential clients
  • Builds future buyers database

Some things to think about:

  • Waiting time to know if you’ve raised sufficient funds to go ahead
  • Lack of good contacts, networks and mentoring that normally comes with external investment
  • Risk of failure to gain investment
  • Multiple investors to communicate with
  • Risk of idea being copied

It’s up to you to decide whether its right for your business but it should certainly be given serious consideration.

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Benefits of Storage for Small Business

Jan 13, ’12 3:08 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Disaster Plan, Guest Blog, Home Business

Not long ago it was significantly more costly to set up a small business. Advances in resources for working from home, such as high speed broadband among others have played a huge part in the changes. Factors such as lower priced technology and the increasingly cheap and more flexible options offered by storage companies also plays its part in the rise of small entrepreneurs.

Business no longer needs a physical shop space and so can advertise to the world from its home and so in the last decade we have seen a huge change in the way many businesses begin and are handled.

Home Business

Running a business from home used to come with the negative, of either having to section off an area of the home for stock, or having to purchase or rent a retail space. The advent of self-storage allows a flexible answer to this. Users can use their own stock control methods to ensure they have the goods needed on hand, while they can store others for periods in stores.

Flexibility

Storage options are significantly less costly than retail space, and many have the additional benefit of allowing entrepreneurs to use more or less space as their stock levels require it, mirroring this in costs, which are usually charged per square foot. Second to this, a storage solution for delicate goods is also provided for, with humidity controls in place for goods susceptible to damp environments.

Obviously, security plays an important factor when storing goods. Many entrepreneurs don’t feel comfortable with thousands of pounds of stock sitting around the house. Storage companies providing 24 hour CCTV, with individually alarmed rooms and sturdy perimeter fencing, provide safety homes never could.

Receiving Stock

For entrepreneurs who receive large stock, or deliveries via articulated truck, storage solution companies provide space and parking answers, which conventional streets, or roads just can’t. They also present options for unloading, such as pallets, trolleys and in some cases designated forklift drivers that require investment. Such lifting equipment obviously takes the cost, time and pain out of unloading stock.

Clearly, access is imperative and many of these storage points provide this seven days a week, with some even making provision for packaging needs via an onsite shop. This allows entrepreneurs to prepare items when onsite and save time, while being as productive as possible when on task.

Financial Aspect

Financial, storage solutions are also a positive, with costs low and storage flexible. People with storage needs often find the room required fluctuates, fortunately with such storage solutions it is possible to increase or decrease storage room depending on levels of stock. This means taking up less footage of an area when it’s required and so means paying less. Contract lengths are also quite short, with contract termination periods as low as seven days and storage allowed on the day signed up.

Storage solutions flexibility, economic costs, access and safety make them undoubtedly an ideal solution for the ways of much commerce in the 21st century.

GUEST BLOG: This helpful business advice was provided by Drew Davies on behalf of Big Yellow Self Storage

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8 Top Tips for Start-Ups

Jan 11, ’12 8:09 PM
Author Lorraine Allman Categories Business Startup, Micro Business, Small Business / SOHO, Start-Up, Start-Up, start-up in business, start-up in business

January is perhaps unsurprisingly one of the busiest months of the year to start up a business, yet the statistics on survival rates continue to make shocking news. For example in 2010 297,000 UK businesses went bust, equivalent to more than 1,170 every working day. Further research shows that less than 50% of companies established in 2005 were still trading at the close of 2009. (source)

So what measures can you put in place to avoid being a negative statistic, giving your business a better chance of doing more than just surviving?

Do your research Yes, I know it sounds boring but researching at least the basics about your market (e.g. trends, scale), target groups (where they spend their money and time), and competitors is essential to inform the rest of your business plan.

How are you helping the market? For most businesses to succeed you need to have a pretty clear idea about what problem your business is providing a solution for and/or what need you are meeting. If you’re thinking of entering an already busy market, consider how you’re going to differentiate your business from competitors. What are you going to do that’s better?

Keep listening and talking to customers This sounds obvious but it’s surprising particularly during the early years how we can be so focused on getting the business off the ground, learning the ropes and managing day-to-day that we forget the most basic of requirements for a successful business to listen to and talk with your customers. Create an authentic and meaningful relationship with them to engender loyalty and make sure you’re meeting their often changing needs.

Don’t take everything on yourself Easy to do in the early days when money is often scarce, but take a long, hard, and honest look at your skillset and time available. Consider outsourcing anything you’re not so good at. Doing your accounts is an obvious one (particularly if you’re Limited company) but help with administration or sales could be equally valuable. Ensure your network of colleagues complements your own skills and knowledge and don’t forget to keep an eye out for collaborative opportunities with complementary businesses – so much more can be achieved with a collaborative effort

Avoid starting with debt Being under-capitalised is one of the key reasons why businesses can fail. If your cash flow is poor to start with you could face an uphill struggle making the figures stack up. If you’ve done the figures and are short of money to start up take a look at some of the alternative funding sources such as crowdfunding (I’ll be writing a blog about this very soon) or even for small amounts your local credit union.

Find a mentor Many new initiatives that have started in the last year encouraging start-ups and existing businesses to find and benefit from a mentor. Some of these are volunteers and others charge a fee. Recent evidence suggests 70% of mentored small businesses survive longer than 5 years (double the number of non-mentored enterprises) so finding a mentor or coach isn’t really an option anymore, it’s essential.

Consider finding a Non-Executive Director This option isn’t for everyone however if you have genuine aspirations to grow your company quickly but need investment and skills to do that, you may want to consider finding an Investing Non-Exec. Once the domain of large corporations, an increasing number of start-ups are now choosing this route to add credibility to their management team as well as much needed funds and contacts. You can read more about this with some case studies here.

Test-trade or work 5-9 Thousands of people right now are holding down full-time jobs whilst starting a business of their own. They do this by working what is commonly referred to as the ‘5-9’ shift although in reality of course the hours are much longer! Test trading in a small way and/or working 5-9 can be an excellent way to find out a) whether you’re suited to being self-employed (it really isn’t for everyone despite what you may hear others say!) and b) help you determine basic information such as whether there really is a market for your business and if so how much people will be prepared to pay for your product/service.

Whatever your situation and whatever you decide to do, I wish you every success in 2012 and beyond.

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