It’s safe to say that the majority of us would love to be our own business. That way, we can travel while we work, choose our own hours and work in something we are passionate about. There’s good news and bad news. The good news is, with the endless digital platforms and resources, anyone can start their own business. The bad news is that starting your own business is difficult and time-consuming.
There are two avenues that you can go down. You can start your own business online or you can still run a physical business from your own home. There are obviously positives and negatives to both but we will get into that.
How To Start Your Own Business
The first step is to register your business. If you’re in the UK, you can register your business through Companies House. There’s a lot of guidance on the governments website and there are plenty of resources. You don’t have to register for VAT until you start to turnover a certain amount. You will need two addresses, one which will be your correspondence address and then your registered office.
The two aspects of running a business in the UK that are important to keep in mind is that you have to file your accounts annually (it can be helpful to hire an accountant for this) and you have to file a confirmation statement annually through Companies House. These are more administrative tasks but they are crucial to ensuring you are running your business correctly.
How To Start An Online Business
You will need to be clear exactly how your business will operate. Ideally you would have your own website but this can be a big investment especially if you have no starting capital. What you may choose to do is use an existing platform (such as Etsy) to sell your products. If you are selling a service, you may still choose to use another platform such as Fiverr.
Your online presence is crucial if you are going to run an online business which means spending time grasping the basics of SEO both on your website (if you have one) but also on other channels, such as your social media pages.
Be clear with what you are offering and try to start small. It is better to become a master of one area first rather than trying to compete in various lanes. After all, your resources are finite.
How To Start A Physical Business
In reality, you only want to start a business from home, if you are selling a particular service such as personal training, beauty services, etc. There’s always a danger of putting your private address online and welcoming people to your home, but there still are a number of benefits.
Starting a physical business allows you to target people more local to you and that also means building up a stable customer base. Let’s say you do hairdressing at your home. Once people start coming to you, if they have a good experience, they are likely to be repeat customers. Whereas if you are selling a product online, it’s difficult to encourage people to return and buy from you again unless you change what you are offering.
If you are starting a physical business, it is important to look at public liability insurance as well as other health and safety regulations. There is a lot of information online, so check what you need to do in order to be compliant.
Ultimately, starting your own business in the UK is doable for most people, as long as you have access to technology and you give it time. Build up your brand and be clear with what you are offering. Know who your target audience is and how you are going to reach them. A business plan is crucial for any start-up business as it acts as your guide. Remember, it might take a few attempts before something sticks, so make sure you are enjoying what you are doing before taking it too seriously.
If you are looking for more support on your new venture, then take a look at how we can help:
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