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Top Tips for Starting Up Your Own Business

Biz-Online — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:23:05 +0000

Despite the global economic downturn there are still plenty of opportunities for small businesses, but it is more important than ever that you have a detailed and realistic business plan, and have thought carefully about how you will finance your business set up.

Business Plan

The business plan will help you to work through all of the issues and potential problems involved in setting up a small business, and will be an essential tool to help you focus and develop your financial needs. It will also show banks and other potential investors that you are serious about your business idea, and that you have a clear vision for how your business will work. It is important to be absolutely honest with yourself about key issues, such as how much you would hope to achieve in profit in the coming months, as a robust and realistic plan could mean the difference between success and failure in your first years of business. A good business plan should include:

Executive summary – this should include an overview of your complete business idea, stating who you are, what your business idea is about (services/products that you will offer and customer groups you will be focusing on) and also what you hope to achieve.
Marketing Strategy – show here that you have considered your competitors, and how you plan to plan to attract customers to your product/services. List here any details of potential advertising and marketing campaigns.
Management and Staff – if you have any management experience then mention this in the business plan, and also list some details of the skills base you will require and the numbers of staff you hope to employ.
Financial Forecast – breakdown your business plan into cold hard facts, and give details of what money you think you will need over the next three to five years for set up, equipment leasing, staff, IT and premises. Try and calculate any risks that may affect your business during this time such as commercial, operational and personnel issues, and also calculate your sales pattern over a range of scenarios (such as high opening sales which slow down over the next few months or slow opening sales steadily increasing after 3 months), and also include any ‘down time’ whilst you are recruiting, training or setting up your premises

Business Loans

You may need access to money quickly to cover any unexpected costs and keep your business operating during cash flow problems, and fast business loan from banks and other official lenders can be a good way of applying for the money you need quickly and securely. Compare interest rates before you apply and try and get the best deal you can, as although fast loans are very convenient they can often be less flexible and more expensive in the long run.

Taxes

If you have business premises you will also need to include the ‘Business Rates’ in the overall leasing or running costs, and you can find out more about this by contacting your local council. You will also need to keep clear financial records (accounts) from the start, to ensure that you can work out what tax you will need to pay. As a basic guide you should look be looking at paying Income tax, National Insurance contributions, Corporation Tax (limited companies), VAT (profits exceeding £67,000 per annum) and Stamp Duty Land Tax on bought and leased premises. You should contact your local HMRC to find out more about what you should be paying.

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Steps for applying for a business Loan

Biz-Online — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:02:45 +0000

There are many reasons why businesses can need a financial boost. It may be that you have just started up and need to purchase expensive equipment or work vehicles, or you may be an established business that wants to move to newer, better premises and taker on more staff to expand your profit growth. Whatever the reasons a business loan can inject vital capital into your company, and it is important you choose the right loan at the right interest rates to suit your business budget.

The first step to applying for a business loan is to work out exactly how much you are going to need. Banks and lenders will want you to justify every penny that you are asking for, so make sure you draw up a complete finance plan, and also project your future earnings during and after the changes you are planning have taken place.

Lenders will be more willing to accept your application if you can show you will have adequate money coming into your business in the future, and also if you are willing to put some cash into the project yourself (which demonstrates your commitment). Owners who do not have any money to put in, can find it difficult to get finance and banks may ask you for some kind of security such as your house.

Banks decide on finance on a case by case basis, so it is vital that you present your business finance plan clearly and professionally, as you can sometimes literally ‘blow it’ by being unorganized or unrealistic. Many banks do provide useful business plan guides, which can help you to write and prepare your finance applications.

The next step is to review the loan products on offer from the various lenders, and see if they can accommodate your needs. Many applications fail because people have asked to borrow outside of the lenders minimum and maximum loan parameters, so don’t waste your time and theirs and check first before you apply.

Don’t be put off if your first application is turned down, Review your small business financing options and see if you can make any changes, then try again with another suitable lender.

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Top Work At Home Opportunities

Biz-Online — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:57:33 +0000

There are hundreds if different opportunities these days to work at home, and many of these can be carried out quickly and easily over the Internet, so all you need to set up is a computer and broadband or dial up access. Internet jobs are varied, and it is important that you research each opportunity carefully, as there are plenty of scams out there that could end up actually costing you money, without any profit at all.

Watch out for opportunities that seem to good to be true, as like any home business Internet based jobs require a bit of time and effort before you starting making good money, so any opportunity that promises instant rewards for little work is usually a scam, especially if you need to pay a sum of money to set it all up.

Here are some of the legitimate working from home opportunities currently available on the Internet:

Data Inputting – several companies offer opportunities for data inputting, which can be done quickly and easily from your computer at home. How much you earn will depend on how much data you can input per week, and this is a good opportunity for those who are new to Internet working and using computers.
Survey Completion – this is a very popular Internet job, as surveys are quick and easy to fill out, but you may find it difficult to find enough survey work to make any money. However this is a good ‘fill in’ job that you can have running in the background and fit in around other work to supplement your income. Companies like Lightspeed Panel (www.lightspeedpanel.com) pay around £1.50 per survey (depending on the length) and long running surveys completed over a few weeks can pay up to £16 each.
Form Completion – several companies offer jobs working from home filling in forms, which pays well at around £4-6 per form. This is easy work, but similar the survey jobs as you may find it difficult to get enough forms to make good money, so again this is another ‘fill in’ job.
Blogging – setting up your own blog requires a bit of time and effort, but if you have a successful blog with a high volume of site traffic then you can potentially make a lot of money by advertising products on your website through affiliate programs.
Internet Research – there are some job opportunities that require you to have a good knowledge of the Internet, and be able to search through it quickly and efficiently for required information. These jobs can pay good money, but you will need to be fast and accurate, and have a good understanding of spelling and grammar.

Dropship wholesale business – this is also one of the popular work-at-home opportunity among many internet marketers. It works like this – buyer buys a product from your site or ebay listing, you place same order on drop shipper’s site at wholesale price – drop shipper sends the product to the actual buyer. Thus you sell a product at retail price and thus generat a handsome commission without the hassle of shipping it.

There are so many Internet based opportunities out there it can be difficult to work out which jobs are legitimate, and which ones will make you enough money to make your input worthwhile. Work at Home 99 is a helpful website that guides you through the process of working from home, and also has an excellent work at home directory that lists all of the best Internet jobs currently available. Work at Home 99 also has some valuable advice on home computer security, so that you can keep your computer and personal information safe whilst working on the Internet.

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Beginners Guide Business Tax – England

Biz-Online — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 06:20:43 +0000

All businesses are subject to a variety of different taxes, all of which are legal obligations that need to be fulfilled. Therefore it is important for you to find out what tax you need to pay for the type of business you are running, and start making contributions as soon as possible.

Starting Out

The first step to sorting out your tax is to define your business in to one of the following categories:

Sole trader
Partnership
Private limited company
Limited liability partnership

Also you need to estimate your projected earnings to see if you will qualify to pay VAT, which has a registration threshold of earnings exceeding £67,000 per annum. Make a note of how many employees you currently have, and then contact the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to register your business. If you have work premises you will also be liable for business rates, so you must contact your local council to inform them which address you have started trading from.

Sole Traders

Sole traders are registered with HMRC as self employed, and will need to complete and submit their own self assessment tax return each year. Generally sole traders pay either Class 2 or 4 National Insurance contributions (NICS), which are calculated on a flat weekly rate and can be paid by direct debit. NICS contributions count towards incapacity and maternity benefits.

Partnership

Partnership traders also register as self employed, but each partner will need to complete their own individual self assessment tax return each year, and pay their own tax and NICS contributions. Also each partner will have to submit the required partnership supplement (SA104), and a nominated partner must also submit the Partnership Tax Return (SA800).

Private Limited Company

Private limited companies are liable for Corporation Tax, and must complete and submit a corporation tax return (CT600) each year and also supply a copy of their accounts. Most private limited companies use accountants to ensure these forms are filled in and submitted correctly.

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

LLPs also need to register as self employed, and each partner must submit a self-assessment tax return every year as well as the SA104 and SA800.

To find out more about how to register a business, and what taxes you will need to pay you can visit the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov.uk

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Managing New Employees – Human Resource UK

Biz-Online — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 06:26:58 +0000

There are a number of important steps you must take when employing new staff, to make sure they are working for you legally, and that you are paying the correct wages, tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs). If this is your first employee, you will also need to register as an employer with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

What is an employee?

There are two types of employment status, employed and self employed. This will depend on the type of contract agreed, which can either be:

a contract of service, which means employees are working for you either permanently or part time in a fully employed capacity, and you are responsible for their tax and NICS contributions.
a contract for services, which means employees are providing you with specific services when you require them, but are paying their own tax and NICS contributions.

You can find out more about employment status by visiting www.hmrc.gov.uk and reading guide number ES/FS2.

Legal Workers

When you are taking on employees you must ensure they are can legally work in the UK . You can do this by checking that they have at least two of the required identity documents (such as a passport, drivers license, birth certificate etc). This is an important check, as employing illegal workers can result in a large civil fine of up to £10,000 per worker, and you can visit the UK Border Control website (www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk) for further information.

Paperwork

Your employee may have recently left a job, and so will be able to provide you with the necessary P45 tax form from their previous employer. However if they do not have this form then you will need to fill in a P46 for them. Always check P45’s carefully to ensure the details are correct, as this form helps you to calculate the correct tax for each of your employees. If you need help with this you can phone the HMRC New Employer Helpline on Tel 0845 60 70 143.

Register for PAYE (Pay as You Earn)

You can set up a payroll record even if you only have one employee, and this will help you to calculate and record all tax and NIC contributions, and any other deductions from your employee’s earnings correctly. You can get a helpful starter pack regarding PAYE issues from the HMRC by calling the New Employer Helpline number listed above, or by visiting the website www.hmrc.gov.uk.

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