Guiding you to become the top entrepreneur !

The most important step you need to take when setting up your own business is to write a business plan.  This will help you to focus your ideas and put in place some realistic plans for the future, and is also a very useful tool if you need to explain your business to investors or financial backers.

Most lenders will not even consider you for a business loan unless you can present a clear, realistic business plan to them, and so it is vital that you write up a plan before you start putting another motions in place.

As well as a business plan you will need to think about business premises, and you may want to set up an office from home to start with to reduce costs.

Try to separate your home office from the rest of the house to create a more focused working atmosphere, so set up a separate computer, phone line and filing system to ensure that everything is kept organised and professional.

If you are setting up a new business it is important you understand the various business structures available, so that you can work out the most beneficial set up for the type of products/services you want to provide:
• Sole Proprietorship – this is a quick and easy way to set up a business and there will be no specific costs related to starting up your business.
• General Partnership – this is another easy process to set up, but you will need to be very careful about setting up the agreements with your business partner relating to the method for sharing profits and losses, how much capital each partner is putting up front and how the partnership will be dissolved if it needs to be at a later date.
• Limited Partnership – this is similar to a general partnership, but the limited (inactive) partner will be protected against legal liability in terms of any costs or debts if the business collapses or goes bankrupt. In this sense the business exists as a separate legal entity, kept apart from those individuals who create and have invested in it.

One of the most important skills in any business is knowing when to delegate. One person cannot do all of the work, and even if you are on a tight budget you should be making enough of a profit to pay the right amount of people to cover the work that needs doing. Delegation will also prevent any one person from being overworked whilst others have nothing to do, and is a key managerial discipline that helps to increase productively and keep staff moral high.

Areas of Delegation
Many people have specialist skills and training, and it is important to delegate work that will compliment their individual skills. For example a good PA will be able to take care of a great deal of the day-to-day office paper work and field phone calls, and can be an invaluable asset to any business leaving managers free to deal with other important issues such as setting up new accounts and dealing with clients and suppliers.

If you run your own business then it is unlikely you will be able to simply go home at the end of the day and forget about work, as you will be the one responsible for profits and losses, and so although this can be a rewarding way to earn a living, it can also be very stressful.  Here are just a few tips to help you deal with the pressures of work:
·    Home Office – if you have a home office make sure it is in a separate room, so that you can close the door firmly on it at the end of the working day and get some space to relax on your own time.  If you have an office telephone make sure you set it to answerphone so that you don’t feel pressured into answering it outside office hours.
·    Meetings – try not to arrange to meet clients or suppliers in your leisure time, as this will help you to keep business at the office instead of bringing it into your personal life as well.