First Steps in Business
Running your own business can be an immensely
rewarding experience. Approximately half a million
new businesses start each year in the UK.
First Steps in Business
Decisions
taken in the early years can be the most difficult as
well as the most important, particularly for first-time
entrepreneurs and those with no previous business
knowledge or experience.Researching and testing
your business ideaMost businesses start when an
entrepreneur spots ‘a gap in the market’
– this might be a new product or service
or simply selling a product through a new
distribution channel.Will my business
support me?A business should provide you with a
satisfactory income in exchange for
the time that you put into it, or it will
not be worth doing. There are ways
of stacking the odds in your favour.
Wherever practical, you can reduce risk
by beginning on a part-time basis. For
example, if you are thinking of opening
a shop, try hiring a stall in a market first.These are the first things you should
do when you are trying to start a
new business. To read our guide
on why write a business plan,
Download the full document here
Prepare for business,
prepare for success.
ICAEW Business Advice Service
The ICAEW Business Advice Service (BAS) provides
professional advice for start-ups and owner-run businesses.
As well as practical help online in the form of white papers,
short PDFs and blog articles, we enable businesses to
receive an initial consultation at no charge from an ICAEW
Chartered Accountant.
ICAEW Chartered Accountants are the biggest source
of business advice, reaching over 1.5m businesses from
more than 20,000 offices across the UK.
If you need further help with VAT issues,
a free initial discussion with an ICAEW
Chartered Accountant is a good place to
start. Visit businessadviceservice.com
This leaflet is part of a series.
To find out more see our resources page