Starting a Business.

Part 1 Part 2

If you are seriously thinking about starting your own business, spend a few minutes to read the following article, before committing to spending any of your money.

Starting a business. Before you decide to have any website built for your business, read the following pointers to ensure that it is something you really want to do.

One of the most important things we have learnt over the years, is that when in business, keep an eye on your business competition, but ALWAYS work out your own prices and profits and run your business your way. Do not worry about competing, just give a good service to your customers.
Do not tell everyone and their brother what you intend to carry out, word will soon be heard by your competitors and you will find that it will become harder for you to get started.
The best way to go forward in your specific trade, is to look on your competitors websites and see if there is anything you are missing on yours. Do not copy theirs but obtain ideas and use them to your advantage.
You have no friends in business, similar trades no matter how friendly the owners of the businesses are towards you, they will take your work to ensure their survival, if they are given the chance.
Never look at what you think is a good deal that saves you money, no matter what you are looking at purchasing. If you are offered something that seems too good to be true, then normally it is and also remember pay cheap pay twice.
Whether or not you use us to build your website, it is your choice, but if you take the time to read our pages you will at least have an understanding about which direction to follow.
It makes no difference at what level of expertise a website is built, although high end websites will work better without a doubt, it will still take some time for Google and Bing search engines to find and recognise your website and your business.
Having a website with a new domain name (business name) will not guarantee that your phone will ring for a long while, please read the following before you spend any money at all.
we have been in business for 53 plus years owning every level of business from small one-man businesses to employing 14 people. We have owned limited companies as well as shops and have been successful in every business we have run and owned, all combined with advising many a person how to set up a new business, whilst at the same time teaching them some of the pitfalls at street levels, not the high end corporate businesses. Although the trading problems are similar, a different strategy is put into place, but these are not the levels that you will be competing against in the early stages, it will be a few years before you have to worry about the high end stress levels, but it can come to you as easily as it can to anyone else, all you have to do is believe in yourself, and make it happen, at the moment we are only concerned with starting a business and what is required.
Below are a few of the more important facts that you need to consider before you start a business of any kind.

If you remember nothing else, just remember that if you dont know about something related to your business, ASK. It is never a daft question if you do not know the answer before you ask the question.
We all have to ask questions to learn from the answers to go forward in the direction we want to.
Most people think that because they have worked for someone else or because they have carried out a lot of DIY around the house, they can just start working for themselves and pocket loads of money without telling the tax office. This is a myth.
There are lots of pitfalls in running your own business, and there are many things that you need to put in place before you start.
One of the most common mistakes people make, is to believe they can run a business in office hours, this is just not true if you wish to be successful. Your mindset will be in 24/7 mode like it or not. If you are not thinking about your business and what you can do with it, then you will just be playing at it, which in turn will almost certainly influence the future of the business.
You need finances to buy equipment, tools or stock.
You need a business or trading name.
You need an accountant.
You need to have a bank account for the business use only, not required but preferred to be in the business name.
You need goals and ambition.
You need suppliers.
You need insurances.
You need money to cover your costs to live whilst the business is taking off.
You ideally need a website.
You need advertising.
Before you start and preferably whilst still employed you need to register your intentions with the tax office in order to obtain your personal tax reference number relating to the business and business address.
You will need to have a smart appearance and good manners, as well as a good knowledge of the trade you wish to be associated with.
Remember when you work for yourself the buck stops with you. You get it right and everyone is happy, and the word soon gets around that you are a good honest worker. Get it wrong and the bad word will be on the jungle drums before you reach the end of the road.
The above are just the most important aspects of starting any business.
I think you are getting the point so far that life may not be as rosy as you first thought.
The next section will tell you a bit more about start up requirements to be successful in your new business.

Click Tab 2 at the top or bottom of the page depending on your viewing equipment.

Now to go into more detail. After you have decided what you want to do, you must decide on a trading business name. A good tip here is to link the name of your business to the job you wish to carry out, you would try to have the trading name as for example Double “R” Pest Control, this tells people that the business name was Double “R” and we carried out pest control. The website requires the same details, as does the email address and all letter headings and general paperwork, including the office details and phone.

All items purchased for the business must be purchased against and with the business paperwork and have a paper trail (or electronic trail) for simplicity reasons of accounts.
You will need to advertise, this area requires some thought, obviously the vehicle needs to be written in large letters that can clearly be read from a distance. The method we found worked for us no matter what the size of the vehicle was as follows, the back doors required the business name high and below that a breakdown of what we did in brief, such as wasp treatment, rat treatment and a few others but not small but smaller than the main name, below that was our phone number, website address and possibly email address. It is important to look at similar sized vehicles to your own and consider what can be read from a distance if you were following it in a car, how far back can your business name be read. This is very important, once the business name has been read, the reader following you will decide if they require your services. Once they get a bit closer, they can read a bit about what you do but do not overcrowd the area with lots of writing. NO-ONE will read it all, and finally the contact details need to be larger than the description of what you do but smaller than the main heading of the business name. The side and front of the vehicle needs most of the same as the rear but less detail about what you do, people can only read the front of your vehicle very briefly as they approach hence your name clear and large, if people are in a traffic queue they will read more but they only need the contact details at this stage. In advertising very often less is more, so stick to the relevant details that can be seen from a distance, if someone has to read your details because there is a lot on there, they just wont bother, and if it is written too small or in an obscure colour or font, people are likely not to bother reading it, especially if they are following your vehicle, they could easily be distracted and collide with you if you stop sharply. Remember this if nothing else, you know what you are saying on your vehicle and what you are trying to get over to the customer, they do not know who you are or what you do. Do not give a complete job description, if you are a plumber and you are gas registered, then that is all they need to know, not that you can do this or that as a breakdown.
Business cards require the same details as your vehicle but use both sides. The front for who you are and the back for what you do. If you can afford it have glossy cards, they catch the eye and look good. ALL writing no matter what it is on needs to be clear and concise, no more than bold capitals is required, remember this fact, newspapers are in clear to read writing for the purpose of your ease to read it. Not to look pretty with a smart looking font.
Use your works vehicle as much as possible, the more it is seen the more your name gets out there, it is the cheapest form of advertising there is. I read somewhere that if you travelled a 20-mile round trip approx. 3000 plus people would have seen your vehicle and read some of it. Hence the business name as clear as possible, once armed with a business name they can look you up on google etc.
This brings me to the next important factor of advertising, a website. You do not need to spend thousands on a website in the first instance, a simple to view web site is often better. we have permission to use this one from a friend and so I like to use his as a good example Harrison Building Services this is a simple to understand website and shows what he does.
Sometimes but not always it may be worth a few adverts in the local paper whilst you get established.
When you consider your work wear look at corporate imagery, get your business name on the front and back of a tee shirt for arguments sake, if you are working and constantly have your back to people the best place is on the back, similar to the van. On the front of you a business name is all that is required and possibly your Christian name just so the customer knows who they are talking to if looking at you
The first personal point of contact is when you get a phone call from a potential customer.
If you answer the phone be polite, even if the person ringing you is not. You can always turn the job down if you do not see eye to eye. Make an appointment to see the person you have spoken to at the property the work is to be carried out. Be professional take notes, measurements if required talk as though you know what you are talking about, be precise and thorough but not over the top telling them what you can do. They will tell you what they want you to do, and it is for you to decide which way to do it.
Do not belittle any of the customers family or the customer.
Do not give a price at that point unless it is something that you can do it with commitment, example we treated wasp nest at £45 and so we could just quote the price over the phone and not visit the site.
Go away and work out the quotation, put down every aspect of the job that you must carry out but with as much detail as possible for the purpose of your pricing, but tell them a price for a simplistic detailed job, bearing in mind they will always know what you are going to be doing. Do not break it down for arguments sake as 195 bricks, 5 bags cement, just word it as supplying materials to carry out the building of a wall …… and a price.
Turn up at the arranged day and time, or if delayed let the customer know and keep them in the loop.
Be tidy when working and show you can do what you need to do. This is the same attitude no matter what the business obviously if it was a shop you would not have bricks or quotes but being of smart appearance etc is very important.
Any quotes you make out put a short time limit on the final date you will stand by the quote, bearing in mind stock items rise in price weekly. Send the final invoice to the customer or give it to them on completion of the work.
Each day complete your book work and accounts, do not leave it for a week or you have a lot of work to do at any given time as well as running the risk of losing invoices.

MOST OF ALL BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. This company did and he is doing well from his simple to use website click here to view it Harrison Building Services.