Time To Grow: how to start your own business

Small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent a staggering 99.9% of UK businesses and account for 61% of all employment.

For many, being your own boss is the dream, with two-thirds of Brits planning to start a business, but how exactly do you turn your hobby and passion into a legitimate venture?

We’ll be covering exactly that in our new ‘Time To Grow’ blog series, examining the following:

• Dealing with tax obligations: National Insurance, VAT, and MTD
• Complying with business regulations such as GDPR and IR35
• Managing your business finances
• What to think about when you start employing  
• How software can help you

Starting your own business: initial considerations

So, how do you start your own business?

Before we begin the Time To Grow blog series - keep an eye out for the upcoming blogs - it's important to cover a few initial considerations:

1. Choose a name and logo that reflects your brand; logos and names are the first things your customers will see, and initial impressions last a lifetime.
2. Determine your legal structure, are you a sole trader, limited company, or partnership – then register your business.
3. Create a business plan that sets out your strategy and objectives, helping you focus and prioritise your time (a business plan is essential if you want to raise finance or get a business loan from the bank).
4. Check the rules around your type of business: do you need a licence, permits, or insurance? What about patents or trademarks?
5. Work out what business records you need to keep, i.e. tax Or VAT – this is where accounting software for small bsuinesses or a good accountant can help.
6. If you’re employing people, will you run your own payroll or outsource the responsibility to a managed service provider?
7. Plan a marketing strategy to promote your business and gain new customers; social media, website creation, and how you’ll communicate are all crucial.
8. Conduct industry research to help you understand the market and inform the price of your product or service.

More helpful information can be found in our guide to small business accounting, compliance and growth: From startup to success.

It’s Time To Grow with IRIS

With so much to do when running a business, time is undoubtedly your greatest asset. As a leading small business accounting software provider, we can also help take an additional load off your mind.