Essential start-up requirements

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Starting a business in a challenge even when economic conditions are good, so entrepreneurs wishing to become their own bosses at the moment must ensure that they have thought through every aspect of a new venture. Despite the difficult economic conditions the UK's entrepreneurial zeal remains strong with research showing that half of office workers want to start their own business.

Here are some of the most important elements that all potential new business owners must consdider before they start up:

IT and infrastructure
IT is a part of almost every business' day-to-day life. However, every business has different needs, and the level of IT and infrastructure varies depending on the nature of your business, size, location and plans for the future.

The first step is to identify the ways in which technology can make your business more effective and work out how this fits in with your budget. It is important to plan ahead for the development of your IT systems, which will need to be able to grow and adapt to any changes in your business. For instance, are you planning to offer staff the opportunity to work from home? If so it could be worth considering cloud computing to ensure employees can access everything on your server wherever they are from any computer.

Or perhaps you are going to open another office in a different location? If so you'll need to consider wider area networks to connect both of your office locations. It makes good business sense to consider your future software needs and plan how to financially manage the implementation of new systems to support your business growth.

Taxes, finance and accounting
Correctly managing your finances is vital to the success of your business. If you have never been self-employed or set up a business before, you will want to consult trusted sources of information. Many businesses will employ an accountant and there are numerous resources - both off and online - to help. These guides explain exactly how an accountant can help you, where to find one and many even provide a checklist of things to ask an accountant when you recruit them.

Tax rates and thresholds can change annually; changes being announced in the Budget, for example, are usually implemented from the beginning of a tax year. As a business owner, you will need to make certain reports (returns) and payments to various government bodies.

Employing people for the first time
If you decide to take on staff, there are a number of legal requirements to take note of, such as implementing health and safety practices and the keeping of staff records.

There are a number of different ways you can take on employees for your business such as on a fixed term contract, on a freelance basis or through an agency. On whichever basis you choose to employ staff, you'll need to understand taxes and payroll and your obligations as an employer. These include supplying an itemised pay statement, and compliance with national minimum wage law.

Marketing your business
Getting your sales and marketing right is important and makes a real difference to the success of your business. Identifying your market is a vital first step. Think in terms of people as opposed to markets and then put yourself in the customer's shoes and ask yourself; would you actually buy the product or use this service? Don't be afraid of asking other people for feedback. Is it just you that thinks customers will want your product or service?

Creating a marketing strategy will help you identify potential customers and target them with appropriate products or services, whilst using the correct sales techniques will help you turn interest in your product or service into customer orders. It is vital to write a marketing plan identifying and understanding your competitors in order to target your communication to different types of customers through segmentation.

Once you have established a strategy you need to think about the best ways to build awareness of your brand that fits with your budget. There are many ways you can do this, from direct mail or advertising, to getting to grips with social media. This is a free resource and can really help to establish your business and make useful contacts.

Avoiding common mistakes
Financial planning is a key part of business planning, as is keeping a very close watch on your cash flow to see if your projections are proving accurate.

Keep an eye on the competition. If you have a really good idea, other companies will be quick to adjust their own business strategies. However competition is not just another business that might take customers away from you. It can be another product or service that's being developed which you ought to be selling or looking to license before somebody else takes it up