BUSINESS START UP PROBLEMS

Business start up problems

Starting your own business is an exciting time ~ but it can also be quite daunting.

Whatever your reasons for starting your own business, CONGRATULATIONS ! This is an exciting time, your head is full of ideas and the prospect of a bright future lies ahead of you. But there are "101" things you need to do to move from dreaming to starting your business. 

It can be overwhelming with the stress of making sure you haven't forgotten anything and the feeling of being out of your depth. After all, when you are your own boss the buck stops with you! You are going to have to learn many new skills fast and you may frequently feel out of your comfort zone. 

But all businesses began as start ups. Someone like you had an idea and believed enough in it and in themselves to commit to beginning their business. The problems you will meet have been faced by many entrepreneurs before you. Some may have failed but many, many more succeeded. 

Wood and Disney have helped many new businesses get off the ground and overcome business start up problems. Some have gone on to make their owners millionaires. We've seen what works and what doesn't, can help you avoid the pitfalls and be there when you just need someone to talk through your problems or bounce ideas off. 

We've broken down this section into some of the problems you may face doing background preparation, setting up your business and then launching it. Or you can jump straight to looking at our BUSINESS START UP SOLUTIONS...
Find out how Wood and Disney help ambitious entrepreneurs like you, start up their new business ventures

Background preparation

Doing your homework before you commit financially

 It is impossible to over stress the importance of researching your business idea

You have a great idea and are filled with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm and self-believe are essential ingredients for a successful entrepreneur. But, occasionally, they can blind you to the realities and difficulties of getting a new business and idea off the ground. This is the time to be objective and ask questions to critically assess the viability of your business. Listen to the answers you get back especially those that question your positive view of the future. The doubters may well be wrong, but ensuring that you listen now and take action to mitigate risks, will potentially save you a lot of heartache in the future. 

It's vital that you do your background preparation. There is a lot of research you need to do. We've highlighted below a few of the questions you should be asking. 

Your skills

What are your strengths and weaknesses? Are you the sort of person who loves getting out meeting people and selling or do you prefer to work in the background? Do you have much financial experience? How are your IT skills? Are you a worrier or a risk taker? How much time do you want to commit to your business? Are you a 9-5 person or are you happy to sacrifice time with your family in the short term to achieve your goals?

The market

How much market research have you done? Have you just asked friends and family if they think it's a good idea or have you canvassed potential customers? What is the competition in the market? What are your competitors offering in terms of product, service and price? Do you have a choice of suppliers? Suppliers may be willing to sell to you but what are their terms? Have you developed a marketing plan? What are your channels to market?

Financial resources

How much will it cost you to get your business off the ground? What financial resources do you have? Will you need to borrow money? Most businesses don't make a profit in the early days, can you support yourself financially until you can draw a salary? What are the financial risks? Have you prepared a cash flow forecast and looked at best/worst case scenarios?

Setting up your business

Getting ready to launch

 As you start to set up your new business the decisions you need to make begin to increase

The number of decisions you need to make setting up a new business can seem overwhelming. There are a myriad of different decisions you need to make which will all impact the success of your new venture. Some choices will be straightforward. You may already have suppliers in mind who you know and trust. Business premises may not be an issue; maybe you can start off working from home. But have you checked that your home insurance covers home working? Will your local authority have issues with you setting up in your garage, home office or upstairs room? You need to thoroughly research and seek advice. Time spent now setting up your business correctly  can save you a lot of time, money and worry later!

Wood and Disney have helped hundreds of ambitious entrepreneurs just like you, set up their new ventures. We can make sure you haven't forgotten anything, give you checklists and put you in touch with the right people who will have expert knowledge of launching a business like your's. 

To keep it simple, we've broken down setting up a new business into three main areas: Compliance, Infrastructure and Launching. These are just a few of the questions you should be asking yourself ...

Compliance

Have you chosen a name for your business? You need to check that to make sure the name is available to register and also that it is not a registered trademark and that a suitable domain name  is available. What is the legal structure of your business? Sole trader, partnership, limited liability partnership (LLP) or limited company (Ltd). Have you registered your company at Companies House. If you are going to be VAT registered from day 1, have you registered with HMRC? 

Infrastructure & Support

Have you considered the support network your business will need? Have you appointed an accountant? Do you have a solicitor? You will need a business bank account, have you chosen which bank to use? Have you got contracts of employment ready? Do you have all the licencing/planning/permissions you might need in place or applications ready? Have you written a business plan and have all the paperwork in place to approach lenders to raise the finance you will need? 

Getting ready to launch

Have you organised suitable business premises? How many employees will you need and how are you going to source/train them? Have you negotiated contracts with your suppliers? What IT support will you need? Have you arranged internet, computer systems and software, telephone systems and administration support? Do you need to lease vehicles and buy machinery? What are the lead times for machinery, stock and packaging?

Launching and the first  year

The first steps to success

 The time has come to tell the world about your new venture ...

Now comes the exciting bit ....you're ready to launch. Now the hard work begins. If you've done your research you should be prepared for the challenges ahead. But there will always be pitfalls and opportunities that you hadn't foreseen. You're going to need resilience as we can guarantee that even with the best preparation in the world, you won't have prepared for every scenario. There will be sleepless nights and moments of self-doubt. 

That's why you need the support of experienced, professional business advisors like Wood and Disney by your side. We will listen to your problems, talk through your ideas, help you make the right decisions. We've been advising ambitious entrepreneurs like you, for a very long time. You are unique, but the problems you will face are not and we will have come across them before. Listen to our advice and with our help, guidance and support you can build a successful and flourishing business!

It's going to be a busy first year! Take a look at some of the problems you may come up against and the questions you need to be asking. Then go to our Launching and the First Year Solutions page to look at how Wood and Disney can help you.

Marketing and generating sales

How do you spark interest in your business? How do you convert that interest into sales? Have you decided which marketing channels to focus on? Are you going to use traditional advertising, rely on word of mouth, take out internet based advertising, distribute flyers ...? How effective is your social media presence? Do you already have a client base out there that you can mobilise to generate sales? How are you monitoring and analysing sales?

Controlling your business

Are the first few months going to plan or do you need to adjust or reassess your business plan and cash flow forecasts? How are your staff performing? Do they need more training? Are you collecting and analysing feedback from customers? Do you know your magic numbers? Your monthly breakeven point? Are you making a high enough profit margin? Is your cash being collected quick enough? Is your pricing correct?

Growing your business

You have a customer base. Are you having problems retaining business? Could you increase how much and how often your existing customers spend money with you? Are you spending a disproportionate amount of time and money on a few troublesome, low profit clients? Is your product/pricing mix maximising profits?

Starting a new business is exciting and challenging. 

You're going to face many problems, worry about whether you're making the right decisions, and almost certainly have to make personal sacrifices both financial and in terms of time spent with your family. 

We can't promise to take away all the worries; you will still have to put in many hours of hard work, be committed and determined to succeed. But we can promise to be honest with you. To tell you straight whether in our opinion and experience you are making the right decisions. To give you the best advice we can. To support you to the best of our abilities. And to listen to you when you need to share and talk through your problems.

If you listen to our advice, let us help and support you, we can give you and your business the best possible chance of success.

We've helped many new business owners start their business, grow it and gain huge amounts of personal satisfaction in their achievements and gain financial prosperity and security for their families. 
Take a look at how Wood and Disney's new business start up solutions will make sure your business is set for success.
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