Start Your Own Business In The UK

If you are starting a business in the UK, this site is full of FREE resources, useful information and local contacts to help you start and grow successfully.

Start Your Own Business (now over 15 years old) contains information and advice but, unlike other startup sites, it also contains details of LOCAL organisations who can help you.

Search for your local area to find free business advice, networking groups, funding and local grants.

England

N Ireland

Scotland

Wales

Start typing location in search box or select from list below.

Start-Up Steps

The sad truth is that far too many new businesses start-ups fail in the early stages and our aim is to try and make sure that you are not one of them.

To help with this, we have broken down the start-up process into simple steps which highlight the things that have worked for other start-ups and the pitfalls that you need to avoid.

You can see the full list of 'steps' at: How to Start a Business Step-by-Step

How to Start a Business in The UK

If you are thinking about starting a business, you are not alone! As you will see from the statistics below, small businesses make up a major part of the economy.

A suprisingly large number of all businesses are what are described as SMEs (small to medium sized businesses) or individuals trading by themselves.

Starting a business is easy!

Keeping it going profitably it an entirely different matter.

The real challenges come when you have to find customers who want to buy your product or service at a price that makes it worth your while, keep them buying or finding more, and at the same time keeping on top of the administration whilst complying with the various laws and regulations.

We have designed this site to make sure that you know what to expect.

Image of phone showing message of advice

Business Status

Before you start trading you need to choose the right legal status for your business. You do have a number of choices and they will depend on your circumstances and the service that you plan to offer. It is important to tackle this as soon as possible as it could affect your legal staus, the tax that you have to pay and your exposure to personal liability.

Taxes

When you start a business it is too easy to concentrate on all the various immediate tasks and delay thinking about tax sometime later. This is a common trap and will make the task so much harder when you do finally get around to it. Planning in advance so you know that you are aware of how much you will have to pay and when, will ensure that you have enough money put aside and the correct records in place to show how you arrived at the final figure.

Business Support

“You don’t know what you don’t know”. There are so many different aspects to running a business, you are unlikely to be an expert in all of them nor can a few hours of Internet research possibly give you all the answers. We strongly advise you to seek the advice and guidance of someone who can differentiate between what is important and what is not. This could be a business support organisation, business advisor, or mentor. In each case, they will have the benefit of having worked with many other people who have trodden this path before. This means that they can show you what has proven to work in the past and the pitfalls that you need to avoid.

Add Your Business (Free!)

If you offer a product or service which can help local startups and small business owners, we would be delighted to promote the fact (free of charge) - Add Your Business.

Latest Listings...

Paul Roland Williams | Photographer

As a child I loved painting and drawing, using whatever media I could get my hands on to create art. Photography came into my life through my Dad who was a keen and skilled amateur. Through the photography books and magazines that filled the house I was quickly taken in by this very technical, “left brained” way of making pictures, combining light, shutter speeds, apertures, ISO and lens choice to create an image. Please do get in touch to discuss how I can help your business.

JS Business Consultancy

While running your own business can be extremely rewarding, it can also be lonely and stressful – especially if you do not have the right business support. At JS Business Consultancy, I am happy to help you with your Start Up business needs and established business support in regards to Taxation, Payroll, CIS, VAT and Bookkeeping Services. I am fully compliant with current legislation and can help you to understand HMRC’s minefield of forms and documentation. My services include: • Consultation and advice for small Start Ups and established businesses • Start Up packages…coming soon! • Virtual workshops & tutorials…coming soon! • Advice with Self-Assessment Income Tax Returns for Individuals, Sole Traders and Partnerships, including Online Filing, Directors, Capital Gains Tax and Rental Income. • Advice with setting up Payroll, running a CIS scheme and filing VAT Returns. • Helping with HMRC forms and documentation You’re bound to have questions about my services and how they can help you, so please do call me on 01865 873 637 or email me on julie@jsbusinessconsultancy.co.uk . I specialise in all types of trades. I can ensure that obligations and deadlines are always met, so you have more time for the important stuff like meeting client deadlines, sourcing work and providing a fantastic service to your own customers.

Fast Mentor

Enterprise Mentor Support I have worked with over 200 businesses in recent years. A marketing consultant who works with mentors and businesses in the UK. Hands-on experience; built a national marketing business in the UK which became the biggest of its type in the country. Corporate and overseas experience; worked in the USA with Xerox where I sold $6m of digital equipment. I am a natural active listener and motivator. ‘We realised a need for startup businesses or established businesses to access a mentor quickly and easily to chat through plans, hurdles, gather information and a sounding board to support and mentor the business forward. I can also refer business owners to the IOEE Volunteer Enterprise Mentor programme. Start a conversation or Book an initial chat.

Strelitzia Accounting Limited

Not only do we provide you with business advice, but we also focus on your unique requirements so that you can concentrate on the day-to-day running of your business. You can choose from our range of affordable solutions to suite your business needs. We promise to offer friendly support through face to face meetings, virtual meetings, telephone or email all year round. Our Services We offer a comprehensive range of business support services to give our clients peace of mind and help them grow. Advice With a wealth of experience and supporting small business during times of crisis we will help you to make the best decisions about the future of your business.

BBX

Interest Free Credit: Looking for business finance? If you’re anything like most SME owners, you’ve probably lost sleep over at least one of these scenarios: Cashflow problems, not having enough cash in your business to function smoothly. Not knowing how to grow your business or how to fund the expansion. Needing funds to invest on updating your equipment and technology. Pulling your hair out due to late payments or bad debt from customers. Your slow season is getting longer and busy season shorter leaving a massive cash gap. These are valid worries. Cash can disappear and be agonizingly slow to come in, and sometimes a loan feels like the best option to help you through those times….. is it though? BBX doesn’t replace your cash business but gives you additional revenue by selling your spare capacity within the BBX community.

We are a small friendly team and always welcome enquiries from anyone who is planning to start a business or from anyone who can offer help and support. Contact us.