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How to Start a Business in Southwark

Free start-up resources and useful local contacts.

Improve your chances of success!

How to Start a Business in Southwark

Starting a business in Southwark

If you are thinking about starting a business in Southwark or would like to grow your existing business, we would love to help you.

Start Your Own Business in Southwark contains resources and the information that will help give your venture the best chance of success. It also highlights organisations who offer friendly advice and the services that you are likely to need as a new startup or local business owner.

Grants | Networking groups | Business advice | Mentoring | Co-working spaces

Starting a business in Southwark

Free Startup Resources

Getting it right from the start can help to prevent problems later.

To help you with this we have created a vast selection of resources and they are all completely free!

Starting a Business in in Southwark

Business advice and support

"Two heads are better than one."

Whether you have been trading for some time, are new to the market or are just thinking about starting a business of your own, it has been proven that your chances of success are considerably improved if you seek support from an experienced business advisor or mentor. You can find out more about both options at Business Advice in Southwark and Business Mentors in Southwark.

Funding and grants

Running out of money is one the most common reasons why businesses fail. This risk of this happening to can be avoided (or minimised) by careful planning and cashflow forecasting. If you need additional funds to start or keep your business going, you can learn more about your options and download our free funding factsheet at: Southwark Business Grants and Business Funding

Business networking

Does the idea of business networking fill you with delight or dread? Either way, it can be beneficial for both your business and you as an entrepreneur. See Business Networking in Southwark for details of local groups and our free Networking Factsheet.

Business premises

Working from home is appealing to many new business owners but not practical for many others. Even if you are running a business by yourself, you might like to consider the option of 'hot desking' or co-working in one of the many flexi-workspaces that have emerged in recent years. Find out more at: Southwark Co-Working and Business Premises.

Finding new customers

Paying customers are the lifeblood of any business. Knowing how to find, satisfy and retain them is vitally important and best achieved with the help of experts in the field.

Accountancy, tax and law

While starting a new business is very exciting, this should not disguide the fact that there are some very important legal responsibilities that must be considered. See: Bookkeeping, Accountancy, Financial Planning and Law

FREE startup workshops

If you are thinking about starting a business, our FREE three-hour ONLINE workshop is definitely for you!

Open to everyone, our sole aim is to increase your chances of success. We do that by explaining:

The reality of running a business; the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them; which legal status is likely to be most suitable; funding, grants and managing your money; business planning and cashflow forecasting; finding and keeping customers.

Free startup guide

Start Your Own Business in Southwark

Download the 2024 edition of our Free Start Your Own Business guide

An interactive step-by-step guide which also includes all of the most important subjects covered in an easy-to-read way with links to useful online articles and relevant contacts.

The idea of starting your own business can be incredibly exciting and who can blame you for being tempted?

However, the sad truth is that far too many new enterprises fail in the early stages. Our aim is to make sure that you don’t become one of them.

This guide explains the key start-up subjects in simple English.

There is also plenty of help available in the area and much of it is free - please do make the most of it.

Read more about what our Free guide contains and how you can download it.
Starting a business in Southwark

Key Contacts in Southwark

'You don't know what you don't know' is a phrase that is so applicable to starting a new business.

Southwark is a great place for start-ups but your chances of success are dramatically improved if you make the most of the support that is available locally. Click on logos to visit their websites.

Directory

Redscan
Redscan offers a full range of specialist cybersecurity services for businesses across the UK and beyond. Based in London, the company has years of experience in everything from penetration testing, managed detection and response, through to SIEM. Visit the Redscan website today for more details.
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Directory

Pfeiffer Design
Pfeiffer Design offer a friendly, professional approach to their interior design work across London and Brighton. Visit their website to see the full range of services they have to offer.
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Advice

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
Hi, I'm your local membership advisor for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Most businesses do not grasp the depth of offering from the FSB, however it is indeed a very powerful ally for your business. As a member you get the following services and there are no additional charges. Some of these offering are immensely powerful during this difficult period especially the HR Protection, Legal documentation and Tax & VAT Helpline. FSB Member Services: Employment Protection and documentation, Legal Protection, guidance, advice and tribunal cover The Legal Hub with approx. 1200 documents to download: Tax Investigation, Protection, Insurance Services, where you should save on your outlays, Debt Recovery, and Business Banking. There are many additional services to support and save your business money and membership is 100% tax deductible, as its a business expense.
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Office Services

YES Virtual Assistance
YES is here to help SMEs, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and overwhelmed employees who might need support organising their business or personal life. YES is a small, carefully selected network of expert Personal, Executive and administrative Assistants with different specialisms; bookkeepers and graphic designers. They work virtually with small to medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals who need help with personal, professional and office administrative and organisational tasks. A YES Assistant will work with different systems in order to provide the best possible service, including task management and communication tools, such as Slack, Asana, Trello and Todoist. When there aren't enough hours in the day for you to carry out essential tasks, turn to YES for support staff who are ready to work a few hours a day, week, month... whenever! Our head office is in London, but our team is international and virtual - so this freelance service can be accessed from anywhere in the world. You only pay YES for the hours that you need and so it is a more flexible and affordable option than employing an in-house EA or PA.
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Mentoring

Business Propeller
We provide entrepreneurs a full turn key business growth solution - A GROWTH ECO SYSTEM. From one to one advisory and mentoring sessions with our Business Strategy Experts, through to participating on Business Propellers unique and part funded Entrepreneurs Enterprise Programme. Business Propeller offers the ambitious business owner the opportunity to gain knowledge, share experiences and grow influential networks from seasoned professionals, who have all owned, started and led their own multi-million pound businesses. Our services are tailored to the entrepreneurs immediate needs and challenges, focusing on short and medium term goals, utilising business tools to get their business on a Fast Track growth strategy. Working with early stage start-ups through to SMEs with a turnover of up to £5 million, we create long term value and sustainable growth.
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Property

Hudsons Property
Hudsons are a specialist sales and lettings agency in Central London and the West End for residential property and office premises. Whether you are looking for your next home in one of the capitals most desirable neighbourhoods, considering taking office space in London or have a property to rent, we have 20 years experience to put at your disposal. Take a look at our website and get in touch.
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Coaching

Klearminds
It can be hard to open up about your relationship difficulties. Thats why the team at KlearMinds make it their aim to handle all concerns sensitively, providing you with a safe space to speak honestly and openly. Based in London, the expert team of counsellors have already helped several clients, so why not visit the website to see what they could do for you?
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Networking

The Lonely Middle Club - From Startup Hive
Starting a business is exciting, and succeeding is rewarding, but what about the bit between? You know, that bit that’s full of self-doubt, endless repetition and feelings of being out of your comfort zone? We call it ‘The Lonely Middle’ and it’s one of the hardest parts of creating a successful business. We know, we’ve been there. So, we created The Lonely Middle Club to help you through it. Each month you get exclusive content to help give you the knowledge and inspiration to succeed. Plus, you get access to a private members-only Facebook group where you can get advice and network with small business owners who are going through similar challenges to you. If you want even more, you can download our 51 worksheets, guides, and journals all designed to do one thing, and one thing only… help you get through ‘The Lonely Middle’ and achieve your business goals. Visit our website today to join the club and benefit from our members price lock and full no questions asked money-back guarantee.
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Advice

Southwark Council Business Support
This part of the Southwark Councils website lists a number of local and national organisations who may be able to help if you are thinking about starting a business in the area.
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Start-up articles

100's of free startup articles

We have created a collection of 100s of startup articles to help anyone with whatever stage they are on with their business journey. Hundreds of thousands of people have gone before you and we can learn from what they got right and avoid the things that have been proved not to work so well.

You can see the full list of 'articles' at: How to start a business