England

Self-employment in England

Starting your own business can be challenging and daunting. It can also of course be fun and rewarding to be your own boss. All businesses, whether new or established, should have constantly evolving plans in order to help them define their objectives and their strategies for achieving them. You should have a clear vision for your business and be able to describe your hopes and aims for where you want your business to be in the future.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking that business planning is solely for obtaining finance. Preparation - in the form of careful and considered planning - is the most important thing that you can do to ensure that your business proposal gets off the ground and continues flying. You can never eliminate all risk but you can reduce it significantly - to ensure that the odds are more weighted in your favour. Good planning can help you to:

• Clearly identify and communicate your business purpose
• Bring together your ideas and research into a structured format
• Identify any further research that is required
• Outline the strengths of the management team
• Set targets and objectives
• Monitor your business’s performance

Business Link can help you improve your chances of success by helping you to access independent advice and information from a wide network of business support organisations, as well as information from the public, private and voluntary sectors. And it’s easy to access. Call the helpline on 0845 600 9006 (calls are charged at local rates) or visit the website.

Many Business Link advisers have run their own business, so they’re ideally placed to identify your business needs and to find the services that will best suit you. Advisers can help you define your long-term business goals as well as offering practical advice on:

• Assessing your current skills
• Choosing your business type
• Planning and researching your business idea
• Financing your business
• Finding premises
• Marketing and training