Self-employment : Help near you

• Help in England
• Help in Scotland
• Help in Northern Ireland
• Help in Wales
• Help in Ireland

Starting your own business is challenging and daunting, but the rewards can be huge and being your own boss can be liberating. In order to succeed, it is important that you carefully plan your business strategy and make use of any helpful resources.

Planning isn’t about simply looking for finance to help build your business. It is also about ensuring that your business has the best chance it can to succeed. Planning can be anything from outlining business procedures to setting targets and objectives to identifying areas of weakness.

As such, a budding entrepreneur should be aware of the help already available to them. Below are a few links to get you on your way.

Help in England

Business Link  can help you to get your idea off the ground by providing access to a network of independent advice from business support organisations and information from the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Many Business Link advisers are entrepreneurs themselves, so they are ideally placed to offer practical advice such as finding business premises, financing your idea and planning and research.

The Prince's Trust  provides funding and advice to young people aged 18-30 who are interested in starting their own businesses. The Trust runs an Enterprise Programme which can provide information on skills training, planning support and potentially start-up funding.

Availability of the Enterprise Programme is subject to local funding restrictions, but successful applicants can also expect ongoing support from a business mentor.

Shell LiveWire  is an entrepreneurial scheme run by Shell which aims to help young businesspeople between the ages of 18-30. Although there is free advice on offer, participants can sign up to a scheme to compete for funding or mentorship.

Finally, if you do decide to go self-employed, you will need help sorting your finances and tax out. Revenue and Customs provide an informative page on staying on the right side of the tax man.

Help in Scotland

The Business Gateway  gives support to the self-employed in Scotland by providing comprehensive information on all aspects of starting a business.

The Gateway’s business information service provides advice on starting-up, managing contacts and suppliers, market research and access to company reports. It acts in a similar way to Business Link in England.

Firstport  is a great resource for entrepreneurs looking to set up a business which has direct social or environmental benefits. The organisation aims to help social entrepreneurs, and can provide grants of up to £20,000 for successful applicants.

It also provides business support to get you going, with one-to-one support meetings, business development workshops and dedicated telephone and email contact.

The Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust  operates in a similar manner to the Trust in England, but applicants need to be aware that the age limit for help in Scotland is 18-25 only.

Help in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Business and Innovation Centre (NORIBIC)  helps start-ups throughout Northern Ireland by evaluating their business plans and projects, arranging finance and providing grants among other things.

The Centre aims to promote innovation and is particularly active in helping entrepreneurs in the creative industries, which is traditionally one of the hardest sectors to break into.

NORIBIC also houses a dedicated incubation centre for the computer games industry which provides technical and business support, desk space and a Business Development Officer.

Invest Northern Ireland  gives general advice, counselling and support to small businesses and start-ups. The website has a specific section dedicated to helping young entrepreneurs for those aged 18-30 and runs a boot camp programme to aid development.

The organisation also provides assistance to rural innovators from outside the country’s economic hubs.

Help in Wales

The Welsh Assembly actively supports entrepreneurs through its business.wales.gov.uk  initiative. The idea is to create a one-stop shop for small businesses, with information on starting out through to maintaining a healthy enterprise.

Entrepreneurs in Wales looking for more face-to-face help should consider contacting their local enterprise agency for more advice. National Federation of Enterprise Agencies  has a list of local enterprise agencies in Wales and England, and also provides some resources for start-ups.

Help in Ireland

The first port of call if you are considering starting a business in Ireland should be Enterprise Ireland . There are 36 enterprise boards throughout the country and they provide support and help to start-ups, including training, mentoring, financial assistance and networking.

The site also has a handy link to a number of incubation centres around the country, where budding businesses can work alongside like-minded individuals with dedicated support.

Shell LiveWire  also runs a scheme in Ireland in a similar manner to the programme in England. LiveWIRE aims to help budding entrepreneurs between the ages of 18-30 by providing mentoring, funding and opportunities.