Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have taken the time to sit back and reflect on where they are in life. This led to many people taking the opportunity to follow the career path that they have always dreamt of. Many people also found themselves redundant, forcing them to be brave and perhaps start their own business.
There’s so much to think about and consider when launching your own business. Whilst every element is important, it can be easy to get caught up in designing your logo, nailing your branding and only focusing on the fun stuff.
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It’s important, however, not to ignore the nitty-gritty. Here’s a little checklist of basics that should be at the top of your to-do list…
Create a business plan
Launching a business comes with a whole load of planning. Preparation is key! Therefore, a business plan is vital to the success of launching any business. It helps you to outline the steps you need to take to make your launch a success and ensures continued success in the future.
So, what does a business plan consist of? It should include your mission statement, a description of your business and a detailed idea of your key target audience. It should list out your products or services, an analysis of the current market and opportunity, alongside a financial plan. All of these things will help develop your business idea and brand into something solid.
Find a business mentor
This might not be something that you have considered, but it’s something that most successful business owners will tell you is invaluable. Finding a business mentor and coach to help you through the fog and confusion of starting up is a really wise idea.
A lot of running a business is practice and learnings. Sometimes you just need someone to sit you down and offer ways to minimise the mistakes and pass on some wisdom. Your business mentor could be anyone from your parent, a friend, an old employer, or perhaps just someone you have come across online and that you admire. You might be surprised at just how much useful advice they can offer you to make these early stages much less daunting.
Register your business
Not a step to be skipped – you must register your business when you are all set up. This means that your company will be legally recognised as a business in the UK. What you need to do to register your business will depend on the type of business that you are launching. It will depend on where you work and whether you take on people to help you.
If you are unsure, the Gov.UK website should tell you all you need to know. At the very least, you will need to register with HMRC to make sure that you are paying your taxes to the correct amount and deadline.
Take out income protection
Being self-employed and running your own business comes with so many perks, but it does mean that you are flying solo and can only rely on yourself to bring in the monthly paycheque. You also won’t get holiday pay or sick pay. There may come a time when you become seriously ill or injured and cannot work for a temporary time period. For this reason, you should seriously consider taking out income protection insurance.
Income protection insurance protects your income if you become seriously ill or injured and cannot go to work. Upon a successful claim, your policy will pay out a regular proportion of your salary (up to 50-70%). This insurance is important for any working person, but arguably even more so for anyone self-employed. It’s the safety net you need to keep on top of your day-to-day financial responsibilities, even if your world gets turned upside down.
Stay passionate
Last but certainly not least, do whatever you can to keep the passion for your business. Passion is what gets you through the hurdles and hiccups, the long hours and the doubts. It’s what gets you to those first sales and milestones. If you lose your passion, businesses and business ideas can fizzle out pretty quickly.
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Whatever your business is, make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons and that it is something you truly believe in. Passion is the key to being continuously driven and challenged in whatever it is that you decide to do.
