Financial Times Guide to Business Start Up 2009, 22th Edition

452 Pages·2008·9 MB·English

by  Sara Williams

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investment manager and adviser. The Daily Telegraph Aid gguuiiddee ffoorr eennttrreepprreenneeuurrss people management and everything else an
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‘The Wisden of the small business world, threaded through with common to You can rely on it to be bang up-to-date, taking
sense practical advice.’ T into account all the 2008 Budget changes
The Daily Mail and including a free update for any additional
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‘A must for any small business owner.’ provides you with the ideas, solutions and key
Federation of Small Businesses P references on a wide spectrum of essential topics,
showing you how to:

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Starting your own business can be a daunting task. If you’re ready to start your • Develop your business idea
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own business or have already taken the plunge and want to keep everything • Write a winning business plan
on track, then make sure you have a copy of The Financial Times Guide to Business 0
• Raise the fi nances for start up and growth
Start Up on your shelf.
9
• Find the right premises for your business
Annually updated, this edition covers the latest legal and fi nancial changes you
need to be aware of following the 2008 Budget, including the effects of the May • Sell and market your business successfully
2008 ‘mini-Budget’.
SS • Increase profi tability and achieve growth
This invaluable book covers every important aspect of your business start up, aa
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with essential guidance on everything from developing your business idea to winning aa
and other changes
new customers. WW
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need to keep this book within easy reach.
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Visit our website at
www.pearson-books.com Visit our website at
www.pearson-books.com
Front cover image
An imprint of Pearson Education © Getty Images Sara Williams
CVR_WILL1550_04_SE_CVR.indd 1 21/8/08 14:23:34
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The Financial Times Guide
to Business Start Up 2009
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In an increasingly competitive world, we believe it’s quality of
thinking that will give you the edge – an idea that opens new
doors, a technique that solves a problem, or an insight that
simply makes sense of it all.The more you know, the smarter
and faster you can go.
That’s why we work with the best minds in business and finance
to bring cutting-edge thinking and best learning practice to a
global market.
Underarangeofleadingimprints, including Financial Times
PrenticeHall,wecreateworld-class printpublications and
electronic productsbringing ourreadersknowledge, skillsand
understanding, whichcanbeapplied whether studying oratwork.
To find out more about Pearson Education publications, or tell us
about the books you’d like to find, you can visit us at
www.pearsoned.co.uk
A01_WILL1550_04_SE_PREL.QXP:A01_WILL1550_04_SE_PR 27/8/08 10:22 Page iii
The Financial
Times Guide
to Business
Start Up 2009
Sara Williams
22nd editio n
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PEARSONEDUCATIONLIMITED
EdinburghGate
HarlowCM202JE
Tel:(cid:1)44(0)1279623623
Fax:(cid:1)44(0)1279431059
Website:www.pearsoned.co.uk
TheFinancialTimesGuidetoBusinessStartUpwaspreviouslypublishedastheLloydsTSBSmall
BusinessGuide
FirstpublishedbyPenguinBooks1987
Secondedition1988
Thirdedition1989
Fourthedition1990
Fifthedition1991
Sixthedition1992
Seventhedition1993
Eighthedition1994
Ninthedition1995
Tenthedition1996
Eleventhedition1997
Twelfthedition1998
Thirteenthedition1999
Fourteenthedition2000
FifteentheditionpublishedbyVitesseMediaplc2001
Sixteenthedition2002
Seventeenthedition2003
Eighteenthedition2004
NineteentheditionpublishedbyPearsonEducationinGreatBritain2006
Twentiethedition2007
Twenty-firstedition2008
Twenty-secondedition2009
©SaraWilliams1987–2002
©VitesseMediaplc2003–2009
ISBN:978-0-273-72155-0
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
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Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval
system,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,
recording,orotherwisewithouteitherthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisherora

licencepermittingrestrictedcopyingintheUnitedKingdomissuedbytheCopyright
LicensingAgencyLtd,SaffronHouse,6–10KirbyStreet,LondonEC1N8TS.Thisbookmay
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orcoverotherthanthatinwhichitispublished,withoutthepriorconsentofthePublishers.
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Contents
Acknowledgements/vii
UpdatefortheFinancialTimesGuidetoBusinessStartUp/ix
1 You and your ideas / 1
2 Who will buy? / 13
3 A spot of coaching / 27
4 Your business identity / 37
5 Are you sure? / 54
6 The business plan / 64
7 Timing the jump / 70
8 Less than 100 per cent / 75

9 Off the peg / 81
10 Franchises / 103
11 Beating the pirates / 121
12 The right name / 130
13 Getting the message across / 139
14 Getting new customers / 152
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vi FT Guide to Business Start Up
15 Building customer relationships / 166
16 How to set a price / 174
17 Choosing your workplace / 186
18 Information technology – and other equipment / 197
19 Professional back-up / 205
20 Getting the right staff / 214
21 Your rights and duties as an employer / 234
22 Insurance / 268
23 Forecasting / 275
24 Raising the money / 296
25 Staying afloat / 311
26 Moving ahead / 328
27 Not waving but drowning / 341
28 Keeping the recor d straight / 347
29 Tax / 357
30 VAT / 392
31 Pensions and retirement / 405
*References/415
Index/427
*Anasteriskafterthenameofanorganizationorsourceinthetextindicatesthatcontactdetailsare
givenintheReferencesection.
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Acknowledgements
The number of people who have helped me produce this comprehensive
guide continues to grow. My debt to those who commented and supplied
informationfortheoriginaleditionremainsenormous;theyhelpedmeto
improvethequalityandcontentoftheadviceitcontainstohelpyoutoget
new enterprises up and running, and keep them that way. For the current
edition, the fourth published by Pearson as the Financial Times Guide to
Business Start Up but the twenty-second since it was first published as the
LloydsTSBSmallBusinessGuide,thecheckingandupdatingwascarriedout
with remarkable efficiency by Jonquil Lowe. I’d also like to thank all the
team at Pearson Education for the work they have done in publishing the
guidesosuccessfullyunderitsnewtitle.
If you have any comments on the guide, please e-mail smallbusiness
@vitessemedia.co.uk
Note
I have taken every care and effort to check the information and advice in
thisguide.Nevertheless,withabookascomprehensiveasthisonetheodd
slipmayoccur.Unfortunately,IregretthatIcannotberesponsibleforany

lossthatyoumaysufferasaresultofanyomissionorinaccuracy.
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Free update for every reader!
TheFinancialTimesGuidetoBusinessStartUpwenttopressinOctoberand
tokeepyouuptodatewithwhat’shappeninginthesmallbusinessworld
we are producing a free update. It will be available after the Budget next
spring and will cover all the main changes in tax, law and the business
environment.
Ifyouwouldliketoreceiveacopyofthefreeupdate:
8
e-mail us at [email protected] with your name and
fullpostaladdress;
2
faxusyournameandfullpostaladdress,withanoteaskingforthe
FreeSmallBusinessUpdate,to02072507011;
*
writetousatBusinessStartUp,VitesseMediaplc,OctaviaHouse,50
BannerStreet,LondonEC1Y8ST,enclosingastampedA4envelope.
Don’t forget, you can also pick up a huge range of tips, ideas and links to
usefulservicesonourwebsitewww.smallbusiness.co.uk.