When Does A Small Business Become A “Not Small Business”

I was at a business event over the weekend as part of my commitment to Register A Company, and really my interest was to meet with new business owners and ask them what additional services we could offer them. After a few glasses of wine, the conversation became more open, and a lot of the people started to say that what they really needed was simple advice – were they doing things correctly, could I spot mistakes in their strategy etc etc.

In this situation, I always make it clear that whilst I have had some success in business, I by no means have the holy grail. I still make mistakes and I only ever give advice if I have had a direct experience of whats being asked. So anyway, this isn’t actually the point I want to make – a few people after a few more wines had passed, as well as numerous business cards exchanged, said – ” Thanks for your help – it’ll be a shame when we become a big business and won’t be able to use you anymore! ”

And this got me thinking – at what point does a “Small Business” become a “Big Business” or even a “Medium Business”. In fact, while we’re on the point, what actually makes and business a “Small Business” in the 1st place?

Its all phraseology that I must admit to using all the time, as does everyone I think – but in reality, the size of your business is down to you. A team of 3, a moderate turnover – whilst not on the scale of Shell or Marks and Spencer for example – could be classed as a big business by it’s owners if it is big in proportion to what they started with.

I am probably going to lose myself in a tangent in a minute, so i’ll leave this one here for the time being, but for all business owners – your business is the size you think it is. I think.

Registering Company Information – Why?

I quite often get asked the question ” Why do I have to bother registering my company information?” due to the fact that I run this website, and actually the answer is a little more in depth than people realise.

For a second lets put all the legal reasons to one side – after all, you do have to register a company in the UK so HMRC know you exist and you can submit your accounts and pay your tax – not much of an incentive there to do so, but it is a legal condition so I would recommend you all do so!!!

But as I say, lets leave that to one side just for the moment. The consequences of not having a registered company can be far more damaging to the success of your business then you may first think. The biggest problem you may face is not being able to get any credit from suppliers or other businesses you trade with.

Your credit score and rating is in part worked out on your company address and all the details held against the company, including you as an individual unless you are limited company. So without registering your company and all these details, there will be no credit score – and a lot of businesses will view a “no credit” score as being worse than a low credit score. There is some comfort in the fact that if you are registered, you exist and can be tracked down!!!!

Also, think of the image and reputation a company who is registered and can be displayed as being so, gives off, in contrast to a company who is not? The credit score aside, if I was choosing between 2 companies for a product or service – I’m going with the registered one every day of the week!

Its also incredibly important for when your company takes off, and you may want to either sell it, float it or take on some senior directors. Mistakes made in the first few years of trading, such as not registering your company can have dire consequences in the latter years – so my advice is do it right, do it right from the start, and continue to do it right.

If you need any more information, advice or have a question as regards registering a company, then just drop me an email and i’ll be more than happy to help out!

Do I Need to Rent Office Space or Should I Work From Home?

In the early days of starting your new company, its very possible that money will be tight, and even if you have investment or capital behind you, every penny will need to be accounted for and proven to be used in making the business work.

Because of this, the one thing a lot of new business owners ask me is if they should rent office space or maybe try and work from home. Now if your new business is something like a garage, or a wood crafter, the problem is taken away, as one assumes you’ll have a workshop to operate from anyway.

My advice to those who ask though, is always, always, ALWAYS, work from an office if your budget can at all allow it. The reasons are numerous, but perhaps some of the most compelling ones are :

1. Separate Work and Home

Work is where you go to earn money, grow your business, get stressed, chase payments, drink coffee – you get the idea. Home on the other hand is where you relax, spend time with the family, sleep, eat and drink.

The two should never encroach on each other. You see, its like a maths equation – if you work from home, you start mixing the two lifestyles and that can become uncomfortable. Look at the two lists above – now mix one aspect from the 1st list with one from the 2nd list – its like chalk and cheese – it doesn’t work.

2. Renting an Office Can Be Cost Efficient

Office space is increasingly cost effective. The recent economic downturn has resulted in a lot of empty offices and the companies that own them will be prepared to do deals in order to fill them. So you may be able to get broadband thrown in, perhaps a discount on the cost per square metre – and remember a lot of offices are now fully serviced, including cleaning.

Depending on the size of your operation when you launch, you may even be able to get the even cheaper option of hiring a virtual workspace. These are based in large office centres and you basically hire a desk and internet connection by the hour, day or week.

3. Professionalism

By having an office address and by way of the fact you need to go to an office each day in order to work, you are giving your company an air of professionalism.

Even if your business is online, you would be surprised how many consumers will Google your address to see if you really exist. If they find out your address is just a domestic house address, it could give the wrong impression. If however, they realise you are based in an office location, it gives them more confidence that you are a legitimate business.

It should also make you feel more professional and focused on your work.

In my next blog post, we will start looking at different office solutions and the costs involved in more detail.

Small Business Blog

Hi, this blog will feature regular updates that may be of interest to small business owners – new and established! We will cover all sorts of aspects of running your own business, and will try and keep the information relevant and pertinent.

As a bit of background, I am a small business entrepreneur, and have had many years experience in starting up companies, running them and then ultimately selling them. Like many, I have had failures along the way, and a lot of my advice comes from these failures as much as I draw on the successes as well.

My aim is to hopefully categorise the advice and discussion points into 4 main areas :

• Setting Up A Company
• Marketing
• Online Marketing
• General

I hope to try and build a community around this blog, so please do feel free to leave comments, questions, feedback and anything else you want!

Once a week, i’ll be featuring a case study, either from my own experience, or from one submitted by one of our members. I look forward to blogging and interacting with you all on an ongoing basis!

Additionally, if there is anything newsworthy in  the press that I feel is important and / or relevant to a small business owner, I’ll include here.

The Small Business Owner