Local businesses are the backbone of our towns
Take a walk down any high street and you will find the small businesses that make up the backbone of the region’s economy.
Throughout the UK small and medium-sized companies account for the vast majority of the UK’s businesses and have a combined annual turnover of more than £300billion.
They are a crucial part of the country’s economy and their success and survival depend on us all.
Local Business Week is now an annual campaign encouraging the UK to get behind our local businesses, providing advice, support and ways to grow.
And Local Business Week is a time when the dedication and hard work of these local businesses is recognised.
Have you ever thought about turning your favourite hobby or pastime into a career? Would you dare to take a chance and follow your dream?
In Perth and Kinross there is help from start-up organisations who can offer tip-top advice to help turn your dream into a reality.
Business Gateway advisers and each of the local authorities are on hand to offer you top advice on how to make that happen.
Find out what grants and loan schemes are available to you – and this is where turning to the experts is the wisest move to make as they have a wealth of knowledge that can help.
Do not invest too heavily at the outset: start selling and test the market.
Market research can help you identify new trends, opportunities, customers and competitors. The centre of Crieff
Giving focus to your thoughts and ideas by writing them down is good practice and will shape a future business plan.
Speaking to a specialist business adviser is a good plan.
They are able to play devil’s advocate as they are not invested in your business, either financially or emotionally.
Advisers at centres such as Business Gateway work with a great number of enterprises and are part of a network whose business is business so they are excellent at supporting your idea.
If you strip your idea back to basics, you should then ask yourself what motivates you.
And if you plan on becoming an employer remember you will have more responsibilities if you take on employees, including running payroll, paying for their national insurance and providing workplace pensions to eligible staff.
So if you are thinking of taking the plunge – perhaps you have taken redundancy or retirement or are just starting out – setting up your own business venture is something that you can do at any age and in any field you want to pursue. The centre of Blairgowrie. Pic: Gosia Bielec