SURVIVAL TIPS FOR YOUR STARTUP

÷ BE FRUGAL “Be as frugal as you can be in the early days of the business,” said coffee entrepreneur Bobby Kerr. “Your prospects of survival are best if you keep costs down and do it cheaply.”

÷ AVOID RENTING Avoid renting a business premises if you can, as rental costs are often huge. You could easily pay €10,000 a year to rent a small office in or near Dublin city — and multiple times that for a larger office.

“If considering renting an office, ask yourself do you really need one,” said Oisín Geoghegan of Fingal’s local enterprise office. “If you can work from home, that will be an immediate saving [to your business], as you won’t have to pay rent. If you are looking to present your business professionally, there are ways to do that without paying huge rental costs.”

You can usually rent an office or hot desk in your local enterprise centre for a fraction of the cost of renting elsewhere. By doing so, you should also be able to book low-cost or free meeting rooms in the centre.

Should you wish to have a business address and post box, you may be able to arrange one through your local enterprise centre. It could cost a couple of hundred euro a year or less to get a business post box through your local centre.

Rent for a small office could cost a few hundred euro a month while a hot desk could cost €50 a week though costs will vary, depending on the enterprise centre.

In the Balbriggan Enterprise and Training Centre in north Dublin, it costs €311 a month (including Vat and rates) to rent a small office suitable for four people. In the Drinan enterprise centre in north Dublin, it costs €475 a month (including Vat and rates) to rent its smallest office.

÷ TACKLE INSURANCE Be ready to tackle insurance. “A lot of small pop-up shops and casual stalls will struggle to get a quote from an insurer,” said Neil McDonnell, CEO of Isme.

As insurance costs for small businesses could run into tens of thousands — and in some cases, hundreds of thousands — a year, many small businesses have been forced to close.

When setting up a small retail business, you may be able to get a basic insurance package (known as a small package policy) from €500 a year — plus the 5pc Government levy, according to Sven Spollen-Behrens, director of the Small Firms Association.

Such packages are often sold by brokers. A tradesman who is starting out could get basic insurance (covering employer’s and public liability insurance) for from €1,000 a year — plus the Government levy, according to SpollenBehrens.

“The challenges that small business face is where the cost of their insurance premium increases if a claim is brought against them,” said Spollen-Behrens. “Premiums normally increase as a result of a claim.” Your premium could even surge if your business has never had a claim taken against it.