Guiding the way through first steps to market

Endsleigh Insurance – sponsors of the new business category at the Gloucestershire Business Awards – looks at five steps for setting up your fledgling enterprise

ONE good idea is all it takes to create a thriving business – look at Facebook, for example. Mark Zuckerberg took a very basic concept – a platform that would enable people to connect with friends – and evolved it into a global enterprise with more than 2.23 billion monthly active users.

Not bad for a business started out of his college bedroom.

Even if you’ve settled on an idea, it can be difficult to know where to start in setting up your business.

While the rise of the digital landscape has created ample opportunities for budding entrepreneurs, it means the market has become increasingly saturated with tech start-ups and phone apps, making it even more important to start your business off on the right foot.

Develop a business plan

Now you’ve got your money-making idea, the first thing you need to do is create a viable business plan.

When setting up a new business, it can be easy to get a little over-enthusiastic and start throwing money at it straight off the bat.

It’s important not to rush into anything – create a solid business plan that explores every avenue and outcome, as well as outlining any potential risks that could leave you exposed.

Understanding the risks will help you to mitigate them, so try to test your idea out on a smaller scale as this will help iron out any kinks and give you more confidence in your approach.

Set yourself goals

Even if you’ve invented the next iphone, it is a good idea to get your business off the ground before quitting your day job.

Setting goals and benchmarks for your business will give you more confidence and stability when you do decide to go all in.

Your organisation and planning will also make you a much safer bet for potential investors.

Know your legislation

As with anything in life, when it comes to setting up your new business you’ve got to follow the rules.

Dependent on your industry, there could be stringent regulations to protect ou and your customers so it is important to understand what is legally required of you right from the outset.

Not only could a breach of legislation cause irreparable reputational damage to your business, but you could be slammed with a rather hefty fine.

Mitigate this risk altogether by having stringent internal processes in place to make sure both you and your employees can easily adhere to any applicable legislation.

Understand your target market

It is all well and good having a great idea, but you need to be able to sell it to everyone else.

Not only do you need a quality product, you need a recognisable logo, a catchy name and a brand customers will want to engage with.

Before you do that, you need to understand your customers.

Everything about your business should be developed with your target audience in mind – from the name of your company, to the colours used on the logo, to the look and feel of the website.

Do your market research, and use it to inform everything about your proposition.

Now you know who you’re speaking to, how will you tell them about your business?

Will you go door to door or build useful contacts with other local businesses? Which social media platforms does your target market tend to use?

Use every available avenue to sell yourself and your business – and make sure you’ve always got a business card to hand, just in case.

Even if you’ve settled on an idea, it can be difficult to know where to start in setting up your business

Make sure you’re protected

Whether it’s a customer tripping over a wire or a burst pipe preventing you from continuing normal business operations, there are lots of potential risks involved with setting up a new business – risks you might not be in the financial position to afford when you are just starting out.

That’s why it’s a good idea to have robust commercial insurance in place to protect your investment.

Insurance needs vary from business to business, so it’s important to get expert advice to make sure it is fully protected against the potential risks and demands it could face on a day-today basis.

Based on the outskirts of Cheltenham, Endsleigh Insurance is a leading insurance broker for the education and commercial sectors, providing expert insurance and affordable cover to small and large businesses and not-for-profit organisations across the UK.