Last week the Tories pledged to make “make business easier”, as a new business owner I am intrigued if they are successful at the next election what plans David Cameron and his cabinet have to make the UK the easiest place in the world to start and grow a business. The manifesto laid out that they would challenge Gordon Brown’s proposed increase on National Insurance, propose a cut in both the main rate and small companies’ rate of Corporation Tax. Under a Conservative government, the small companies’ rate would be cut from 22p to 20p. Furthermore, they would lessen the amount of small business “red tape” by reducing the amount of paperwork required to set up a new business.
These all sound like positive steps that should help thousands of business owners put financially sound plans for developing and growing their business in place as previous financial or administrative burdens have been reduced. In my time as a business owner the biggest headache has always been the red tape involved and the fact that there are very little financial breaks available openly if you live outside of a large city. It would be good to see more funding available to rural and small businesses to act as a catalyst to bring to market ideas that many have but are concerned about the capital or financial burdens they may have to take on to make it happen.
In 12 months of trading I have received no information from my bank about available business loans, grants or regional funding – despite calls to local business mentoring organisations have received no guidance or follow up contact on how to nurture my ideas in the best way. This has been frustrating. Whilst there are hundreds of forums and online networking groups – some of which such as 4Networking, Growing Business and Startups I am a member of, however none of these are a substitute for the one to one nurturing that could be achieved through a dedicated business mentor that is introduced to you via your bank at a reduced cost for say 6 months to put you down the right road for your business.
It is easy to be overwhelmed in the early days of starting a business with all the things you don’t actually need but think you do that often many small business owners forget the fundamentals such as creating a brand, their image, how best to take their product to market and even necessities like insurance.
I am lucky in that working as a virtual assistant I get to support a hugely diverse range of businesses; some of which are entrepreneur and business mentors. This has allowed me to tap into their resources and to develop a long term business strategy for my company that has yielded positive rewards in its first trading year and has cemented plans for the future. Their advice has also helped me identify weak spots in my business and develop them to be a strength.
If you are a small business owner who is looking for mentoring of business support for your company then I would advise you to contact your local Business Link or consider employing the services of a specific coach who is well known in your area of specialism. You will find their advice to be invaluable in both the short and long term and whilst you may see it as just another business overhead the advice they give you could save your business a costly mistake later on.
