Business ideas are like freshly buttered warm toast, they look wonderful. But if put to one side for long enough they get cold, stale and uninviting. The first surge of excitement at discovering an opportunity needs to then have action to build a momentum, which in turn drives further action. If the initial process of [...]

Working for a company can bring security (less now than in the past) and for those that are fortunate, job satisfaction. However it also can bring the stress of not being in control of your own destiny and there is nothing like creating your own business, perhaps following a passion and using fully your skills. [...]

Running a business is a lot easier when you have a business partner to share the highs and lows, as well as all the work. You may of course have all the skills needed for your business, but have you the time? Or are there some areas that you love doing and excel at, but [...]

Do you need funding? Start-up businesses often think that they need to find an investor. We only have to read in the papers about the latest internet billionaire to know that big funding means big success. Yet most businesses can get going, or even grow without external investment. It depends on the amount required to [...]

Small businesses can have great products and services but struggle to get sufficient customers to allow them to expand. Often this is because the owners of the business are too busy dealing with day to day activities to have time to plan or initiate the marketing activity. Yet it need not be an overly arduous [...]

One of the key bits of information that Business Angels or Investors into a venture will want to see is how the funds are going to be used. I’ve seen every possible use given, from the perfectly sensible – “product development”, to the unlikely to succeed – “no one will lend to me any more [...]

Having a Business Partner can be a great benefit. They bring additional skills and resources, you also have someone to bounce ideas off and to share the stress & risk. But in some cases the partnership can go wrong. Occasionally it is because there was not enough due-diligence in checking the background of the potential [...]

Every enterprise that isn’t a sole trader will have people who are working together as partners to drive that business towards its goals. This can be in a business that is registered as a legal partnership (see below), fellow directors of a company, or at its most simple just 2 people working together with no [...]

Firstly let me say what I mean by scalable. That each new customer produces additional revenue for very little addition cost. Think of software for example, once the costs of developing and producing the first copy are met, each additional sale of the software has minimal costs.  Whereas a service orientated business such as consulting [...]

Due-diligence needs thinking about for Investors when they are about to embark on an investment. However it’s just as applicable for those who are seeking investment to check out a potential Investor. In both cases you should verify that the person, business and facts as stated are correct. That’s not being mistrustful it’s just being [...]