Looking to get that business idea off the ground? Get your FREE startup business plan download and take your idea to the next level.

Are you really ready to start a business? Do you think you have what it takes and know enough about your idea to start something worthwhile?

You’ll find advice everywhere and people may suggest you;

• write your own business plan
• get a start up business plan template
• use an existing business plan template
• start mapping our business plan ideas.

Free Ultimate Startup Business Plan

So how can you do this? Getting that first ‘something’ down on paper when you are thinking of starting a business is a really daunting task. I have seen so many people with amazing ideas stop before they’ve even begun, becuase they’re not sure how to manage their plan!

Some people will never get their business ideas off the ground, often because they don’t know where to start.

I’ve decided to create this worksheet to help everyone who has a business idea carry out initial research and formulate something from which to test an idea or create a solid business plan from.

The startup business plan worksheet covers questions about;

• Your business budget
• Marketing and advertising
• Your competitors
• Finding your customers
• Hiring Staff
• Defining your skills
• Finding out whether you are really ready to start a business

Creating Your Startup Business Plan

This is not a definitive start up business plan, more a business idea brainstorming worksheet. It is designed to help identify pitfalls and potential issues when you are considering starting up a business for the very first time.

The business plan worksheet will also help you research your idea more thoroughly and will help model your final choices when starting up. The answers you provide will help formulate a solid business plan should you wish to write one in the future.

Download the free startup business plan here

Please like, share and spread the word about the free startup business plan download, so everyone can benefit!

Event management is both a tough and interesting thing to do – whether it is a training day, a corporate meeting or any other occasion. To keep everything running smoothly can be particularly difficult because not only do you have to keep everything for the event contents and agenda organized, but you need to manage the attendees and ensure their experience is both valuable and worthwhile.

I have compiled a list.

Image Courtesy of franky242/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Key things to remember;
1. Define the Outcome
The very first objective when you are going to plan an event is to define a solid goal for your event. What do you want to get from the event? Do you want to earn some money? What do you want the outcome to be for attendees?
Almost the entire plan of your event hinges upon the goal(s) of your event. Also you need to define the structure of the event you want to organize.
2.  Define Your Target Market
Next, you need to define the target market for the event. What kind of people are you targeting? Who will attend the event? Where can you reach potential attendees?
3. Consider Timing
Decide on a time and date for the event. Consider public holidays. Your event timing should not conflict with similar events or popular holiday times. Timing should be set to allow for travel – people need to be able to reach the event in good time and also remember to set a maximum number of people that can participate in the event.
A great resource for checking public holiday dates can be found here.
4. Location, Location, Location
The location of your event is also very important. A great event could be spoiled by the choice of a bad location. A location may not be ideal for a number of reasons: difficult for parking, travel, transport links etc. It could be crowded or noisy at times.
Be sure to visit your chosen location and cover issues that may affect your attendee experience.

5.  Facilities
Work out what facilities are needed to host your event. You will also need to consider the seating capacity and ticket arrangements for the event. If you are creating a ticketed event, be sure to explore how you will manage the tickets, and consider using an event system to manage sales.
6. Get Event Sponsorship
Consider approaching people for sponsorship and partnerships. There are usually companies with a shared interest in your attendees who may help you in the execution of the event and possibly assist with advertising and promotion. Find people in your industry or niche and try to gain support.
7. Set a Budget
Create a budget for your event. Work out how much you have to spend, list all the requirements and then decide how you will allocate your resources to different expenses.
8. Create a Marketing Plan
Develop a marketing plan. Decide how you will promote your event both offline and online. You can build a web page for your event. Promote on social media. Devise different strategies for different social media platforms.
Decide how best to promote your event offline. Print brochures and leaflets. You can advertise in local newspapers if you can afford.

9. Choose Ticketing Methods
Decide how you will sell the tickets. Do you want to sell tickets online or offline or both? You will need to manage the printing and delivery of the tickets, whether you choose online delivery or offline. You will also need to generate a system for managing the tickets and attendees.
You could consider hiring a professional printing service for printing tickets, to keep a professional image. There are many printing services you can choose. Choose a service provider that is fast and cost effective. Kalamazoo’s small event ticket printing service is an excellent service to consider.

By carefully planning and researching before you launch, you will save yourself time, money and really make sure your first business event is a success!

Want to read more related to this? Here is my other article on the same topic:  Events That Could Help Your Business .

If you are about to order your new business card WAIT!  Your business card could potentially be the messenger for your brand and a useful lead generation tool!

Image Courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Your business card is a very important part of your business branding process and it is much better to have no business card at all than to have a sub-standard, generic ‘contact details card’.
Think about how you can incorporate your company mission and make your business card stand out from the crowd to increase lead response.
To leave a lasting impression on your customers, you need to make your business card an essential part of your brand awareness campaign.
Here are six ways you can use to advertise your business with your business card.
1. Add a Call to Action on the Back:
The majority of people use their business cards as a means through which people can contact them. However, you can take your card one step further. Don’t just provide your contact details, give the receiver a great reason to get in touch!
“Log onto www.YourCompany.com for our latest discount codes and offers”
“Check out www.YourCompany.com for free coupons “

2. Make it Memorable:
Whenever you are handing over your card to a prospective customer, think about this: how many business cards does he have in his pocket (or on his desk) already? Why would he bother to remember yours in case he needs a service?
The answer: Make It Different! Make It Memorable!
Making your business card memorable is a great way of making a lasting introduction.
This quirky business card ticks all the boxes for trendy design and not making it just another business card in your wallet.

Image Credit: YourReactor.com

3. Advertise your Website and an Offer:
Use your card to advertise your website. Provide your site’s link on the card.
Also provide your email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn vanity URLs.
For example, you can advertise your website through a free offer.
“Visit www.YourCompany.com/Youroffer”   to claim your free trial/gift of X”
While it isn’t a good idea to put too much information on your card, using the space on the back or a blank area somewhere and promoting a lead generating response is a useful way of promoting your products or services.

4. Tell People What You Do:
Don’t just include a logo and contact details!
Every business card you see will have someone’s name and contact details on it. A month later when they retrieve it from their pocket or wallet, remind them why they need to contact you and provide details of exactly what you do! Here is a great example from a radio presenter.

Image Source:www.adsoftheworld.com

5. Make Sure they are Standard Size:
Many people keep business cards in a set sized business card binder or holder. When branding your business and creating your awesome business card design, remember to keep it standard size so it is easy for them to store for the future. If not, people are most likely to leave it somewhere and forget about it or worse still, throw it away. Ask your printer for options.

6. Make Your Business Card a Tool!
You can even turn your business card into your brand as this awesome example from a personal trainer has done!

Image Source:www.quicksprout.com

#SUMMARY
Don’t forget, business cards are a very important part of your company image and branding. They needn’t be a huge cost and many printers offer pre-designed templates that you can use online.
If time is an issue and you realise you are low on stock of business cards or if you don’t yet have a business card and need one for that all important meeting in a few days, many business card printing companies offer Next Day Business Cards and some offer free business card templates and designs.

With so many creative options for your business card design, there is really no excuse for the generic piece of card of the past 50 years.Have you got a memorable design to share? Post a link and comment below.

Stuck on what to blog about? Give your business blog a content  makeover with these 10 simple business blog post ideas.

We are all aware that content marketing is working for businesses now, and has become a really important part of your business website. But how can you keep creating content and thinking of new things to write about?

Here are 10 business blog post ideas to help you generate some new content.

#1 Ask A question

Ask questions about your audience. Encourage interaction and let your customers help define your future business blog posts!

#2 Review a book

Find an industry or topic related book and write a review for everyone to discuss.

#3 Discuss current trends

Talk about how things are evolving in your industry and how your company is tackling this.

#4 Discuss Future plans

Let your audience in on future plans for your business and ask for their opinions and ideas.

#5 Write a Link Digest

Post links to your most helpful blog posts and write a short description of how each post will benefit your audience

#6 Relate your post topic to celebrity news

Create familiarity and encourage your customers to identify by mentioning or relating to a celebrity – how they do something, something they have (or haven’t done) or how they can teach something about your industry or topic.

#7 Discuss fun ways to use your product or service

Mix up the posts and Use fun images together with some great new angles for it’s use.

#8 Discuss current affairs or news

Relate your business blog post to current trending topics on the news and display your own angle.

#9 Create an FAQ List

write an FAQ about your industry and share the knowledge!!

#10 Highlight your employees

Talk about your staff and their position in the company. Tell your audience what they do and how they work hard to improve the business.

Any more business blog post ideas? Please share

Are you struggling to choose your business name? Here is my collection of the top 7 free business name generators to help you create a brand name to be proud of.

#1 Panabee

Using Panabee couldn’t be any simpler! Type in a search string and you get;

• Domain Name Suggestions – This section highlights several variations on your core idea.
• International Domains – Sometimes a different top-level domain like .us or .co makes it easier to secure a desired name since .com is so competitive.
• Related Terms – In case you’re struggling to brainstorm, playing around with related words and phrases may generate fresh thoughts.
• Facebook & Twitter – See posts and comments related to your idea. Hopefully seeing word association from different people sparks a new idea.
• iTunes & Google Play – Check if your app name is already taken on the App Store or on Google Play.

All in all it’s a great tool for brainstorming and generating your business name and will also help with checking for domain name availability too.

#2 Namefind

Namefind is not only a cool free business name generator but it also helps you investigate and research your chosen name further for your shortlisted name ideas. In addition to name ideas, you also get

• Domain name availability
• Social media availability
• Trademark availability
• User feedback (when you register)

All essential research for your new venture!

#3 Dotomator

Essentially a domain name generator, Dotomator also gives some valuable domain name tips and ideas for brainstorming and creating company names. Its cleverly programmed application also offers

• Web 2.0 name generator
• Iphone application to download
• Ability to add beginnings and endings to your name
• Custom lists of commonly used words

Overall Dotomator is a great resource, and is a really great way of brainstorming new word ideas and custom word groups.

#4 Namestation

Namestation is possibly one of my favourite free business name generators and it comes with some additional resources and features to help you create a highly desirable business name.

• 18 different domain name generators
• Short Web 2.0 domains
• Keyword domains, popular affixes, compounds
• Creativity tools, keyword suggestions
• Domain name check
• Business name contests

Another awesome feature is the naming contests you can hold when you register for the site. Namestation has a large community of users, and you can hold your own business name contest, and get valuable feedback alongside new ideas for your company name.

#5 Naming

Naming  is a wonderful resource which allows you to define the look, the feel and the sound of your business name. By combinging your seed word with different word lists, you can create some spectacular brand name ideas. Pre-defined  word lists include;

• Common Words (net, mart, school)
• Greek and Latin Prefixes (ante, contra, intra)
• Greek and Latin Suffixes (able, icle, tion)
• Greek and Latin Roots (chrono, hydro, lum)
• Beginning Word Parts (other than Greek and Latin Prefixes)
• Ending Word Parts (other than Greek and Latin Suffixes)
• Ending rhymes (blue/shoe)
• Last syllable rhymes (timber/harbor)
• Double rhymes (conviction/prediction)
• Beginning rhymes (physics/fizzle).
• First syllable rhymes (carrot/caring)

Its great that you can also control the number of syllables your name has too! There are also options for domain name endings so you can see how your business name will look as a website.

#6 Bust A Name

Bust-A-Name is another great resource for generating free business domain name ideas. Primarily a domain name generator, it allows you to combine lists of words to generate new names and then helps you check the domain availability. It also has a new brand name generator tool feature.

• Custom domain name generator
• Brandable domain tool
• Domain name availability checker
• Random name checker

#7 Company Name Generator

My favourite for generating a brand name for your business, Company name generator generates unlimited random name ideas, suitable for brand-naming your company. In addition, they have;

• Free advanced tool where you can set and define the custom words used
• Custom name patterns 9using vowels and consonants
• Ability to define Prefixes and suffixes
• Pre-defined word lists to use

It’s a great tool if you already know how you want your business name to sound, or for sharp snappy brand name ideas to research further.

 Summary

So there you have it. My top 7 resources for free business name generators. What tools have you used? How did you name your business? lets discuss!

With the new PAYE Real Time Information this year, many small businesses are finding it difficult to keep up to date with all the changes and requirements.
Instead of worrying and struggling, a simple way of keeping on top of your payroll is simply to outsource it.
It is best to contract out your company’s payroll for a number of reasons.

Image Courtesy Of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1. Free Up Your Time: Outsourcing your payroll will relieve you of the burden of the responsibility of managing payroll so you have less paperwork and more time to focus on the more important profitable aspects of your business. Particularly in small businesses payroll processing takes up too much time of those whose main focus should be other key features of the business. Outsourcing your payroll frees up your time and resources to concentrate on strategic business areas such as recruitment, staff performance, marketing etc. that can affect your business  productivity and profitability more directly.
2. Lower Costs: You can greatly reduce costs by outsourcing your payroll to a service provider. You can spend the valuable saved revenue on achieving key objectives of your business. It also allows you to get a clear picture of the actual payroll cost, and to ease cost burdens such as updating technology and staff training.
3. Avoid Penalties: Errors in payroll can not only affect your employees but can also lead to issues with the tax office, which may lead to penalties. If you outsource your payroll to a service provider that specializes in keeping up to date with current regulations, there is less chance of making a mistake than if you used in-house staff.  If the service provider makes a serious mistake you could seek compensation for the error – something you cannot do with internal staff.
4. Speed: Payroll service providers are specialists that have advanced technical systems at their disposal. It means that they are able to process very complex payrolls very fast. Also, in case there is a temporary inflow of employees, they can handle it effectively unlike other employers.
5. Legislation: A good payroll service provider knows all payroll-related tax laws and other legislation inside out. It will take a lot of time and effort on the part of your employees to get on top of these laws. Once you contract your payroll out you needn’t worry about this anymore.
Once you have decided to outsource your payroll the next step is to look for a specialist payroll service provider like Moorepay. By outsourcing your payroll to Moorepay you can save yourself time, money and hassle and ensure that you and your business are real-time compliant.
If you want to read more on outsourcing check out my post Key Components Of How To Outsource Effectively.

Is social media really important to your business? Is it a strong channel from which you can engage with an audience or does it simply  make no difference at all? Get the results from a consumer survey conducted in the US showing how social media affects shopping decisions.

Two key stats shared here instantly grabbed my attention –

1. 37% of consumers visited a brand using their mobile phone.

2. 73% said that Facebook contributed to their buying decision

This re-enforces my current business advice for local business owners that mobile marketing and Facebook business pages are essential for brand awareness campaigns and for growing audiences.

I know it seems there is much hype surrounding social media right now, but with the rapid integration of technology and business apps, it makes no sense to sit there dragging your heels or pretending it won’t affect your business or doesn’t apply. With over 55% of people ‘liking a brand on Facebook’ and 27% checking in from their mobile phone, it makes sense to integrate social media into your marketing strategy right away.

While I’m not saying you need to be on there every hour of the day posting offers and status updates, I think it’s really important to present yourself as a well rounded company and claim applicable social media channels and vanity urls and ensure your customers can find and reach you if they want to.

If you’re finding it difficult to keep on top of posting and updating your channels, try making a social media marketing plan – start with one post per week and gradually increase your updates as you become more fluent with your approach and your audience grows.

This infographic by empathica shows US consumer use of social media to make purchasing decisions.

Source: INFOGRAPHIC: How Facebook Factors Into Decisions On Retail Purchases, Restaurants – AllFacebook.

How are you using social media for your business?

Does your business engage and encourage social media during the transaction with your customers or are you still holding back and waiting for the social media hype to die down?

Using Social Media For business

So what are UK small businesses using social media for and how are they using it? Find out how from this infographic created by Sage.

This interesting research carried out by Hiscox has been turned into an infographic by Sage and presents some interesting statistics for Facebook, Twitter and Linked in.

Research shows how uk small businesses value social media as a part of their marketing plan and how they are using it to help build or strengthen their business.

Interesting statistics include;

• 27% of small businesses use social media to increase brand awareness
• 15% of small businesses use social media to boost sales
• 13% have their own blog
• 81% see the value of social media as a business tool
• 14% do not separate their personal profile from professional on social media
• 57% use social media to support their marketing efforts

Many of the figures show huge potential for small business owners to use the various social media platforms to build a loyal company following and increase their audience. With just 57%  currently using it as a tool for marketing and promotion, it shows there is potentially more scope and maybe even some untapped resources still left for small businesses on social media, especially from a local business aspect.

This infographic was produced by Sage UK

I was quite surprised to see that just 13% of those surveyed are using a blog for their business. A blog is an excellent way to communicate with your customers and can really help grow brand awareness online.

Interestingly enough, Facebook still seems to dominate the charts when small business owners were asked ‘where is your audience’ – I am not sure if this is due to lack of knowledge or experience on other social media platforms, or whether Facebook truly is still dominating the social business marketing arena.

I know many business owners who are exclusively using Linked in now for networking, recruitment and promotion, however these are mostly B2B businesses, hence the lack of casual interaction on Facebook.

Sage have also created a handy guide for your business to download free. You can get a copy here

Which platform do you tend to use most? Have you had huge success on Facebook and none on Twitter? Are you aware of Linked in for business or have you chosen not to explore another platform? Please comment below.

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Image courtesy of ddpavumbaFreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Funding your business start up is often something that can stop your business idea in it’s tracks.  Where will you get the money? How much do you need to get your start up going? What can you do to ensure start up loans? All of these questions may not be answered here, but I do have three tips for funding your start up.

#1 Utilise savings for funding your business start up

Personal money saved up for funding your start up is the best option. If you do not have enough then you can look at other options, however it is always recommended that you start saving towards costs as soon as you are sure that you want to set up your own business. The ideal situation would be to have a year of operating costs saved up for your business start up. This amount of money should not be what you need for your mortgage and personal expenses. It should be enough to support the business only; you will need to save separate funds for your personal expenses. Get into the habit early and start separating your personal expenditure with your business accounts. One idea would be to set up a new bank account for business purposes only, ultimately keeping everything separate and manageable.

#2 Decide on whether a business start up loan is suitable

If you find you do not have enough funding for your start up, then you have to make a choice. Do you wait another year until you have the appropriate funds or do you look for start up loans? The US government has been very helpful of late to establish grants and funding options for small and new businesses as a way to combat the recession issues. Banks are still holding tight especially for start up loans. They may make it very difficult by asking that you have at least enough funds for a year or 80% of the start up costs in your savings account. Still, loans can be helpful if you qualify. The downside to loans is that most businesses fail within 5 years and you may still need to pay the start up loans back. Most experts suggest you avoid loans, but if this is not possible be sure to carry out solid research and to prove your business can be a success and profitable.

#3 Seek investment for start up funding

Investors are another option to business start up loans. Investors are quite helpful if you know someone willing to split the company in terms of investment money. You will need to present a strong business model and provide potential investors with a business plan and summary of your company mission. Initially, you will  want to be the majority owner. You definitely want to use as much of your own funding as possible as this helps you retain control of your company. Decide what type of investor you want to attract – sometimes it is preferable to have a silent investor- one that is not going to want to have daily input in your business.

While you may not find a silent investor easily, look for one or consider taking on a partner you know you can work with and has the same vision as you. Partners in a business start up could bring a bit more capital to the table and have an extra employee to help you out. There are pitfalls though, so ensure you think through all the options first.

Your turn! How did you manage finances when you started your business? How are you planning for the costs associated with your start up? Please share your experience below.

Every now and then entrepreneurs decide to move their business and set up camp at a new location.  Different motivations may cause a company to move to a new place:  to move closer to a large customer base, to lower operating costs, to access more experienced and skilled staff etc.
Whatever the reason for moving your business you may be faced with a tough challenge when you decide to do so. However, you can make it easy by following the guideline outlined below.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1. Decide Why You are Moving: First of all, you must know exactly why you want to move your business to a new place; otherwise you may be leading your company towards a lurking disaster. You must know exactly why you want to move to the new place and how you will make the transition when you do. Once you have taken this into consideration you can evaluate whether the time and expense is worth it and if your business can cope with the upheaval.

2. Do Proper Planning: Next on the list is efficient planning. It may not be easy to find the time to plan your move while running your business at the same time, but it is very important to plan out your moving process in advance or you may lose both time and money if you do it in a disorganized way. You must think through the whole process from start till end before it actually happens, and factor in all possible scenarios of relocating.

3. Get Financial Advice: One factor of key importance is to get financial advice, to help with the relocation costs and the possible cash-flow issues that may arise when moving to a new location. Find out about local tax laws BEFORE you move and ensure there are no associated hidden costs. Contact financial experts in the area you have chosen and seek advice to acquaint yourself with the local system in advance of your relocation.

4.Talk to Your Employees: It is very important to talk to your employees about the relocation. They may have expertise regarding the new location. They may share ideas about features your business needs to have at your new destination. This feedback could possibly help you a lot. Also, you must know whether the employees you want to keep in the new location are willing to move and on what terms and conditions if they are.

5.Hire a Trustworthy Relocation Service: When you have finalized all the other factors involved and have decided to relocate, you should hire a professional relocation service for the move. Sterling Relocation is a wonderful example of a great re-location company to consider. Sterling have a moving tips page on the site. A trustworthy relocation company will make sure that you shift your business premises seamlessly and without delay trouble so it is always worth considering the cost of using a professional.

Relocating your business may be a daunting effort but if you do it in a planned manner and you weigh up the pros and the cons, you can begin taking the first steps towards successful business in a brand new location.
If you want more tips if you are a moving or start-up business, have a look at my old post: 7 Essential Resources for Start-Up Businesses.