starting and growing small business suffolk 06 12 11

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Legal requirementsHowever, insurance is only a back-up. Accidents are not alwaysthe result of exceptional circumstances - they can and do happenin the course of everyday business. Some planning and simpleactions can usually prevent most incidents from occurring.Data Protection ActIf you keep details of ‘living, identifiable individuals’ on computer,even just names and addresses, you will need to registeryour business with the Information Commissioners Office.Call 01625 545745 for an information pack or visit their websitewww.ico.gov.uk.Intellectual propertyWhen you start a new business, you should think about protectingthe valuable assets you have in the name, brand or logoassociated with your business or in the innovative product youmay have developed. Intellectual property rights protect theseassets: patents for inventions, registered trademarks for names,logos, slogans and brands, and registered designs for theexternal appearance of a product. Patent and trademarkattorneys can advise you on the best way to prevent otherscopying what you have created.For more information contact the Intellectual Property Office, thegovernment body responsible for granting intellectual propertyrights in the UK, on 0845 950 0505 or visit www.ipo.gov.ukLegal adviceA solicitor can guide you through the laws that relate to runninga business. Under the Lawyers for Your Business Schemeoperated by the Law Society, designated solicitors will offer afree initial legal consultation of at least half an hour. With themessage that ‘prevention is better than cure’, a solicitor willattempt to forecast the problems which may affect your businessand help you avoid costly problems later. The solicitor will tellyou what further help you need and how much it will cost.You are under no obligation to take matters further.If you do not have a solicitor, you should call the Law Society on020 7242 1222. They will send you a list of Lawyers for YourBusiness (LFYB) members in your area. Simply choose one ofthe firms on the list and arrange an appointment, mentioningLFYB or visit the Law Society website at www.lawsociety.org.uk.Did you know…• you need to choose the right legal structure foryour business.• your business must be registered with HMRevenue & Customs.• you should insure your business for yourbenefit and that of your employees.• designated solicitors will offer a free initiallegal consultation of at least half an hour tohelp you find your feet.“Obviously everyone wants to besuccessful but I wanted to be lookedback on as being innovative, verytrusted and ethical and ultimatelymaking a big difference in the world.”Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google search engineUseful contacts1. Lawyers for Your BusinessTel: 020 7242 1222.www.lfyb.lawsociety.org.uk2. British Insurance Brokers AssociationTel: 0870 950 1790. www.biba.org.uk3. Companies HouseTel: 0870 333 3636.www.companieshouse.gov.uk4. Health and Safety ExecutiveTel: 0845 345 0055. www.hse.gov.uk5. HM Revenue and CustomsTel: 0845 915 4515. www.hmrc.gov.uk9
Raising financeThis section explains the importance of having adequate funding to support your business, how thebusiness plan plays a central role in raising finance and what options are available if you need toraise finance.Business planIf your business is to be a success then you must understandyour finances and keep track of them - and to do so meansunderstanding how your business operates. You will firstly needto develop a business plan which is a detailed model of how yourbusiness will operate, showing how you will fund the purchase ofcapital equipment and start-up costs, your outgoings, income,profit, loss and forecasts. This is a means of testing the viabilityof your business idea without actually risking any money, but isessential to have when trying to raise finance for your business.More information on developing business plans is available inThe Business Plan section.Raising moneyOnce your business plan is finalised you will need to raise financeto run your business. Most businesses will use a combination ofsources to raise the necessary money, and choosing the rightone may be crucial to your business.Your own resourcesDo you have your own money to invest in your business, orperhaps your family wants to invest in it? Funding your businessfrom your own resources provides you with a greater determinationto succeed - after all, no-one wants to lose their own money andyou won’t have to worry about making loan repayments.Self-investing will also give greater confidence to other lenders -banks and other financial institutions - who will be reassured that ifyou have invested your own money you won’t want to fail.Banks/building societiesThese are an obvious and important source of finance for manysmall businesses. When you start in business you will need abusiness bank account so you can keep your personal financesseparate from your business finances. Most banks offer freebanking facilities for new businesses in their first year of trading.There are two types of loans available, as follows:• overdrafts - a source of short-term finance normally used forworking capital purposes; and• loans - a source of longer-term finance with regular repayments,normally used for the purchase of capital equipment.Banks are careful lenders. They will need to be convinced thatyou have a viable business and will be able to repay the moneyyou borrow from them. If you put your own money into yourbusiness and can offer the banks some form of security againstit (for example your house), then you stand a much greaterchance of success with your loan application.Small Business LoansSmall business loans are available through Foundation Eastfor new and existing businesses and social enterprises.For information telephone 01284 757777 or go to the websitewww.foundationeast.org/page/business-loansEnterprise Guarantee SchemeThis scheme has replaced the Small Firms Loan GuaranteeScheme.Under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, the Governmentwill guarantee lending to viable businesses to ensure that theycan get the working capital and investment that they need.This is not because the business has suddenly transformed from asuccess to a failure; but because the current economic conditionshas made a significant impact on the availability of capital as thebanks change their approach to risk and tighten lending conditions.The £1bn Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) Scheme willsupport up to £1.3bn of new lending by banks to viable SMEs withworking capital or investment needs.Who will benefit from the scheme?The EFG Scheme is open to businesses with an annual turnoverof up to £25m, seeking loans of £1,000 to £1m, repayable overa period of up to 10 years. Most businesses in most sectors willbe eligible for the scheme. However, state aid rules excludebusinesses in the agriculture, coal and steel sectors.What sorts of lending will this cover?The guarantee can be used to support new loans, refinanceexisting loans or to convert part or all of an existing overdraft intoa loan to release capacity to meet working capital needs.How much of the loan will Government guarantee?Government will guarantee 75 per cent of the loan.How long will the scheme run for?EFG will be available from Wednesday 14 January 2009 and willoperate until March 2011.GrantsIncentive funding programmes are available from national,regional and local sources but usually only for specific projectssuch as the development of a new product or the setting up of aspecific training programme. Before commencing your projectcontact Business Link to undertake a grant search.Asset financeLong-term assets should be financed from long-term funds, hirepurchase (HP) or lease finance (renting an asset for most of its10
Page 1 and 2: SuffolkSmall Business Guide 2010A g
Page 3 and 4: Researching your marketAll successf
Page 5 and 6: The business planThis section sets
Page 7 and 8: Legal requirementsThis section prov
Page 9: Legal requirementsLicencesCertain b
Page 13 and 14: Marketing - Winning customersThis s
Page 15 and 16: Finding suitable premisesChoosing t
Page 17 and 18: Information andcommunication techno
Page 19 and 20: Business supportGetting good qualit
Page 21 and 22: DirectoryPaying employees’ taxand
Page 23 and 24: DirectoryCommunity Development Fina

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