David Cruickshank was travelling in New Zealand with his wife when he realised that he was tired of his job and that there must be something better. He now runs Business IT Online and says that since going it alone he has never looked back.

Name: David Cruickshank
Age: 29
Business: www.businessitonline.com
Type of business: Online small business software
Start date: January 2004

When did you first decide you wanted to start your own business?
It was whilst travelling with my wife in New Zealand in 2003 that I realised my consulting job wasn’t fulfilling me. Setting up a new business is the ultimate challenge and that is what I look for in my life – big challenges and opportunities. I haven’t always wanted to run my own business but once I considered it as a serious option I have never looked back.

Tell us about your business
Business IT Online is an online small business software application. We believe that the days of installing software on local computers are numbered because the costs are too high. So we supply software-as-a-service over the internet, which has many benefits to our customers including low costs, anytime/anywhere access, real-time data use for multiple users from multiple locations, free automatic upgrades and data backups and an extremely secure environment for their very important data.

Was it your first business idea and where did it come from?
No, not the first, I rarely go a week without thinking of a new business idea! However, this one is different because it came from work done for our clients. We started off in business by building tailor-made software applications for clients and we found that most of them were battling with local IT infrastructure issues and were paying large user licence costs. They told us that it was costing a lot of money and that a low cost method was definitely needed.

Was your decision to start a business inspired by any other companies or individuals? If so, who?
I was initially inspired by Stephen R. Covey’s book ‘The 7 habits of highly effective people’.

What makes you think there’s a market for your business?
Online software is becoming more mainstream as pioneered by larger vendors such as Salesforce.com. Internet-usage is growing and Broadband uptake is very fast. Remote working is more common and small businesses need reliable and affordable software. All the signs are very good.

Once you’d decided to start a business, what did you do first?
I knew I wanted to start a business, but back in 2003 I didn’t know what kind of business. So my main objective was to speak to people who were already running a small business. I was still working in a big company and I wanted to get perspective on what I was thinking of doing.

What research did you do?
I spoke to as many small business owners as I could and I networked like crazy. I found that there are a lot of small business communities and that the environment is totally different to working in a large company. People want to help and there is a lot more genuine altruism. The research showed that although our target market is not all that technically savvy, many are definitely on the look out for more affordable and convenient software.

What advice did you seek?
I sought marketing advice. My business partner and I do not have a marketing background and it was clear to me that this was a key area where we needed to learn a lot and fast. We did talk to Business Link and to other advice centres. The information was informative and quite useful, but there’s no substitute to getting out there and learning by doing.

What other help did you get?
Friends that had already started up were a good source of help. They pointed out pitfalls to be avoided. Websites such as this one are great for a breadth of information and advice.

Does the government need to provide more help to people trying to start a business?
I do think that the government could make it easier for startups and small businesses. As I’m sure your readers are aware, a lot of the red tape does provide a disincentive to startups. Cutting down the red tape around areas like setup, employment and PAYE would make a difference.

Talk us through the process of writing your business plan.
We didn’t get any help and we didn’t use software – but I did download a few samples from the Internet. It took a few weeks and we still revisit it every six months or so. If done properly, I don’t think it is ever easy for a startup to write a business plan. It took a lot of discussion and a lot of thought.

How useful has your business plan been and do you think you’ll stick to it as your business begins to grow?
Writing a business plan was important for us. Not because we specifically needed the document but because it helped us to focus. It is easy to lack focus and the business plan helps you to formalise and structure your efforts. We have already diverted from the original business plan but small businesses should expect to do this. Strategy should evolve and the business plan should be used to validate and focus that evolution.

How much did it cost to start the business?
£10,000

How did you fund this?
Funds came entirely from our own savings