Michael Huber wishes that he had started running his own business 10 years ago instead of attempting to scramble up the corporate ladder when his heart wasn't in it. However, he has now put the web skills he learned in industry to good use by setting up Sophie and Grace, an online lingerie business.

Name: Michael Huber
Age: 30
Business: Sophie & Grace Lingerie Ltd
Type of business: Online Lingerie sales
Start date: October 2005

When did you first decide you wanted to start your own business?
I have always known that I would work for myself. Although I went to university and set out along a career path I never felt right doing this. I never liked the idea of someone else getting more reward for my hard work than me.

Tell us about your business.
I sell high-end lingerie via my purpose built website. My last job was in search engine marketing so I knew that online sales were the way I wanted to go. I chose lingerie for a couple of reasons, low bulk and weight for storage and postage reasons, high value and high online search volumes to tap into.

Was it your first business idea and where did it come from?
This was not my first idea but it was the first to have great potential in an expanding market along with relatively low start-up costs and overheads. The huge search volumes of people looking to buy lingerie online rather than just to ogle triggered the first thoughts.

Was your decision to start a business inspired by any other companies or individuals?
I was inspired by older family members, including my parents and in-laws who had succeeded in self-employment starting from much more disadvantaged positions than myself. They had begun without qualifications, support or anyone to advise them, but now enjoyed fantastic control of their time and lives.

What makes you think there’s a market for your business?
I can see other people being successful when only doing an average job. So by using my skills and doing a better job more efficiently I know I can rise over them and become a market leader.

Once you’d decided to start a business, what did you do first?
I research to discover if there was a market and what niche was not being catered for. Then I asked myself if I could fill it and how much it would cost me?

What research did you do?
I searched online databases, government statistics sites, spoke to people in related but not competitive lines of business. I even viewed a similar business with a view to buying it in order to ask questions and get tips.

What advice did you seek?
I used business link and found them good for asking questions of your plans not approving them. I found I had to chase them a lot and I suffered from being in an area that was not well resourced, but they put me on to a number of grant schemes and helped me avoid a few potential banana skins.

What other help did you get?
At the time of starting, my mother was selling her business and looking to semi-retire. She joined the business as an equal partner and oversees all the accounts, legal issues, tax, PAYE and VAT, as she has done these things for a long time. This takes a huge weight off my mind and gives me someone to bounce ideas off - self-employment can be very lonely at times.

Does the government need to provide more help to people trying to start a business? If so, what should they do?
They could make it easier to start-up. You have to register with so many bodies, all threatening fines for failure to comply with things you have no idea about. I was lucky to have an experienced person with me, but we still found it a bit of minefield.

Talk us through the process of writing your business plan.
I wrote my business plan using a free pack I got from the bank. I also read plans that had been submitted to competitions online for guidance. It forced me to address difficult questions and prepare for scenarios. It was hard work and took a while to write but was worth the effort in the end.

How useful has your business plan been and do you think you’ll stick to it as your business begins to grow?
I find it a good reminder to focus on what I set out to do although it should be a constant work in progress as things change very quickly and reality can be very different to the theory. The principles and theory still stand up though.

How much did it cost to start the business?
£40,000

How did you fund this?
My own savings and equal investment from my business partner.

Similarly, how are you funding your running costs until the business takes off?
My overheads are very low so we started to cover our running costs by month three, however this does not include my wages.