Computer literacy in the UK is growing all the time and this is having major repercussions on the way we do business. Matthew Sims has not been slow to pick up this trend and hopes his company Fresh Biz Marketing can capitalise on it.

Name: Matthew Sims
Age: 27
Business: Fresh Biz Marketing
Type of business: Web & graphic design, marketing
Start date: November 2005

When did you first decide you wanted to start your own business?
It’s always been at the back of my mind from an early age but it wasn’t until recently that I thought I had the necessary skills to go through with it. After completing a business degree I was always interested in marketing rather than other business areas. I then began to get into design and eventually reached a level where I thought my skills were good enough to set up a successful marketing and design company.

Tell us about your business.
Fresh Biz Marketing specialise in supplying packaged marketing services which are highly attractive to the target market due to our ‘one stop shop’ approach and the transparent pricing structure of the packages offered. Fresh Biz Marketing is run by myself and my business partner, Austen Jones. I look after the creative and design side of the business, while Austen minds the back-end operations and internet marketing.

Was your decision to start a business inspired by any other companies or individuals?
I know a number of people who run their own business and this helped as I was being asked to design their web sites and brochures.

What makes you think there’s a market for your business?
The market for graphic design and web design services has grown massively over recent years. However, the growth in numbers of providers of these services has also grown rapidly as the nation as a whole becomes more computer-literate. The vast majority focus on the creative side of the business, which leaves a gap in the market for the provision of quality design and effective marketing expertise. Fresh Biz Marketing do not 'design websites', we 'design routes to get new customers', this is a crucial aspect of business and one that is beyond the comfort zone of most 'designers'.

Once you’d decided to start a business, what did you do first?
We spent some time conducting formal market research to prove and quantify our thoughts. We then undertook the process of compiling a business plan to help guide us. After completing this we then set up the website itself.

What research did you do?
Extensive research was done into competition, customers, suppliers and the overall market conditions. An important part of our research was dedicated to finding how we could market ourselves to appear different from the competition. This was when we developed the ‘one stop shop’ approach.

What advice did you seek?
Talking to other business owners helped me understand the pros and cons of starting my own business. I also spoke to Business Link who provided me with a wealth of information which was very useful. Similarly the Local Enterprise Agency also provided very good advice and continues to do so. My experiences of government agencies and other business owners has been mainly positive.

What other help did you get?
Networking with other small businesses has been a great help. Just talking to them provides useful advice especially in the early stages of starting a business. It's better and less costly to learn from the mistakes of others than to make the mistakes yourself.

Does the government need to provide more help to people trying to start a business?
I think that the government provides a number of very useful schemes and organisations to help businesses. I think every business can get access to some form of government help. Possibly by providing more incentives to start-ups they would motivate more entrepreneurial activity. Bizarrely, some of the government-based initiatives and schemes are effectively competitors to companies such as ours – Business Link provides (indirectly) web and design services.

Talk us through the process of writing your business plan.
We absorbed a large amount of information from a number of sources and in the end developed our own structure for the plan. Our plan incorporated the necessary information needed to apply for grants and loans and an effective statement of where we were going and how we were going to get there. Our success in writing the plan has resulted in us offering this as a service to our clients.

How much did it cost to start the business?
We already had most of the software and hardware so most of the money we used was for initial marketing of the business. In total we have spent about £3500 and we are already starting to benefit from this investment.

How did you fund this?
From our personal savings.

Similarly, how are you funding your running costs until the business takes off?
Enough money has been put aside for the running costs of the business. The business is now generating enough cash flow to prevent dipping into anymore savings.