Hi I'm Gordon, I've spent the past 25 years working with 6 firms in the accountancy and commercial sectors dealing mainly with small and medium sized businesses. I'm also a start-up too, having started my own company a couple of years ago.

I've seen at first hand the mistakes people make and the problems they face. Don't make the same mistakes. Keep things simple, do the basic things well, get organised from the start, stay organised. Get the foundations right. Once things get going and you start getting busier, you'll be glad that you got things set-up properly from the start.

Useful websites

www.hmrc.gov.uk
www.businesslink.gov.uk - England&Wales
www.bgateway.com - Scotland

All the best and good luck!

Regards

Gordon

www.astonaccounting.co.uk
Revised on 03/12/2011 14:57
5 Things To Think About

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare
- remember the legal stuff; health & safety, leases, insurance, etc
- prepare a business plan to check that your assumptions and figures make sense
- find a good bank manager, solicitor, accountant - ask around

2. Start right
- keep your paperwork organised, it's not sexy, but it might just help keep you in business
- know your sales, profits, cash, who's not paid, how much stock you hold; every month
- start puting cash aside from the start to pay your taxes

3. Walk, don't run
- be a steady eddie, grow steadily, invest from your profits, don't borrow from the bank (even if you can!)
- accept that you might need to keep the day job for a while or take a part-time job to cover your living expenses, until your business is up and running

4. Learn
- you are going to learn so much in the first few years; about yourself, the market you're in, running a business
- try to learn from each job / sale, make notes, get feedback
- that money will come in slower and go out faster than you think or expect

5. When you make changes, ask yourself, will it...
- improve your service / product
- save you time
- save you money
- all of the above!