Start-up business links
Successful entrepreneurs balance vision, creativity and innovation with marketing zeal and operational excellence, whilst also keeping on top of the mechanics of keeping their business ticking over and running smoothly. Not a lot to ask of a human being, is it??! We are here to help you to square this circle, but we can all do with help from other sources as well, and there is no shortage of places to go to get information and 'how to' advice. All of these websites go to places that we will help you to touch on, but they're not the core of our proposition to you, the entrepreneur. So make yourself aware of them, click the link and go and have a look, so that you'll know when to refer to them.
Department of Trade and Industry www.dti.gov.uk
The DTI 'aims to promote enterprise, innovation and increased productivity.' Its website is comprehensive and regularly updated, including:
- Best practice advice: literally hundreds of guides, case studies, factsheets and online self-assessment tools in areas such as management, operations, sales and marketing, people, design & innovation and communications & IT.
- Advice and guidance for small businesses
- Innovation and productivity
- Access to grants and funding
- Exploitation of science and technology
- Policy and legal matters affecting business owners and managers
- Exporting advice, support and information.
The site is full of information, but there is so much material it can be hard to penetrate. It helps to know what you are looking for! We would describe the material as thorough but functional. You will gain a lot of information from it, on a wide range of subjects. But we don't think you'll get under the skin of successful entrepreneurialism.
Business Link www.businesslink.gov.uk
Business Link provides practical advice for business. We know, because it says so on its homepage. Like the DTI website, it is very comprehensive. Insofar as a website can provide you with a whole picture, Business Link does it pretty well, by which we mean it covers most angles but the advice given is inevitably somewhat generalised and broadbrush. You can find out about:
- Starting up
- Finance and grants
- Taxes, returns and payroll
- Employing people
- Health, safety and premises
- Exploiting your ideas
- IT and e-commerce
- Sales and marketing
- International trade
- Growing your business
- Buying or selling a business
- Sector-specific regulations, support and contacts
As an advanced checklist, to ensure you have thought of most things, it's great - but in our experience you'll need some more personalised help and support to move from thinking of everything to taking the decisions that are right for you and your business.
Patent Office www.patent.gov.uk
The Patent Office website contains all you need to know about copyright, designs, patents and trade marks - how to protect them, what to do if a copyright is breached, changes to the law and what they mean. Patenting is a complex area, but essential to many companies to safeguard their IP. The Patent Office website will provide you with a lot of information but you'll need expert advice to be sure of securing the protection you need. Ugly Duckling has a relationship with one of the top firms of patent lawyers in the country and can introduce them to companies who require their services.
Companies House www.companies-house.gov.uk
This site provides comprehensive access to company information (some of which you will have to pay for) and details of statutory requirements and how to satisfy them. You can download forms, obtain information on directors' responsibilities and get information on forming - and closing - a company. You can also file certain company information online.
Regional Development Agencies www.consumer.gov.uk/rda/info
Regional Development Agencies are strategic drivers of economic development in their region. They run various programmes to support local businesses of all sizes.
The nine Regional Development Agencies in England are:
National Federation of Enterprise Agencies www.nfea.com
The National Federation of Enterprise Agencies provides services to pre-start, start-up and micro businesses through conferences, online advice and mentoring. The site is predominantly a shop window for Local Enterprise Agencies and has limited material online, but it is a useful source of help and information for smaller businesses.
Federation of Small Businesses www.fsb.org.uk
The Federation of Small Businesses promotes and protects the interests of owner /managers. It is essentially a campaign and lobbying group but also provides help with business finance, employment disputes, data protection, licencing, tax and VAT. The site contains an active news update area and is hot on policy. It also provides access to a range of member benefits, including factoring, financial services, legal protection, merchant services and telecoms deals.
Small Business Service www.sbs.gov.uk
Run by the Department of Trade and Industry, the Small Business Service operates through Business Link, providing support and information to small firms with the objective of making the UK the best place in the world in which to set up and run a small business. It is a mechanism for communicating government decisions and activity to the wider world, and also contains some information about private sector initiatives to support small firms. It is heavy on information but light on practical advice.
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