Starting your own business?
Here’s our top 10 FREE ways to get the ball rolling.
1 ENLIGHTEN!
www.businesslink.gov.uk may help you get started. Business link offers practical advice on developing your business plan; from financing your start-up to survival strategies and invaluable info on growing your business. Courses are free and local throughout the UK.
2 EQUIP!
Preparation is everything. Don’t get caught out by leaving your potential customers in the lurch and you falling at the first hurdle. www.switchboardfree.co.uk will help you never miss a business call and gives you that big business feel at no cost. With no set-up fees, no annual rental cost, no contracts or monthly charge it really is free for all UK companies to have and use.
3 E-VOLUTION!
Google, e-skills UK and Enterprise UK have joined together with many other partners to create a government backed initiative with the aim of getting British businesses on-line. Through www.gbbo.co.uk you could sign up for a free website with a free domain name. They take you through the process one step at a time and you can customise the website to your individual requirements.
4 EXPLOIT!
www.google.com has introduced Google Analytics which provides an easy way for the non tech savvy amongst us to look at performance focused marketing and analyse what advertising works for your business. This can work alongside your SwitchboardFREE numbers and allows you to optimise your advertising and use in depth statistics by tracking each and every call.
5 ENGAGE!
Free conference calls are now available from the new site: www.con-flab.co.uk. Conference calls are a modern alternative to a physical meeting and www.con-flab.co.uk is a well-planned and easy to use conference platform. Anything that can minimize the expense of travelling and wasted days stuck in the car or on the train has got to be a bonus.
6 EXHIBIT!
Start putting yourself out there and sign up for www.freeindex.co.uk. It’s the free alternative to traditional business directories and it has detailed customer profiles, reviews, Google maps with nearby information, contact screen, company descriptions and loads more.
7 ENCOUNTER!
If it seems like a daunting and lonely proposition working alone, you may gain knowledge and insight by connecting with others working in your field. Join www.Linkedin.com the business world’s answer to Facebook. Network, join groups and get details of events near you.
8 EXPERTISE!
www.freebusinessforums.co.uk has loads of down to earth advice for those starting their own businesses – including common pitfalls and why many businesses fail before they’ve got off the ground.
9 ECONOMICS!
The thing that scares people the most about starting their own business is coping with the mundane task of accounting. Most sites offer ‘free trials’ of their accounting software packages, but www.gnucash.org is totally free.
10 ENVISAGE!
www.sxc.hu has images you could download for free to use on your adverts and websites, There are also free tutorials to help you create your vision too.
Most of all ENJOY…
Self-employed people are probably the hardest working of all but they should also be happiest, being self-employed gives you a sense of satisfaction, self-worth and confidence a regular 9-5 job just can’t match. The best things in life may indeed be free, but cash in the bank and a better quality of life takes a little hard work.