The world of small business in Ireland

The line between sucess or failure

There’s a lot at stake when starting a new business. While you want to see your business become established, it’s a fact of life that many companies fail. Here’s a checklist of some of things you have to deal with or should be thinking about when you start up your new business:

Writing a business plan.

Choosing the right premises.

Choosing the right people to work for you.

With employment comes the need to be aware of

Health & Safety and employment law.

Setting up the right IT – with software you can trust.

Keeping track of money coming in and money going out.

That might include VAT.

Calculating the risks involved.

Knowing exactly what money is owed to you.

Preparing figures for accountants – understanding tax will help.

Printing your invoices and quotations.

Attracting customers – and then keeping them!

Diary management – never miss an important meeting or delivery date.

Comparing costs with your competition.

Understanding the industry that you’re launching yourself into.

Get all the above organised and sorted and you’ll find that the line between success and failure doesn’t look so thin any more!

Where support can be helpful

The businesses that succeed are often the ones with access to vital knowledge, information and support on a huge range of business issues. Without that knowledge and support, you might not be giving your business the chance of success it deserves.

Here are just a few examples of the kind of information that you should know before you start

Protecting your business

If you are starting a business, protecting your company name and trademarks is essential. If you don’t register a trademark, you may lose any rights to use

that trademark if you discover another business using a similar one. But do you really know how to register a trademark?

Building good customer relationships

Even if your products, services or prices are fantastic, your new business still needs to build up good customer relationships for it to succeed. It means

getting to know your customers, and offering them something completely unique that goes over and above any products or services you also offer. How

much experience do you have of doing that?

Meeting targets

New businesses often don’t operate as effectively and efficiently as they could. With the right kind of support, your new business could meet and exceed its

targets in everything from planning and tax to advertising and marketing.

Looking after your people

Often, the most valuable assets in a business are its people, and knowing how to lead, manage and motivate them is vital. Good support and advice can help

you do the right thing when it comes to managing your staff and making sure you get the best from them.

Managing VAT

If you register your new business for VAT, you’ll be expected to complete regular VAT returns, and make payments to Revenue.

However, managing your VAT can be much more complex than it seems, and getting it wrong can be costly.

Marketing your new business

Like most new businesses, the chances are that you’re doing everything on a small budget, including your marketing activity. However, there are lots of ways

to promote your business without spending lots of cash - you just need to ask the right people.

Building a competitive edge

Whatever your new business, getting the right advice at the right time could give you a real edge over your competitors. Without that edge, you could lose

customers to your competitors and your bottom line will suffer.