Business

A new study by FreeAgent has shown that around 20% or one-fifth of micro businesses have no idea about the government’s Making Tax Digital scheme, despite the government publishing further information about the plan at the end of January.

Lack of information

According to the research, some 84% of respondents thought that the government had not provided enough information about either the digital tax plans or how this new legislation would affect business owners around the UK. But on the positive side, 41% said they were aware of the plans and that they felt positive about them. A further 27% thought that the legislation would make running a business easier than before.

Changing tax system

According to Ed Molyneux, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, the Making Tax Digital scheme will see one of the biggest changes to the UK’s tax system for generations. Businesses could also see the start of the changes as early as next year.

Yet despite positive responses from some micro-businesses, it is also clear that others have little idea about what the scheme involves. And even those who are aware of it don’t fully understand how it will affect their business. He went on to add that the Making Tax Digital scheme is a great way for businesses to gain clarity over their financial position as well as being better equipped to calculate and pay tax bills.

For the micro-businesses surveyed who did know about the scheme, there was generally a positive attitude to the changes with only a small number saying that they felt the changes would make things harder. But FreeAgent also urges the government to keep these businesses up to date with the changes and ensure they were fully aware when the changes are implemented.

The scheme

The scheme was announced in the March Budget in 2015 but the 2017 Budget saw the government give small businesses another year to institute the changes. It will involve keeping digital records and sending HMRC quarterly updates with every business having their own personalised digital tax account.

What does Making Tax Digital for Business really mean?

For SMEs, entrepreneurs and sole traders, there are a few major changes that they need to be aware of that will be introduced over the next few years. Here we take a look at the most relevant changes that are planned to happen:

The end of annual tax returns

The Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme is designed to make the reporting of your business’s financial data to HMRC more straightforward through eliminating the need for an annual tax return. Instead, you will be required to send your financial updates to HMRC digitally via your online tax account on a quarterly basis. Rather than being asked to complete a new tax return four times per year, you will only need to submit financial data online without the need for any complicated paper form filling.

MTD has already begun

The initial consultation period for Making Tax Digital has already ended and we can expect to see the new legislation being announced at some point this year. The new MTD requirements will be operated through your existing digital tax account that you will already have with HMRC.

The MTD pilot scheme has already started with volunteers who have signed up to test the system. We can expect changes and tweaks to the system as their feedback is received. Hopefully this will make the system as user-friendly as possible to take into account those with minimal computer skills.

From July to December 2017, the online digital tax accounts will be able to give taxpayers an overview of their standing and what tax they will be liable for.

In 2018 it is expected that all businesses, landlords and self-employed people that have a turnover above the current VAT registration threshold will be able to start updating HMRC for income tax and NI on a quarterly basis using simple accounting software.

If the roll out continues to be successful, it is then hoped that in 2019 all businesses with a turnover falling between the current minimum threshold and the VAT registration threshold will also start to update HMRC on a quarterly basis too. This will also be done through their accounting software and submitted online.

Possible Software Issues

While it will be necessary to keep HMRC updated with your business finances digitally, HMRC have so far been pretty vague about the details. They will expect you to use a form of accounting software to submit your figures and have said that using spreadsheets is fine as long as the spreadsheet package you use will be able to connect to your digital tax account. This may be possible through some sort of software, but looking ahead it may be easier to simply use a digital accounting software package to compile your figures rather than rely on spreadsheets alone.

Real-Time Tax Information

By going digital, HMRC say that your business tax position will be reported to you in ‘as close to real-time as possible’. This will help to avoid you having to wait until the end of the year before knowing exactly how much tax you have to pay. This can help you to budget and set aside money over the year to pay your tax liabilities without the worry of being landed with a huge tax bill at the end of the year.

At the moment, the threshold for meeting the MTD requirements currently stands at £10,000. However, for those who are exempt because their annual sales fall below this figure, there is an option for them to opt in if they so choose. There are other groups that will be exempt from MTD and these will include charities and those deemed to be 'digitally excluded' for whatever reason.

Attracting new clients or customers is an important part of growing and sustaining any business, so what can you do to earn the trust of prospective and new customers to convince them to take a chance on you rather than one of your competitors? The answer to this is to obtain an official document from Companies House called a Certificate of Good Standing.A Certificate of Good Standing, otherwise know as a Certificate of Existence, is simply a certificate that demonstrates to your potential new clients and customers that you are a trustworthy business and that you are up to date with all of your legal requirements in the eyes of the law.

Who can get a certificate?

A Certificate of Good Standing can only be ordered for a company that has already been incorporated. It can be requested by both public and private limited companies. Your company will only be granted a certificate if you satisfy these requirements:

• Your company must be up to date with all of your legal filings and be in good standing with Companies House.
• Public limited companies must have a registered secretary and at least two directors, one of whom must be a ‘natural person’.
• Private limited companies must have at least one director who is a ‘natural person’.

If your business satisfies these requirements, then you are able to request a certificate for your company. You can have the certificate delivered to you or you can arrange for collection yourself.

How much does a certificate cost?

You can apply for your certificate through Companies House. There are two options available to you:

• A standard order will cost you just £15.00 and usually takes around four working days to process. Your certificate will be posted out to your Registered Office Address.
• A same day order will get your certificate issued much quicker, but comes in at £50.00. The same day service allows you to access and instant PDF copy of your certificate should you need it, but generally speaking a paper certificate actually carries much more gravitas because these are the only copies that carry an actual signature from a Companies House representative.

What is listed on the certificate?

Your certificate will detail certain pieces of official information, depending on your requirements, but will usually include the following:

• The company name and registration number.
• The date of incorporation.
• The name of the company director(s).
• Some additional details about the directors, e.g. nationality.
• The name of the secretary (for a public business).
• The Registered Company Address.
• The company’s objects (if applicable).
• Statement of good standing.

The aim of the certificate is to confirm that the company is genuine and trustworthy. The good standing statement would be considered to be the most important piece of information on the certificate. The statement effectively certifies that your business has been in continuous existence since its incorporation date, and confirms that there is no action being taken against your company.

Is having a Certificate of Good Standing useful?

Having a certificate could prove useful to you, especially when you are dealing with other well-established organisations that may need some reassurance of your status before they would consider working with you. A certificate will also prove useful when opening a company bank account. It can also be used as an example of trust when trying to attract new investors into your business.For those looking to get a foothold in overseas business, a certificate can help to reassure overseas authorities that your business is genuine and up to date with all legal documentation and filing. You will generally need one if you wish to set up a foreign branch for your company abroad. However, if you plan to use your Certificate of Good Standing abroad, you will need to get it legalised with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Once legalised, your certificate will carry the same weight and status as it has in the UK. For these purposes, you will need to get a paper copy of your certificate. You cannot get a digital copy of your certificate legalised by the FCO because it doesn't carry an actual seal and signature from a Companies House official.

Can my request for a certificate be refused?

To be issued with a Certificate of Good Standing you will need to satisfy their requirements as listed above. You will be turned down for a certificate under the following circumstances:

• Your company has not supplied sufficient information to Companies House about the ownership or constitution.
• Your company is not up-to-date with its annual confirmation statement and annual accounts.
• Your company lacks at least one natural (human) director.

Something to also bear in mind is that Certificates of Good Standing are only valid for three months from the date of issue. After this time you may want to consider applying for a new one as many organisations and authorities will expect to see a more recent up-to-date certificate.Most registered companies operating in the UK may not have a particular need for a Certificate of Good Standing, however many will request one to satisfy themselves and any shareholders and investors in the business that the company is meeting its regulatory obligations. It can also help to give confidence to clients, customers and suppliers that you run a trustworthy and reliable company.

If you go back ten or fifteen years or so, everyone used to talk about being their own boss, shedding the 9-5 lifestyle and answering to no-one. And sure, there were people who did just this, but sadly they were the minority. Fast forward to 2017 and there are now huge numbers of people starting their own business from home or setting up a small enterprise locally and becoming successful entrepreneurs. So why has entrepreneurship taken off so rapidly in the UK?

Helping hand

When a person is looking to make a big change in their life and go self-employed, one of the things they need is a helping hand. Whether this is in the form of inspiration or encouragement from someone famous, or comes in the form of actual monetary assistance from the government depends on the individual and their particular circumstances, but here in the UK, there seems to be plenty of both.One system in place from the government is called the Help to Grow scheme. This pledged £1 billion to help companies cut red tape and find the funding they need to get started. The idea is that the small and medium sized businesses are the heart of the UK economy and also boost exports that make the government more money. So they wanted to provide a boost to start these small businesses and schemes such as Funding for Lending has done just that.

Rise in entrepreneurs

There’s no doubt that the numbers leading by example have also had a big impact on others who want to go down the road to entrepreneurship but were a little hesitant or unsure. There has been a steady rise in the number of companies being registered with Companies House and this shows that the urge for more of us to have our own business is getting stronger:2011 – 440,0002012 – 482,0002013 – 502,0682014 – 581,1732015 – 609,100

The urge to be entrepreneurs

According to surveys conducted at the end of 2016 by the TUC, around 50% of British people aged 25-34 are considering starting their own business in 2017 and one of the reasons for this is the wealth of online opportunities available. Many of these will take a hobby and create a business from it.An analysis of official figures by the TUC to mark National Work From Home Day reveals that nearly a quarter of a million (241,000) more people work from home than a decade ago.The most popular areas for potential new company formations were in cooking (19%), baking (18%), photography (18%) and sports (16%). Shows such as the Great British Bake Off and The Apprentice are often cited as inspiring people to get out there and find a niche that suits their interests and passions. Co-working spaces also allow people to have a small dedicated working space without the major investment of a dedicated premises but also not taking over part of their own home.Businesses that live entirely online are also a huge growth area as these don’t require the same commitments for physical premises, lots of technical equipment or associated costs and overheads. According to figures from the TUC, there are now around 1.5 million people working from home, a rise of a fifth in the last ten years. Factors such as high speed internet connections and cloud based systems have made this possible, alongside the growth of freelance industries where businesses hire someone to do a specific job rather than employ them full-time.

Inspiring figures

As well as popular reality TV shows, many real world people offer inspiration to become entrepreneurs and show what can be done with dedication and hard work, such as Richard Branson and James Dyson. From former famous footballers who have become career management business owners and restauranteurs to musicians making cheese (Alex James of Blur fame), there are lots of examples of people famous for doing or being one thing who have turned their skills to form a completely new successful business.Larger than life rap star Will.i.Am is a perfect example – he has built on a successful music career to become an entrepreneur. He has designed his own digital camera as well as an iPhone case that enhances the smartphone’s camera function, making it better for sharing images across social media. There are many more examples out there of artist-turned-entrepreneur, but far too many to list here.

Conclusion

It is easier than ever to start your own company – you can use a company formation service, such as ours, to create the company and ensure everything is done correctly. This ensures that you fulfil all the legal requirements and means that more people with that entrepreneurial spirit will be able to take the first steps to fulfilling their dream of owning their own business.

A virtual address is a solution that suits a number of businesses from different industries. It suits the kind of business that don’t have mail handling facilities at their premises or perhaps their business premises are also their home address. It may suit people who travel abroad a lot and aren’t around to check mail or it may simply be that the business doesn’t have the budget for a receptionist or administration assistant. This is where the virtual address service comes in.

What is a virtual address?

A virtual office service is available in several different variations to suit all types of businesses and all points in the business life-cycle. The range of facilities available means that businesses can take as much or as little as they need - from the start up entrepreneur working from the dining room table to the international company juggling dozens of bases in different locations.

The virtual services

The first part of the service is called a virtual mail room. This can includes a number of different services depending on your needs including mail sorting and scanning to email to storage of mail until personal pick-up or bulk forwarding to another address. This includes cheque depositing and a mail forwarding service as well as options such as cloud based accounting services.The second level of service is termed as a virtual office and includes general services such as phone answering as well as company mail handling. Your chosen level of mail-room services can be added on or you can simply have all of your mail forwarded as required. Our Virtual Office services also includes physical services such as the use of a smart, state of the art, unbranded conference room and an office area for physical meetings when you need to do business in person. By using this service, you get to use a prestigious London address for those important meetings.

UK Postbox services

Our virtual mail-room service is a comprehensive service that makes use of the top online mail management service available, called UK Postbox. This service is operated around the world and offers private and confidential mail handling services, much in the way of a PO Box but with several additional benefits.With a normal PO Box, you need an address and the box needs to be within your sorting area. But the UK Postbox service has no such restrictions so you can be based anywhere in the UK. It can receive and action important personal and business documents that will be scanned and sent to you as you choose. Other options include having documents stored on the secure server that you can then print or just view online.Finally, as the service is privately owned, it can offer complete privacy for customers. There are no requirements to release information under the Data Protection Act to give customers an added level of security to that offered by simple PO Boxes.

Extra services

There are also additional services that can be added to the package or taken in their own right if they suit the needs of the business.Private mailboxes are an ideal solution for small businesses and for people that travel a lot due to the nature of their work. They allow the receiving and safe storage of mail and ensure that there is no risk of mail being lost or damaged while no-one is around to collect or deal with it.The virtual address service can also be used for two legal purposes – as a registered office address and as a director’s service address. By using a registered office address service, the business can use a single London address on all of its correspondence, with the added prestige that comes with owning your own central London business address. It is also a practical measure if you work from home or don’t have a permanent business address yet, allowing the business to be registered in one location, regardless where it operates.The director’s service address works in a similar way. Any company directors need to register certain details with Companies House and this includes their address. As it is a matter of public record, some people don’t want to use their home address and have this disclosed to the general public, so instead use a service address for the public record. This service is for that purpose and allows the London address to be used on all official matters. It also helps to keep business cold-callers from arriving uninvited at your door at all times of the day or night.

Benefits of virtual office services

There are other reasons why a business would choose to use one or a number of virtual office services.Top of the list, especially for the mail handling services, is that there either isn’t someone available to deal with mail at the business premises on a daily basis, or the business address is also a home address. Managing mail can take time and also space which some businesses don’t have. Or they may not be in the position to employ someone to do the task and this can result in a haphazard approach to mail handling where important paperwork may be easily missed.Privacy and security are two big issues for businesses and one way to help with both is to withhold the business address from public record, especially if these are private residential addresses. Using virtual office services allows you to do this as well as to be certain that paperwork and deliveries are handled in a secure manner before being forwarded to your chosen address.There is also a great first impression that comes when a business has an address in London, regardless of where they are actually based. This can add prestige to the company and this can help to quickly establish new companies who have recently formed and want to be taken seriously by their new clients.Finally, if the business is based abroad but trades in the UK, virtual office services can offer a London address for those UK customers to correspond with that guarantees the handling of mail in a timely manner and can even handle incoming phone calls from UK based customers.

A business plan is an important piece of information, so you should take care to make sure your create one that will form a solid foundation for you to build your business upon. Simply put, it is a written document that accurately describes your business, outlines your business objectives, what strategies you plan to use for operation and marketing, and projections for your sales and financial forecasts.

How will a business plan help me?

You may have the perfect business idea in your mind, but actually writing out your business plan will help you to clarify your business ideas and help you to think about them in fine detail. Laying out your business plan can often show up potential weak spots or problems that you may not have considered, but will also allow you to set about solving them before they ever become an issue.Everyone that sets up a business will have goals to achieve. Your business plan will enable you to set your business goals, whether they be short-term ones that can be easily reached within a few short weeks or months, or longer-term goals for where you see your business in five or ten years time.You can also use your business plan as your guide as you grow your business and measure your actual progress against your set goals and milestones within your plan.Many businesses will look to secure financing from banks to help them start up or expand their business. You will need a sound business plan in place if you want to gain a business loan from a bank or seek investment from other financial bodies.Having a well thought out business plan can also help to establish your reputation as a serious business. It can help to build trust in customers and clients, convince suppliers that you are genuine, and also help potential new employees to believe in you and feel secure in their employment.

How much time does a business plan cover?

Your business plan will set out your strategy and plan of action. Most typical business plans initially cover the first one to three years, but sometimes this can be longer depending on the rate of growth you want to achieve.Putting your plan into writing will help you focus on each goal or idea and prioritise the most important ones to achieve first. Once you have sorted out your priorities and shelved any objectives that can be brought in at a later time, you can end up saving yourself a lot of precious time.What you originally thought may take three years to implement may actually take less than two to achieve once you have sorted out your most important objectives. Your business plan will act as your benchmark for your business performance. It can help to keep you on track to achieve your goals and prevent you wasting time on other actions that may not be as crucial right at that time.

Tailoring your business plan to suit others

As well as setting out your own business goals and objectives, your business plan may be needed to sell the idea of your business to others, such as investors, shareholders and bank managers. In this case you should base your plan on detailed financial information where possible. Investors may not be too interested in the minutiae of your operational and marketing strategies, so you can tailor your plan to suit their interests and needs.When applying for financial backing, try to keep the plan short. Use our checklist to make your business plan more appealing to investors:

• Keep the plan short
• Focus on what the investor needs to know
• Cut out any waffle or details that are not of their concern
• Check your spelling and grammar
• Overly detailed business plans are often quickly shelved

You might want to include:

• CVs of key personnel
• Detailed financial forecasts, projections and assumptions
• Market research data
• Product literature or technical specifications

Presentation is key

When presenting your business plan to others, the overall presentation is very important. Make sure it looks professional or else you may not be taken seriously. Put a cover on your plan and include an easy to read contents page at the front complete with page and section numbering.It would also be wise to start your business plan off with an executive summary as a nice introduction and overview for the reader. People will often make assumptions and judgements based on the summary you provide. This will basically summarise the key points of your plan to make it easier for your readers to understand. You should treat your business plan as an important and professional document, even when it is only ever going to be for internal use only.Put yourself in your readers shoes. Look at your business plan from your target reader's point of view. Does it make sense to you? Would it convince you to invest into it if you were approached for financing with this plan? Review and amend your plan until you are completely happy with it.

How to write your business plan

Going into detail about how to write your business plan and what to include in it would take up a lot of your reading time here, so instead we would like to recommend that you take a look at the Princes Trust website where you will find plenty of free tips on how to write your perfect business plan as well as free business plan templates that you can download and use in Word or PDF format. You will also find free downloadable business tables in Excel that you can use for your financial projections.

Setting up your company and business banking

When you have your business plan in place and are ready to make your new business official, you should take a look at our Company Formations service. Establishing a business can be a complicated process that involves a lot of paperwork and reporting to the correct authorities. Should you be unsure about any aspect of setting up your own company or even make a mistake with your registration, you could experience a whole range of problems later down the line.This is where we at Capital Office can help you. We have decades of experience in these areas and offer a fully comprehensive professional company formation service. No matter if you are looking at setting up as a Limited Company, a Limited Liability Partnership, or a company that is Limited by Guarantee, we have the right package for you. We can help and guide you through every step of your company formation process and ensure your new company is properly and expertly founded.

Barclays Fast Track Banking

You will want to set up a separate business bank account for your company and we can help you with this too. We provide all clients with Barclays fast track banking. We know how important it is to keep on top of your finances, and that is why Capital Office have teamed up with the UK's leading Bank and Accountancy Practice. Capital Office can help you get a Business Bank Account through Barclays, this is a fast track scheme which is available through us.

Advice on how to start a business when a Loan is not an option

Starting a business requires the owner to have the capital available to sustain the business for at least one year. While this is likely the case with most startups, having a way to access additional funding without seeking a bank loan is ideal. Even without investors and doing most of the work yourself, you can still start a business without applying for a single loan.

Maintain a Primary Job

One way to ensure that you can take care of your household expenses and have some available to put into your new business is to maintain a primary job. In other words, don’t quit your day job. Have management personnel in place to handle the business while you work to make sure the doors stay open.

Consider Hiring Friends and Family

Friends and family may volunteer some of their time to help you out with your new business. As a startup, they are likely to work for free. Once you are able to put them on payroll, it is ideal to do so. Friends and family make great employees when they are appreciated and their hours at your business do not interfere with their regular jobs and/or family schedules.It is important to hire those that you can trust with your business. If something with the business were to go sour, or your relationship in general, it could jeopardize the business and the relationship. It is tricky to ask friends and family to work for you when you cannot offer pay, but in most cases, they will be happy to help out. Make sure that their kindness is not taken advantage of.

Maintain Low Overhead Costs

Try to keep your overhead costs low. Use services that bundle rather than individual services for everything your business needs. A prime example of this is combining your Internet and phone services, with voicemail service. Work as much at the business as you can yourself. Not having a big payroll right out of the gate is ideal as it will allow for more revenue to go back into the business.Blend ServicesConsider offering consulting services along with your main product or service. This shows other business owners that you are an expert in the industry and have something to offer them that can help their business goals at the same time. What this does is creates income for your business and develops working relationships. There will be times when other businesses in the industry will need what yours offers, and when you are in good standing with them, your business will be their first choice as a vendor.

Liquidate Unnecessary Possessions

Sell everything you do not need. Take these funds and create a business savings account that earns interest. This will become the starting point for the business’ emergency fund if a major financial hit occurs or business does not take off as quickly as planned. This is a responsible measure to take to prevent taking out a loan and paying back one and a half times (on average) the amount you borrowed.You may only have one opportunity in life to start a business. You will have multiple opportunities to buy “things” in your life.

Approach Investors

Don’t be afraid to seek out investors. Investors do not really have any say in what decisions you make for the business; they just provide the money to keep you going. Of course, they are going to expect a return on their investment. This is typically an additional percentage of their investment in a set period of time.

Reinvest Profits

Reinvest your business’ profits back into it. This way, you literally are funding the business yourself, without the help of investors or banks. It also helps during tax time to account for the profits that are not reflected in a bank account balance.

Closing Thoughts

As you write up your business plan and prepare to put the wheels in motion, create a list of business goals. These should be small milestones for your first year, with one large goal to achieve by the end of your first year in business. This helps keep you, as the business owner, motivated to market the business and expand with new products and services over time.

If you started a small business successfully and are looking for a significant increase in the number of customers or the amount of sales, it means you want to grow your business. There are many ways to do this, but choosing the right way to grow depends on the type of business, available resources, and how much money and time you are willing to invest. Check out the 8 strategies that follow.

1. Open another place

If you feel confident that the current point of sale is under control, consider expansion by opening a new location. Increase outlets and you will expand the number of places where you can sell your products. To increase sales points, you can open new stores or branches, make use of new brokers or dealers, or create new sales channels.

2. Offer your business as a franchise

The model franchise is one of the most successful ways to grow a business. Franchising is a way of doing business, through which a third party is given the right to use a trademark and operate a business. This system will allow you to grow without having to manage a new location. This will help you maximize the time you spend looking for new opportunities and improve your business.

3. Granting the license of your product

This can be an effective and low-cost growth, especially if you have a product or service trademark. Licensing is an agreement between a company that allows another use their trademarks, patents, technology and any other valuable properties. In return, you receive fees for sales of the products or services provided or sold under the license. To find a partner interested in your license, start by researching companies that offer products or services similar to yours.

4. Form an alliance or acquire another business

Two is always better than one. Investigate companies that are similar to yours, or that have deals that are complementary to yours, and consider the benefits of combining forces. Aligning with a type similar to yours can be a powerful way to rapidly expand your company. These partnerships could include agreements to combine resources (financial, human, or technological), functions (production processes or product distribution), share information like market knowledge , share distribution channels or outlets, or customers such as in the case of both companies have different types of products, but similar types of customers, and each company can complement each other’s products.

5. Diversify

Diversification is an excellent strategy for growth, since it allows you to have multiple streams of income that can fill in the gaps of the season and increase sales and profit margins. These are some of the most common forms of diversification:

• Sell ​​complementary products or services
• Teaching on the subject in which you are an expert
• Import or export your products or those of others
• Being a speaker or columnist about your business

6. Address other markets or consumers

In your current market, you are doing well. Are there others? Probably. Use your imagination to determine what other markets or consumers could use your product. Addressing new types of consumers means redirecting your products or services so that they are aimed at different types of markets that they are already attending. It may be necessary to create new products or services, or simply adapt products you already have, so they can also meet the needs or desires of other types of consumers.

7. Seek external markets

To export, a distributor is needed in the foreign country so you can take your product and sell it in their domestic market. You can locate foreign distributors to find out if there is any foreign company in your own city or state with a representative in the United States. Another option is to look for customers who purchase from you directly, for it is the easiest way to create a website and promote your products online. Another way to start exporting is participating in international fairs.

8. Increase advertising

Investment in advertising is another way to grow a business that does not require spending much money. Besides making use of brochures, posters, and cards, participate in trade fairs or give gifts printed with your company name. Remember that the best advertising is word of mouth. A product or service of high quality and excellent customer service will ensure you are always recommended by your customers.Consider advertising on the Internet. Often, customers discover business through a search engine on the web. Make sure your company has a presence on the Internet to maximize their exposure.Our virtual office service can also help boost your business presence, our mail forwarding address in London is a great way of boosting your businesses image. Be sure to contact us if you would like to find out more.

With advances in technology, it is becoming increasingly easy to launch an online business from home.You can configure your own website, sell and even receive payments directly from your site. These are the foundations that will help you create your internet business.

Types of companies on the Internet

Almost anything can be sold through the Internet. Many different online businesses from home provide services to other businesses with variables like web design tools or even accounting.A service-based business allows you to get started quickly, without having to invest in inventory. If your goal is to sell items, there are easy ways to do it without having your own shipping department. Companies – like Amazon and Commission Junction allow you to advertise your products on your site. They will only ask for a commission for what they sell. Other websites – like eBay and Etsy – allow you to create a virtual store and handle payments in your name.

Types of Income

Your online business can get different types of income, depending on its purpose. If you sell your services, you can charge clients by the hour or by the service. For example, you can announce a basic web design package for £ 99 or you can charge £ 25 per hour for work on a design. If you sell products, your income will come from the purchase price or, in the case of affiliated companies, commissions. The fees are usually calculated based on a percentage of the selling price of the article.There are several ways to get paid with your online business. Large companies create a payment gateway on their own sites and recorded with major credit card companies to receive payments online. Small businesses often use a service like PayPal or Intuit , to process payments. These facilitators payment charge a percentage of the operation of their services.

Advantages and disadvantages

The biggest advantage of operating an online business is flexibility. You can operate from your home at your convenience, without having to rent an office. It also lets you run the business from your laptop anywhere in the world where there is internet access.If you're not naturally self-disciplined or organized, be weary – running an online business takes dangers. It's easy to put off work late and lose focus on the creation of the company. The success of online businesses is to formalize work schedules and objectives to ensure that the business grow profitably.

Initial Costs

The amount of money you need to start your online business depends on the type of business. All online businesses need some kind of presence on the Internet. This requires that you configure a domain name and a website. Several providers, like Blogger and Weebly, allow you to create a site for free. This is a good option when you're starting. As your business grows, you may need the services of a web designer or programmer to expand your site. You may have to upgrade your computer or office equipment if you have not support or functional. At a minimum, you'll need a fixed computer or laptop with internet connection and a printer to print invoices and other documents.

Base

An online business can be easy to install and can also be profitable. Like any other business, an online business should focus on the basics of dealing with customers and sales in order to succeed.

Start A Business From Home

The big question is: Is it possible to create a profitable business from home with little investment of time and money? The idea of ​​developing a business from home is based on the need to find a source of extra income, possibly in the future can become your main source of income.A profitable business is one where profits exceed 60%, 80% or even 100% or more the value of the investment.So for a business to have the ability to provide a significant source of income, also you require considerable investment. The following steps are to be able to develop profitable business ideas from home that do not require much investment at first.

Identify your reasons

Answer why you want to start your own business is the first thing you should do. Want to be your own boss? Do you want to earn extra money? you not want to depend on schedules? Be careful, for example with your own business you will not have only one boss but every one of your customers will be one of your bosses. And on time, you could end up working more than necessary.

Analyse your personality

Do you have the qualities to own a business? Unfortunately not all have it, luck is however, that these characteristics can be learned. Ask yourself the following questions: Do you have what it takes to be a leader of a business? Do you like making decisions? Do you like racing? Do you have the power of self-discipline?

Acknowledge your skills

It is ideal to start an activity that you like or you highlight and which have some experience in. You will be the one who does the work, and what better to bet on an activity in which you function well and safely, or in which you want to invest time and money to learn.

Define a clear concept

Declare a unique business concept. That is, a business must have spirit, have something unique that makes it what it is. When making a business from home, despite being smaller, the same idea applies. You must define a concept of your business. It is also essential to explain what the business is dedicated. For example, say that there is a company called Artec. What sounds like the name? It could be a business education, technical services or items of art, right? That is, to do business at home, explains below the name of your business what he does. This applies, for example through a slogan.

Assess the business idea

Write on paper brainstorm of those activities that you can perform and which you can consider in your local market or online, depending on the activity. Tantea if your business idea is feasible. Describe the product or service you're selling, if you have competition or not. Analyse your market, assess the needs and desires of your potential consumers. Set the price of your product or service.

Calculate investment

With every activity you wrote do the following: Investment value of materials or costs and the percentage of profitability. For example, investment for the creation or implementation of a product where X is £ 10 and is sold at £ 18, so the yield is 80%. Select only those that have a return equal to or greater than 50% to start working on those profitable businesses from home.

Before making plans

The best advice for starting a business from home, the idea is to plan, strategies, costs, layout, location and prices, before acting hastily and having to slapping of drowning as they are presenting problems. What name you will use, what legal form you will use or bring it to carry your business personally. What licenses and permits you need. How you can protect your business from theft, or fraud you'll protect your business idea, since you may need to register a trademark.This is costly in terms of money, resources and time. Therefore, it is always better to have a business plan, which will indicate whether the business is attractive, if your business is profitable, and what strategies need to take to develop a successful business.

For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), creating a public relations (PR) plan and efficient marketing represents a challenge, if not an impossibility, given the budget constraints and inexperience in the business world.However, all is not lost for new companies as they can implement some actions to attract potential customers, spread their offerings, increase base consumers and gain reputation, without decapitalising.

Would you like to know how? Here we present them:

1. Strengthen ties with your customers via e-mail. Be sure to keep your customers informed on current events involving your business and your new products. The key to maximizing this is to nurture your mailing list and be informative as well as using engaging content.2. Connect with your consumers on Social Media. Social media harnesses invaluable components of a solid marketing strategy. In addition to spreading your offers, these digital platforms allow you to interact with your users and get the feedback you need.In parallel with the use of social networks, think about building a website to help you strengthen your online presence and gain visibility. With a website list you can perform various actions, such as the application of SEO techniques for search engine optimisation and links to other sites.3. Using blogs for branding. Creating a blog will help you expand the scope of your brand in the digital world and establish ties with digital "influencers", who can offer you a space on their sites. This will be an important source of advertising for your company, without using your capital.4. Join in with online conversation. Try and use management tools and monitoring of digital presences, in order to manage content and publications according to your needs, and eliminate traditional dissemination practices.5. Maintain a relationship with the press. Ask some media to cover your events and launches. Maybe some will reject your invitation, but there will always be some stakeholders in the development of companies like yours.If you are thinking about starting a business our range of mail address services which include virtual offices can be a great way of boosting your presence.

All companies need to maintain high performance. It is important to develop specific procedures that increase the efficiency of the collective. Many of our virtual office customers ask us how they can increase their businesses productivity.You`re probably trying to maximise the performance of your business right now. However, you may find that your positive intentions do not translate into action. It can be difficult to maintain general habits, especially if you are a person who finds it difficult to meet the New Year`s resolutions. Develop a plan for the whole team to come together and you'll be in a good position.

Prioritise work properly

Personnel work will not go well, if the work is not a priority. Important tasks must be performed prior to trivial matters. You must assign topics and activities rationally and within a reasonable time, or the quality of work may suffer if you do.

Avoid multitasking, if possible

Your team can not do it right if you are trying to do everything at once. It's a great idea to make the most of them focus on particular aspects of the project, who will then be able to concentrate.

Keeping things tidy as the work progresses

Being tidy is a must if you want your employees to be more effective. The office should not be allowed to become a mess for even half a day, so you may want to encourage people to eat away from their desks.

Colleagues should cooperate

While some tasks require a special unit, it is necessary to promote cooperation between members of the team and create a united effort. Someone can be re energised if they help another person achieve something. An act of kindness can be beneficial for both parties, so remind people of the value of teamwork.When a business achieves an efficient work flow and is properly organised an increase in productivity and output will be achieved. The business will then be properly positioned for growth and should see steady incline in new business.If you would like to talk www.yourvirtualofficelondon.co.uk please do get in contact with us today, we are always happy to help discuss your requirements and provide expert advice where needed.