How to start a business?

During my education for business I did:

- how to market a business
- personal and business finance
- recruitment and selection
- comparing businesses

But how do I start from the beginning such as do I trademark my idea or design first or do I trademark the business name first? Do I begin to sell stuff from home or a location? How do I get a business bank account?

Reply 1

LancashireRep4

Official Rep

Original post

by Alien64

During my education for business I did:
- how to market a business
- personal and business finance
- recruitment and selection
- comparing businesses
But how do I start from the beginning such as do I trademark my idea or design first or do I trademark the business name first? Do I begin to sell stuff from home or a location? How do I get a business bank account?

Hi @Alien64 ,

Firstly, it's great to hear your interested in starting a business! I'm currently studying business and management at university and have set up two business. Due to the huge difference between the businesses I have taken entirely different approaches. For example, for my first business, this is run from a different location and I have set up a different bank account, however I haven't needed to trademark anything yet. For my second business which is in the final stages of being set up, it's being run from home and I will be required to trademark the brand.

As there are so many different business, it's difficult to give exact advice based on the information share. However I do have some recommendations.

•

YouTube and google are excellent sources to answer many questions, personally for my first business I learnt everything from free sources online so make sure to dedicate time to researching and creating a solid business plan, just make sure to double check the information's validity.

•

Facebooks groups where essential to setting up my second business. I joined support groups for small business and for my specific sector and there was lots of knowledgeable people who gave me guidance.

•

Business advisors/consultant can be excellent for helping your business grow. If you have the funding, it may be worth getting advise from an outside source as they can use their expertise to grow your business.

•

The Kings Trust is a service that allows you to be granted funding to start up a business. This is a free support which, if accepted onto, you can bring your business to life.

You may want to check if the place you got your business education from has a support system for business start-ups, even if your a past student they may allow alumni to use their services. Personally, I used many of my universities services to set up my second business, with assistance ranging from advice, guidance, setting up accounts and funding. However, if you have not attended university, your previous place of education may still offer this.

I hope this helps, please feel free to ask me any questions,
-Sophia (University of Central Lancashire)

Reply 2

greg654

A lot of that stuff can happen in parallel once you've got a solid idea, but honestly, I'd start simple, test if people actually want what you're offering. You can sell from home or online to keep costs low early on.
As for trademarks, that can come a bit later unless you're really worried about someone stealing the name or design. One thing I hadn't thought about until recently was using branded merch to get your name out there, this resource really breaks down how even small things like pens or bags can help with visibility if you're starting local.

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 3

Halymah

Original post

by Alien64

During my education for business I did:
- how to market a business
- personal and business finance
- recruitment and selection
- comparing businesses
But how do I start from the beginning such as do I trademark my idea or design first or do I trademark the business name first? Do I begin to sell stuff from home or a location? How do I get a business bank account?

You start by proving the idea works, not by filing anything. Pick a simple offer and try selling it from home or online. If people actually buy it you register a basic company, then open a business bank account with that registration. You only look at trademarks once the name is worth protecting. Everything else builds from having a product people want.

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