Your 6 step Start-Up Journey
Setting up a business in Jersey is both exciting and daunting but careful research and planning will give you a clear idea of how successful your new venture is likely to be. Follow these 6, easy to navigate, steps to maximise your success when starting up your business.
- Write down your idea so you can explain it to others.
- Think about your motivation for starting a business and what success will look like for you.
- Be realistic about whether you have the time and skills to deliver your idea.
- Consider who will buy your product or service and why they would buy it from you.
- Will this be your main income or is it just a hobby? Do a personal budget so you know how much income you need from it.
- Create a picture/plan of who your customers are, how your business will operate, potential costs and income streams. Our online course Build Your Business will help you work this all out.
- Get feedback on your idea from people who have relevant experience and can give you a variety of views.
- Decide if your idea could succeed as a profitable business and if yes, push ahead.
- Develop a plan to put your idea into practice, thinking about what you need to do and in what order.
- Research your market and potential customers and decide how you will sell your product or service to them. You can use our guide to conducting market research to help you.
- Think about the practicalities of how you will operate – how, when, where and what you will need.
- Create a realistic financial forecast so you know what your income will be and how much it will cost you to operate.
- If you need money to start your business, go out and start pitching for it now. There is some useful information on potential sources of investment on the Accessing Finance section of our website.
- Consider what legal structure would be most appropriate to start up your business.
- Get your business properly set up and registered as either a Sole trader or partnership or a Limited Company, so that you are legally able to operate.
- Depending on the nature of the business you are planning on there may also be other industry specific regulations and practicalities you need to consider. Here are some guides to different types of business:
- Get a business bank account. This may take a while, and you will probably need a plan and a financial forecast, so make sure you have gone through steps 2 and 3.
- If necessary, find appropriate premises to operate from and don’t over commit to them. Take a look at our property guide, designed to help small business owners find the right solutions to their property needs.
- If you need them, recruit people with complimentary skills to yours and give them the training they need.
- Register with the Office of the Information Commissioner if you will be holding personal data.
- Set up your accounts so you can track how much money you are getting and spending.
Here is a Start-up checklist for everything you need to consider when starting out on your business journey.
- Think about how will you launch your business.
- Make sure that your systems and processes are in place so you can invoice clients or take payments from day one.
- When you have everything in place just get going!
Keep in touch with Jersey Business so you can continue to get free, independent and confidential business advice.
What next!
Download the complete guide to your 6 Step Start Up Journey and we’ll guide you through everything you need to know when starting a business
Other useful sources of information.
LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST: Tim Bullock from Channel Eye Media and Nick Steel Head of Industry Development at Jersey Business talk about building a successful start-up. They discuss everything from planning to launching, offering brilliant pieces of advice along the way.
