{"id":3732,"date":"2019-12-03T10:19:54","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T10:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/?p=3732"},"modified":"2019-12-03T10:19:54","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T10:19:54","slug":"low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Low-risk ways to start a business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Methods to overcome uncertainty in 2020<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

So you\u2019ve got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner. But then again, just as you\u2019ve geared yourself up to commit, all sorts of midnight worries start to creep in.<\/p>\n

Is now the time? Are people spending money? What about the sluggish housing market? What about Brexit? And the state of the local high street \u2013 does anyone even go there anymore?<\/p>\n

You want to press ahead with your plan, but you also don\u2019t want to be reckless, or take a fall and lose what you\u2019ve already built up \u2013 so where do you go from here?<\/p>\n

Of course, the answers to these questions will depend on what kind of business you\u2019re hoping to start and where you are, both geographically and financially. But there are a few things you could do that might make it easier than you think.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re starting from scratch or adding a new string to your bow, it\u2019s not always necessary to jump into a new venture feet first, risking all your capital, your reputation or your sanity.<\/p>\n

There are things you can do to get your new venture up and running, while cutting out some of the risks and stress.<\/p>\n

Test the water<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

There\u2019s no need to commit to a five-year plan straight away. Can you trade temporarily, over a season, or on a short-term deal?<\/p>\n

With a glut of shopfronts on the market, it\u2019s easier than ever to hire a premises on a pop-up basis, for a week or a season.<\/p>\n

Some owners of business and retail premises may even be looking to fill space at a peppercorn rent.<\/p>\n

Talk to your local council \u2013 they may have a staff member whose task it is to help revitalise high streets \u2013 or to the manager of a local shopping mall or arcade.<\/p>\n

The premises may not be your dream spot, but six months of serving top nosh in a temporary place in the local mall could stand you in great stead for word of mouth, brand recognition, and maybe some great reviews.<\/p>\n

These will all come with you if you do decide, later on, to invest in that dream premises and a longer-term business plan.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not looking at retail, think of other places you could test your business idea. Events, fairs and festivals can offer a large number of potential customers over a short period of time, and provide lots of feedback on how your product is received.<\/p>\n

Collaborate<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Can you usefully work with another business to minimise risk?<\/p>\n

Aside from sharing premises, could you think about working as a separate brand alongside theirs?<\/p>\n

Could you hire a stand in their shop, or have your product promoted (and served) on their menu?<\/p>\n

Can you pay someone else to produce your product, in a small run on their production line?<\/p>\n

Does an existing business have unused office space that they would be happy to sublet?<\/p>\n

On top of cutting costs, this can give you access to valuable business partners and customers.<\/p>\n

As long as you\u2019re not competing with your new business contacts, there are plenty of ways you can work together without treading on each other\u2019s toes.<\/p>\n

Communicate<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s no use going to all the hard work of setting up a business without telling people about it.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to hire expensive PR or designers \u2013 it\u2019s easy and free to use social media, and lots of customers like the authenticity of talking to the actual business owner.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t feel you have to sell all the time on your social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.<\/p>\n

Most customers will be much more interested if you chat about your business, yourself, or your local news.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re much more likely to give you their business if you seem friendly and willing to engage.<\/p>\n

Lots of website providers offer cheap and cheerful options for business websites, whether you\u2019re planning on selling online or just letting people know what you do.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget traditional media \u2013 there are still lots of local newspapers and community publications going in most areas of the country, and many will often give you a write-up for free in exchange for a quote and a bit of your time.<\/p>\n

Go online<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Trading online isn\u2019t an either\/or thing. How many of you have seen something you like, decided it\u2019s too much of an extravagance, only to wish, a few days later, that you had treated yourself after all?<\/p>\n

If those customers who like your product haven\u2019t got the means or the motivation to buy there and then, it\u2019s really important that they can come back and find you.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if you\u2019re selling something that might be a large-ticket item, it\u2019s possible that a customer who likes an item they spotted online might want to pop round to check it really does match that particular shade of orange in their carpets.<\/p>\n

The more places you\u2019re visible online, the more people will see what you have to offer. Don\u2019t worry if it\u2019s an image of your workshop, not a showroom \u2013 it all adds to the authenticity.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth looking at what large generic platforms can offer a new or small business in terms of e-trading. As well as eBay and Amazon, there are also more niche platforms that cater to crafts, books, and records.<\/p>\n

All these online platforms offer the tools to set up selling on a very flexible scale \u2013 from the occasional hobby product to much larger operations.<\/p>\n

Go light<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

People often think that finding a venue, shop or office is the first step to take when it comes to trading, but there are other ways to do without this upfront cost.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re offering services you may be able to work from home, but you will need the time and space to do so.<\/p>\n

If you need to have client meetings but can also work flexibly from home, you may want to look at renting hotdesking space.<\/p>\n

Lots of these schemes come with meeting space, or as an extra to a basic package. Fees are often flexible, and will be less if you only sign up to one or two days a week, rather than full-time.<\/p>\n

This can give you flexibility as your business expands, and a professional look and access to services that you might not find working directly from home.<\/p>\n

Go mobile<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t forget to think flexibly \u2013 there are other options, too.<\/p>\n

Lots of businesses operate out of a vehicle, whether it\u2019s selling coffee from a VW camper van or doing dog-grooming out of a Ford Transit. You could even load up your services on a bicycle.<\/p>\n

For some clients, the fact you can come to them can be a selling point gives you an edge over your competitors.<\/p>\n

Plan ahead<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Whatever your plans and outlays, it\u2019s really important that you\u2019ve thought it all through beforehand.<\/p>\n

Do your sums \u2013 your startup costs and running costs, and work out how many hours or items you\u2019re going to need to sell to cover your costs.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t plan on running on empty. Work out your cashflow, identify any pinch points, and how you might deal with them.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget your own time<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Your time is a cost, too, especially if you\u2019ve already got one venture up and running.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no good devoting all your time to new plans only to see your established business falter because you neglected it. Think about how much time you want to spend on your new plans.<\/p>\n

Every new business will take a little while to pay off \u2013 but be clear about when this should happen, and what\u2019s reasonable for your other commitments, family and finances to sustain.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re happy to advise on the above, please feel free to call us on 0161 832 4451 or drop us a line\u00a0mail@jackross.co.uk<\/a>.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Methods to overcome uncertainty in 2020 So you\u2019ve got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner. But then again, just as you\u2019ve geared yourself up to commit, all sorts of midnight worries start to creep in. Is now the time? Are people spending money? What about the sluggish housing market? What… Read More »Low-risk ways to start a business<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[230,236],"yoast_head":"\nLow-risk ways to start a business - Manchester Chartered Accountants<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Methods to overcome uncertainty in 2020 So you\u2019ve got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner. But then again, just as you\u2019ve geared yourself\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Low-risk ways to start a business - Manchester Chartered Accountants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Methods to overcome uncertainty in 2020 So you\u2019ve got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner. But then again, just as you\u2019ve geared yourself\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Manchester Chartered Accountants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jackrosstax\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/business.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Umar Memon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Umar Memon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Umar Memon\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/person\/890f768e5ff3e5664eda31546d21b6e8\"},\"headline\":\"Low-risk ways to start a business\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/\"},\"wordCount\":1353,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Business Advice\",\"Startup\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business Advice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/\",\"name\":\"Low-risk ways to start a business - Manchester Chartered Accountants\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"Methods to overcome uncertainty in 2020 So you\u2019ve got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner. But then again, just as you\u2019ve geared yourself\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Low-risk ways to start a business\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/\",\"name\":\"Jack Ross Chartered Accountants Manchester\",\"description\":\"Manchester Accountants & Manchester Xero Accountants\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Jack Ross Chartered Accountants\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Jack-Ross-Chartered-Accountants-Logo-Main.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Jack-Ross-Chartered-Accountants-Logo-Main.jpg\",\"width\":776,\"height\":889,\"caption\":\"Jack Ross Chartered Accountants\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jackrosstax\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JackRossTax\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/person\/890f768e5ff3e5664eda31546d21b6e8\",\"name\":\"Umar Memon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5430569879b99458cabfb580b2d9ad11?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5430569879b99458cabfb580b2d9ad11?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Umar Memon\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/author\/umar\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Low-risk ways to start a business - Manchester Chartered Accountants","description":"Methods to overcome uncertainty in 2020 So you\u2019ve got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner. But then again, just as you\u2019ve geared yourself","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Low-risk ways to start a business - Manchester Chartered Accountants","og_description":"Methods to overcome uncertainty in 2020 So you\u2019ve got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner. But then again, just as you\u2019ve geared yourself","og_url":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/","og_site_name":"Manchester Chartered Accountants","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jackrosstax","article_published_time":"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1350,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/business.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Umar Memon","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Umar Memon","Estimated reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/"},"author":{"name":"Umar Memon","@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/person\/890f768e5ff3e5664eda31546d21b6e8"},"headline":"Low-risk ways to start a business","datePublished":"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/"},"wordCount":1353,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#organization"},"keywords":["Business Advice","Startup"],"articleSection":["Business Advice"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/","url":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/","name":"Low-risk ways to start a business - Manchester Chartered Accountants","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-03T10:19:54+00:00","description":"Methods to overcome uncertainty in 2020 So you\u2019ve got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner. But then again, just as you\u2019ve geared yourself","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/low-risk-ways-to-start-a-business\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Low-risk ways to start a business"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#website","url":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/","name":"Jack Ross Chartered Accountants Manchester","description":"Manchester Accountants & Manchester Xero Accountants","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#organization","name":"Jack Ross Chartered Accountants","url":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Jack-Ross-Chartered-Accountants-Logo-Main.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Jack-Ross-Chartered-Accountants-Logo-Main.jpg","width":776,"height":889,"caption":"Jack Ross Chartered Accountants"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jackrosstax","https:\/\/twitter.com\/JackRossTax"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/person\/890f768e5ff3e5664eda31546d21b6e8","name":"Umar Memon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"http:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5430569879b99458cabfb580b2d9ad11?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5430569879b99458cabfb580b2d9ad11?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Umar Memon"},"url":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/author\/umar\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3732"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3732"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3734,"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3732\/revisions\/3734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my-brains.co.uk\/jackross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}