Busines Book Guide

days to
a Business A step-by-step guide.
smarta.com/smartastart2012 | natwest.com/business
Let's get
started!
We've put together a step-by-step
guide to starting your own business,
which will help you go from business
plan to business success in just 30
days. Along with the extensive Smarta
resources and Business Builder
Package, we've got everything you
need to get started.
Calendar of contents
Day Day
#1 #2
Click on a day to go straight there... Identify your Get
business Planning
Day Day Day Day Day Day Day
#3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9
Assess your Do your Look at Look at Check your Design a Write your mission
finances research legal your skills resources logo statement
#10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16

Create your Create your Set up a Find your Contact Get business Get your accounts
website social media mailing list customers HMRC insurance in order
presence
#17 #18 #19 #20 #21 #22 #23

Get out there Set up a pricing Consider Get involved Discuss on Think Workplace health
and network structure advertising in online LinkedIn about staff and safety
communities
#24 #25 #26 #27 #28 #29 #30

Hit the Take a Write a Get eco-friendly Partnership Read some case Review your
phones/emails break press release possibilities studies progress so far
Day
#1
Identify your business
This is probably the most obvious thing to start with, but
deciding what you want to do is tough. If you’ve got an idea,
you’ll need to spend a day brainstorming exactly what you
want to do, to sharpen the idea.
Back to Contents... If you want to start a marketing business, you need to decide
exactly what type of marketing you want to do, what kind of
companies you want to work with and what makes you stand out
from the competition. Tightening up your business idea will help
you move forward with the next step.
You can do this the old-fashioned way, using pen and paper, or
using an online brainstorming application. www.bubbl.us is a
simple online tool for doing this.
Don’t be afraid to do a couple of brainstorms. Often, you might

discover that one of the first brainstorms will lead to a whole new
idea, which requires a mind map of its own.
Day
#2 Get planning
After yesterday’s brainstorming, you’ll probably have lots of
ideas floating around. Now is the time to put them together
in a business plan.
Back to Contents... Wikipedia defines a business plan as “a formal statement of a set

of business goals, the reasons why they are attainable, and the
plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background
information about the organisation or the team attempting to
reach those goals.”
A business plan will allow you to get an overview of all aspects of

your business, while focusing your attention on areas that need
more research. It’ll also be a good basis for you to present with,
Video: Sahar Hashemi,
if you need to speak to potential investors.
Founder of Coffee Republic
talks about putting together If you’re not sure how to go about writing one, Smarta has plenty
a business plan. of business plan templates to get you started.
Day Assess your finances
#3 If you’ve written your business plan, you’ll hopefully have

a vague idea of how much starting your business will cost.
You’ll probably also have an idea of whether you can fund the
business yourself, or whether you’ll need to look for finance
elsewhere.
Back to Contents... You’ve got a number of options for external financing, including:
A bank loan
Business Angels investors who are happy
to give business advice too!
Equity Finance: think Dragons’ Den

and you’re on the right lines.
Applying for a grant
For more information, check out the Smarta f inance section.

There will always be unexpected extra costs, so you should put
aside more than you think you may need.
Day Do your research
#4
While working on the business plan, you’ll hopefully have
done plenty of research. But now’s a great time to look back
and spend some more time researching specific areas.
For example:
Competitors: is there anyone in your

local area or niche doing the same thing?
Back to Contents...
Branding: does anyone else have
the same logo or brand name?
Standard costs in the industry

Industry press or websites
Local networking events
Does any of the research throw up things that mean you’ll need
to change or adapt your business plan? Make those changes now,
Video: John Paleomylites,
and be prepared to adapt your business plan as you go along.
Founder of BeatThatQuote
talks about the importance Natwest offers a range of market-specif ic expertise that could
of research. help you in your research.
Day
#5
Back to Contents...
Look at legal
Legal matters are often one of the most intimidating parts
of running a business, especially if you’re new to the area, so
it’s often something that gets left to the last minute.
If you’re unsure where to start, it’s worth checking out the

Smarta legal section. Smarta Business Builder has a legal
pack filled with documents that could be of use too. If you’ve got
a friend with plenty of legal knowledge, now’s the time to call
in a favour.
Natwest can help through its Mentor services.
Day
#6 Look at your skills

Even the most talented people will struggle to successfully
manage all parts of a business.
Back to Contents... One of the best things you can do at this early stage, is to recognise
your strengths and outsource or look for help with the parts
you struggle with. For example, if your creative and leadership
skills are excellent but your admin skills leave a little to be
desired, you might consider hiring a virtual assistant to give you
a helping hand.
Places you can outsource to include:
Peopleperhour
Freelance UK
Guru
Day
#7 Check your resources

You’ve looked at your skills, now it’s time to look at your
resources. Do you have all the tools you need to move forward?
You’ll probably need a decent work place, the right software and
Back to Contents... specialist equipment for your trade. You’ll also need to consider
the logistics of where you’re going to sell your product or service,
and how you’re going to transport it if that’s a need.
If you don’t have these resources, or can’t afford them, you

might want to look at rental packages. Regus has some excellent
office packages to get started on, including one especially for
new businesses and some start-up business accounts include
Regus membership for free.
Video: Karen Hanton, the
Founder of Toptable founder Additionally, have a look at sites like Freecycle, which offers
talks about starting her things for free as long as you’re happy to pick them up. You can
business at home. often pick up desks, chairs and even computers on there.
©
Day
#8 Design a logo
Now is the time to start shaping your brand. If you’re not sure
where to start, and it’s tricky to create something completely
original, there’s a great guide on Smarta for creating one.
Back to Contents...
Here’s a snippet from the guide:
> Designing your logo: Your logo will form an essential part of
your branding, so you want it to give off exactly the right message.
If you own a traditional artisan business, a modern, funky design
probably won’t give off the right image - so think carefully about
the brief you gave the designers when you are commissioning it.
Your logo will form an intrinsic part of your branding. Make sure
the logo reflects your business.
CONTINUED
©
Day
#8 Design a logo (continued)

> Creating a usage policy: create a policy to make sure your
logo isn’t used out of context, and to ensure its quality isn’t
compromised. Stipulate the exact dimensions to make sure it
isn’t distorted, and always make sure it is used consistently - any
Back to Contents... variation could put off customers.
> Protecting your logo: just as Nike is identifiable only by its ‘swoosh’,
your logo will come to be inextricably linked with your brand - so
protecting it against theft is important. For it to qualify for trade mark
protection, it needs to be distinctive and must not be misleading
about the goods and services you use it for. It may be automatically
protected, but consider registering it for extra protection.
If you’re looking for a cheap logo, have a look on sites like Folksy
and Etsy, where there are several shops for requesting a logo.
Day
#9 Write your
mission statement
Writing a mission statement can be done before or after
creating your logo.
Back to Contents...
A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a
company and organisation. The mission statement should
guide the actions of the organisation, spell out its overall
goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making.
Wikipedia
It’s like a summarised version of your Business Plan. To get

into the right mindset, think what you would add to your ‘About
Us’ page on your website. Your mission statement will be your
inspiration when you feel like you’re going offtrack.
Day Create your website
#10 You’ve got your logo organised, and a mission statement
written out. Now’s the time to launch a website. You’ve got a
number of options:
Design your own, on a platform like Wordpress

Hire someone else to design it for you
Back to Contents...
Use the Smarta Business Builder website tools to
create one: it’s a drag and drop process, so it’s ideal
for anyone who struggles with the more technical
elements.
Things you may want to consider for your website:
An About page
A Contact page
Links to your social media accounts and/or blog
Details of your services

Customer Testimonials
Create your
Day social media presence
If you read the Smarta blog, you’ll know how much importance
#11
we place on social media for business. Having an active profile
on social media is crucial for businesses, especially smaller
ones. You should consider writing a blog as well as setting up
Twitter and Facebook profiles. Make sure you update all your
social media accounts regularly.
Here are a few of the social networks you should consider:

Back to Contents...
Facebook: You can set up a group or page for your
business, where fans can like, comment on and share
your statuses.
Twitter: Share 140-character statuses with followers

and chat with other businesses, customers and clients.
LinkedIn: The professional social network. Connect

with those you meet at networking events, and to
research potential employees and clients.
Quora: A question and answer social network, making it

useful for quickly answering the questions of customers.
It’s also great for finding answers to common problems
other small businesses have come across.
Google+: It’s still early days, but Google+ has great

potential for brands when they launch their brand pages.
Day
#12 Set up a mailing list

If you haven’t launched your website yet, now might be a
good opportunity to gain some subscribers to a mailing list.
Back to Contents...
Set up a holding page on your website, where people can sign
up to receive your newsletter.
The benefit of having a newsletter is that you can build up a list

of potential customers for when you do launch. It’s one of the
easiest ways to get in contact with people directly, and there are
plenty of interesting ways you can market yourself through them.
Once you’ve launched, you can email them all to let them know
you’re live, and potentially offer them a new customer discount.
Good newsletter providers include MailChimp and Aweber, both

of which are simple to use.
Day
#13 Find your customers

By now, you should know who your potential customers and
clients are. But do you know anyone already who might be
suitable?
Back to Contents...
Reach out to family and friends. Even if they’re not suitable, they
might know someone who is. Use your social media channels
to reach out to potential customers too. They may be on your
newsletter list, following you on Twitter or liking you on Facebook.
If they’ve already shown interest in getting your updates, they’ll
probably be interested in trying your product or service.
If you want to give them a little push, consider offering special

introductory offers for signing up to your newsletter, or for liking
your Facebook page.
Day
#14
Contact HMRC to tell
Back to Contents...
them you're becoming
self-employed
This one’s pretty simple, but essential.
Register as self-employed on the HMRC website.
Check out the HMRC guides if you’re not sure exactly

what to do.
Have a look on the section about starting the tax year.
Day
#15 Get business insurance

We’re not quite done with the forms yet! Next up is business
insurance. What business insurance you get depends
completely on what kind of business you have. Remember
Back to Contents... if you have employees, employers’ liability insurance is
mandatory.
On smarta.com we’ve got a great guide to deciding what

business insurance you need. It includes:
Compulsory insurance
Buildings and contents insurance
Public liability insurance
This is another essential step, so please don’t skip this one.
Get your accounts
Day in order
#16 For a lot of new business owners, keeping up-to-date with

their accounts can be tricky. If you’re a little shaky on
numbers, keeping up with your accounts is probably that
one item on your to-do list that gets pushed down to the
bottom each day.
However, if you get on top of your accounts now, you’ll be grateful

Back to Contents...
when it’s time to do your tax return. Smarta Business Builder
has everything you need to get started, including the QuickBooks
system for tracking and controlling your invoice and expenses.
We’ve chosen QuickBooks because:
It’s simple to use and get started easily

QuickBooks helps save time on accounts
It offers Intuitive, easy-to-use analysis tools
It's easy to upgrade as needs become more complex
Quickbooks is made by Intuit, the leading provider of accounting

software worldwide with more than four million customers
Get out there and network
Day After all that paperwork, you’re probably dying to get out of the
#17 house or office. Now’s the time to get out there and network.
There are networking events out there for different industries,

sectors and locations. Have a look at our guide to the best places
to find your nearest networking events.
If you’re new to networking, here are a few tips:

Back to Contents...
Don’t forget your business cards. You’ll speak to a lot of people,
and it’s easier to remember names and faces if you’ve got it on a
card. Get creative – consider QR codes, quirky business card images
and clever wording.
Be confident. Shoulders back, smile and maintain eye contact. If in

doubt, fake it ‘til you make it.
Ask questions. You’ll learn more about other businesses, which

could provide some invaluable lessons, and you could spot an
opportunity for your own business.
….But don’t forget to talk about your own business. If you’re passionate
and excited about your business, others are sure to follow suit.
$
Day
#18 Set up a
pricing structure
So, you’ve got your product or service, you know what your
costs should be, and you know who your target market is.
Back to Contents... Now – how much should you charge?
Hopefully the research you did on day four has given you an idea
of how much your competitors are charging, and how much people
are willing to pay for a service. For example, if you’re starting a
website design business, you can’t really charge twice the average
price unless you’re offering something truly unique.
If you’re still not sure what to charge and you’re offering a service,
consider the following: Work out how much you would honestly
want (and realistically expect) to earn in a year, then break it down
to a monthly and hourly rate. As long as this covers your costs and
allows you a profit margin, you’re close to the right figure.
Day Consider advertising
#19 Now is the day to consider advertising. That’s not to say you
should commit to anything at this stage, particularly if your
product or service is yet to hit the market, but it’s good to
know what your options are.
If you’re looking for some targeted online advertising, consider:
Back to Contents... Google advertising

Facebook advertising
Additionally, it’s worth speaking to the blogging
community about product reviews and editorial
Print advertising includes:

Local magazine/newspaper editorials & adverts
Posters
Quirky business cards
Fliers
If you prefer to get creative, Guerrilla marketing is another option.
Day Get involved in
online communities
#20 We touched on blogging communities yesterday, but today you
should get involved with them.
Here’s why:
Bloggers can turn a post round quickly, so word gets out quickly
Back to Contents... about your product or service.
The blogging community is extremely social, across Twitter and

Facebook in particular, so a post about your company can spread
far and wide.
A rave write-up is just as valuable as a paid-for advert, particularly

if the blogger is high-profile.
Companies like Handpicked Media are great to speak to about

blogging, as they represent plenty of blogs.
That said, the relationship between bloggers and companies can often
be tricky, so it’s worth hiring a PR company or freelance PR who’s
experienced in maintaining a positive relationship with bloggers.
Day
#21
Back to Contents...
Discuss on LinkedIn
Did you know LinkedIn has plenty of groups to discuss various
topics? You can talk about promotional methods in a marketing
group, then meet other entrepreneurs in a different group. It’s
a great way to network online, and you’ll get knowledge and
contacts in return.
Spend an hour or two searching groups of interest, and chat to

people in them. Start discussions, get involved in others and share
information about your own business. It’s also a great opportunity
to get honest advice and feedback about your business.
Day Think about staff
#22 If you’re considering taking on a new employee, now or later,

then you’ll need to get yourself set up. HMRC has an excellent
guide to what steps you’ll need to take before taking on a new
employee. You’ll also need to take out employers’ liability
insurance.
You should also read the following articles on smarta.com:

Back to Contents...
Employees
How to interview employees
How to recruit the right employee for your business
Training and personal development for employees
Appraising and assessing your employees

Five-part plan for managing problem employee
Video: Pimlico Plumbers
work performance
founder Charlie Mullins
says getting the right Natwest Mentor services can also help you to discover how you
employees is crucial. should prepare for taking on employees
Workplace health & safety
Day If you’ve got someone else working for you, you need to pay attention
#23
to your employee’s health and safety. This extends to making sure
they’re comfortable at their desk and have all the equipment they
need to do their work without endangering their health.
The Smarta Employers’ health and safety guide states that

businesses must:
Complete risk assessment and health and safety policy:

Back to Contents... write down if you have five or more employees.
Make plans for fire emergencies and record accidents

Make sure the workplace is safe and hygienic
Additionally, you should make sure you:

Keep your workplace clean: particularly the kitchen
Don't let employees get overstressed or overtired
Long-term, you should:

Carry out regular mini-assessments and checks
Point out hazards to your employees
Find out how Natwest Mentor services can help you in this area.
Day
#24 Hit the phones/emails

In a world of social media, using the telephone to find clients
and sales can seem old hat. But it’s often one of the best ways
to secure a meeting or a sale.
If you really don’t feel comfortable cold calling, there’s always the
Back to Contents... option of sending out email inquiries. It’s easier for recipients to delete
an email though, so be aware that your success rate will be lower.
Before you hit the phones or emails, you’ll need to prepare:
Write a script or outline of your main points
Understand what your selling points will be

Offer to ring back at another time if they're busy
Work out how to get around gatekeepers. If you always speak to the
receptionist, try calling back when you know they’ll be on lunch, or
when they’ve finished for the day.
Day
#25
Back to Contents...
Take a break
Today, you should relax! You’ve worked hard on your
business for 24 days, and it’s important to take time out and
away from the business. Without space from your business
occasionally, it’s easy to lose focus and motivation to hit
your goals. Now might also be the time to spend a day with
family or friends.
And the best bit? That break will mean you go back to work feeling
refreshed – and you might even come up with some more good ideas.
Day Write a press release
#26
As you’re now well on the way to building a brilliant
business, it won’t be long before you’ll want the world
to hear about it! Coverage in newspapers, magazines or
websites can be invaluable.
Larger PR companies command handsome fees, but there are

smaller affordable agencies and individuals – and you can even
have a go yourself.
Back to Contents...
Securing coverage is down to a combination of targeting publications
and journalists who’ll be interested in what you do and sculpting ‘a
story’ their readers will want to hear. Every business has multiple
stories – you’ve just got to find your angle.
Write a press release with an eye-catching title, strong opening

and quote, add notes about your business at the end and ensure
you have high resolution images of yourself, your logo and your
products. Find out who the best journalist is to send press releases
to (it’s rarely the editor); send by email and follow up a day or two
later by phone.
Visit smarta.com for more advice on PR & writing a press release.
Day
#27 Get eco-friendly

Running an eco-friendly business is far more important now
Back to Contents... than it was ten years ago. Employers have just as much
responsibility as employees do to support a green approach
to business. In fact, there is legislation now to make sure a
businesses output doesn’t impact too badly on the environment.
If you’re not sure where to start, there are a number of interactive

tools to find out what you need to do.
You can also get more help through the Natwest Mentor services.
Day
#28
Back to Contents... Partnership possibilities
One way of getting in more business is by partnering up
with others.
For example, if you offer party favours or a wedding service, consider

partnering up with a wedding planner to maximise your chances.
This might mean giving them a small commission, but it’s worth it
if you see a big rise in your work.
Day
#29
Back to Contents...
Read some case studies
If you haven’t already checked out the case studies on Smarta,
now’s the time.
It’s full of inspiring stories and helpful articles from those that have
already been there and done that. You might pick up a great new
idea you can apply to your own business.
Day
#30 Review your

progress so far!
Back to Contents...
Time to review! It’s the end of your 30 days, so now look back
and review how you’ve done so far.
Now might be a good time to do an old-fashioned SWOT analysis,

identifying your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Be open to the fact that you may have to drop some tactics entirely,
while others just need tweaking. Your first year in business will be
a series of trials, so it’s entirely normal to try something and drop
it if it doesn’t work.
Even Google does that now and again!

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days to

a Business A step-by-step guide.

Day Day Day Day Day Day Day

Day Day Day Day Day Day Day

#10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16

Day Day Day Day Day Day Day

#17 #18 #19 #20 #21 #22 #23

Day Day Day Day Day Day Day

#24 #25 #26 #27 #28 #29 #30

Don’t be afraid to do a couple of brainstorms. Often, you might

Back to Contents... Wikipedia defines a business plan as “a formal statement of a set

A business plan will allow you to get an overview of all aspects of

#3 If you’ve written your business plan, you’ll hopefully have

Equity Finance: think Dragons’ Den

For more information, check out the Smarta f inance section.

Competitors: is there anyone in your

Standard costs in the industry

If you’re unsure where to start, it’s worth checking out the

Natwest can help through its Mentor services.

#6 Look at your skills

Places you can outsource to include:

#7 Check your resources

If you don’t have these resources, or can’t afford them, you

#8 Design a logo (continued)

It’s like a summarised version of your Business Plan. To get

Design your own, on a platform like Wordpress

Things you may want to consider for your website:

Details of your services

Here are a few of the social networks you should consider:

Twitter: Share 140-character statuses with followers

LinkedIn: The professional social network. Connect

Quora: A question and answer social network, making it

Google+: It’s still early days, but Google+ has great

#12 Set up a mailing list

The benefit of having a newsletter is that you can build up a list

Good newsletter providers include MailChimp and Aweber, both

#13 Find your customers

If you want to give them a little push, consider offering special

Register as self-employed on the HMRC website.

Check out the HMRC guides if you’re not sure exactly

Have a look on the section about starting the tax year.

#15 Get business insurance

On smarta.com we’ve got a great guide to deciding what

This is another essential step, so please don’t skip this one.

#16 For a lot of new business owners, keeping up-to-date with

However, if you get on top of your accounts now, you’ll be grateful

We’ve chosen QuickBooks because:

It’s simple to use and get started easily

It's easy to upgrade as needs become more complex

Quickbooks is made by Intuit, the leading provider of accounting

There are networking events out there for different industries,

If you’re new to networking, here are a few tips:

Be confident. Shoulders back, smile and maintain eye contact. If in

Ask questions. You’ll learn more about other businesses, which

If you’re looking for some targeted online advertising, consider:

Back to Contents... Google advertising

Print advertising includes:

If you prefer to get creative, Guerrilla marketing is another option.

The blogging community is extremely social, across Twitter and

A rave write-up is just as valuable as a paid-for advert, particularly

Companies like Handpicked Media are great to speak to about

Spend an hour or two searching groups of interest, and chat to

#22 If you’re considering taking on a new employee, now or later,