There are numerous tips on how to succeed in business for start-ups. However this is practical advice for real results from feedback from businesses we have worked with and ours:
1. Business planning
2. Test Marketing
3. Right Finance

Business planning
1. A good way to kick start this guide is to state the obvious. Most successful Entrepreneurs who don’t start with a Business Plans do one early on into the start of their business – That’s because they realise it’s a good idea. In fact, businesses always start with a business plan, but maybe just not in the way of a formal one. A Business Plan is a document setting out a business's future operational, marketing and financial objectives and strategies for achieving them. Benjamin Franklin supposedly said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” A business plan doesn’t guarantee success, but aids it. On the other hand Winston Churchill also said “Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it”.

From our experience, it appears many people seem to think that setting up a business has more to do with talent and experience than planning. However, keeping your business plan alive is what we say is mandatory. There is no use doing one and then filing it away, just to tick that box. It’s a live document. The business plan serves as a guide for keeping the business on the right track. It also lays bare ideas and opportunities you may not have previously thought of. However, you should not be rigid with the Business Plan.  It can be altered to align with changes within the company or economy itself. It serves as a roadmap to success. You can have a 1 year or up to 3 year business plan.  In fast moving industries, looking beyond a year is irrelevant. It’s advisable to renew your plan at least every 3 years. That way you incorporate new ideas and do away with the old before they become obsolete. 

Whether you are a start-up business or a business that wants to grow the company to the next level, you may need some form of cash injection to help you on your way. But asking for money isn’t that simple. Any money lender will want to see a thorough business case and financial projections, to help them decide if investing in your idea is going to be a profitable one, or not. The business advisors at RBSS Consulting in Romford, Essex, help companies of all sizes get finance ready. Here is our four-step process that we will take you through.

1. Business Goals and Mission Statement
You’ve decided to take the plunge and begin the rewarding journey of entrepreneurship. Self-employment or starting your own business is a noble calling and is not for everyone. Do you want to sell products, services or both? What are your business goals? Do you have a mission statement? If you don’t have answers to these questions, not to worry. RBSS will help you define your business goals and mission statement. This is a necessary and vital step in creating a business plan. When networking or attending a social event, when people ask you, ‘What do you do?’ you will have a clearly defined answer formulated. ​

2. Brainstorming
Entrepreneurs often work in solitude without having anyone to bounce ideas off of. Our business consultants are here to help you flesh out your concepts. It’s one thing to repeat your objectives to yourself or even write them down on paper. It’s a completely different ball game when you communicate your thoughts out loud to someone who can give you feedback. A mundane scheme can become revolutionary. You may be leaving money on the table by not considering other ways to diversify your product or service offerings. By diversifying, you increase your market share. A larger market share is usually indicative of more revenue and what business owner doesn’t want more revenue! ​

3. Research Demographic and Competition​
Who is your demographic? Where are they located? How will you reach them? What are their spending habits? These are just a few of the questions we will ask you so that you can eventually build a profitable enterprise. Many novice entrepreneurs make the mistake of asking these questions after they’ve had their soft opening. If the right questions are posed and answered before opening, businesses would last longer and be of greater good to society. Are there other businesses like yours in the area you plan to serve? Do these businesses serve the same target group? Our expert business consultants will help you pinpoint your digital and brick and mortar competition.

4. Business Plan​
Perhaps your parents will lend you money without a business plan, but a bank won’t. An investor, whether a bank, angel or venture capitalist worth their salt will need to see a clearly defined and well-executed business plan before they will even consider your solution and give you access to finance. All of the research results and questions answered will go into your business plan. This plan will be clearly formatted with every ‘i’ dotted and every ‘t’ crossed, complete with graphics, tables and examples. If you’re not a finance person, we have a consultant on staff that can generate your financial statements. This business plan will be the key in your success towards acquiring financing. 
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5. Due Diligence
There are the mundane but necessary things to make sure you have in place and up to date.  They are the more legal requirements that we have to make sure you have in place.  They relate more to the directors or owners of the company.  This is in order to comply with the Anti Money Lending and Know Your Customer rules.  They are the proof of identification, proof of address, a few months’ business bank statements and sometimes a CV for the directors. In some cases you may be asked  for a credit report.  We do this to make sure that these things don’t end up being the stumbling blocks after all the hard work has been done.  Again, don’t worry about a thing. An RBSS Business Advisor will help you make sense of all this on a one to one basis.

What type of finance can RBBS Consulting help you get access to?
There are a number of ways for you to raise finance for your business. Here we explore the common avenues:

• Peer to Peer Lenders (P2P)
• Merchant Cash Advances
• Crowdsourcing
• Unsecured loans
• Secured loans
• ​Start-up loans
• ​Invoice factoring and
• Asset Financing

 
​If you want to find out more about these options, they are explained on our Raising Finance page.
What's stopping you? Call the business consultants at RBSS now to help you get your business finance ready.

Undeniably, customers are at the heart of every business and you need to keep on acquiring new ones to keep your business afloat. It doesn’t matter what you do, you may be a consulting firm or a bakery or a real estate agent, your business needs new customers. They not only provide increased access to finance but also help in boosting business growth. 

However, it is easier said than done. In the competitive business world of today, you certainly need that extra edge over competitors to be able to draw in new customers. Here are 5 essential tips to get new customers and stay on top of the game –  

1. Make it easy for customers to find you
Have you been complaining about how you just can’t seem to get new customers? Well, think for a second – is your business easy to find? It doesn’t matter how great your services are or how amazing your product is, it all boils down to the fact that are you visible to potential customers or not. Increase your online presence; put a digital marketing plan in place, make use of online directories as well. Make sure that you put yourself in front of your potential customers. Visibility is the Key to Credibility which leads to profitability.

2. Leverage your existing network 
Try to put your existing network to use when it comes to getting more customers. Request your old customers to provide a referral; these could be the strongest leads for your business. Make efforts to network within your target market. For example, if you run a bakery business then join local baking groups, online baking communities and more. Then leverage this network to increase your customer base. Why not look up your local Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and join their networking events?

3. Speak at events and exhibits (or host one)
Sign up for speaking at events, exhibits and meet-ups within your target market. This is the best place to put your business out there, in front of your potential customers. If there are not many relevant events, then maybe you could host one? It would be the best chance to connect with your target market.

4. See whether free trials work for you
People don’t buy what they see or hear, they buy what they experience for themselves. If you can provide a free trial of your product or service, then advertise the same. If a complete free trial is not viable for your business then you could offer a small sample for free. This is a proven way to gain new customers; ones that are more likely to turn into regular clients. This isn’t proposing offering a free service as part of your accessing the market.  It also works better for some businesses than others and can be built into your model in a positive manner.

5. Run a referral program 
Referrals are often undermined whereas they should be treated like gold. Plan and put in place a referral program which mutually benefits everyone. For example, ask your customers to refer a new customer and both of them could get x% off on the next order. Overtime, you will have a good number of new customers coming in from your referral program itself. 

If you would like to talk to an expert about acquiring new customers, then connect with the top business adviser in Romford, RBSS Consulting on 0333 355 1696 or drop an email at info@rbssconsulting.com. We provide real business improvement strategies and also offer business start-up plans for small businesses. 

The type of finance you choose will depend on what sort of business you are setting up, how much capital you need and what you will use it for. For example, you could:

Use your own savings or personal borrowings to get the business underway, especially if you can’t get finance or investment from external sources.
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Borrow money from family or friends. But be careful. It is often hard for them to say no, but what happens if the business fails? How would you pay back their money? What strain would that put on your relationship. Are they ending you the money, or investing in a share of your business? Remember to put things in writing.

Borrow from a bank if you have a credible business plan and can offer some security. If your business is seasonal in its cash flow, it’s essential to be able to clearly illustrate these to your bank so you can plan an overdraft. Many businesses use overdrafts for day-to-day borrowing and to manage cash flow, and loans for long-. You may want to use funding to finance large purchases such as equipment. When considering bank finance, it is generally a good idea to take professional advice from your accountant or business adviser.

Can you secure outside investors? Perhaps you are willing to sell shares to business angels or venture capitalists. This can provide short-term finance without the need for repayment. Having investors can also bring in additional business expertise. When you hand over shares to investors it is likely that they may want some control over its management.
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Do you qualify for a grant? Grants or government supports can offer cheap financing, and often come with business advice or consultancy. However, there is usually a lot of competition for grant schemes, and you will invariably need to meet various criteria first.

For those unable to get bank finance, you could consider commercial lenders – such as insurance companies and building societies. These tend to have lower interest rates. However, commercial lenders are also subject to fewer regulations than banks and so you may have to provide some security in order to obtain funding.

Consider crowd funding – also known as crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, crowd financing, equity crowdfunding, or hyper funding) describes the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their resources to support efforts initiated by other people or companies. Crowdfunding is used in support of a wide variety of activities, including disaster relief, support of artists by fans, political campaigns, start-up company funding, or free software development, inventions development and scientific research. Crowdfunding can also refer to the financing of a company by selling small amounts of shares to many investors.

Most businesses use a mixture of finance sources. For example, you might invest your own money to cover market research, bring in outside investors to share the risk and borrow from the bank to purchase equipment and machinery.

All of this can be confusing and overwhelming, so it is advisable to speak to a business consultant first. Our Romford-based team at RBSS Consulting can be reached on 0333 355 1696 or by email at info@rbssconsulting.com.

If you’re serious about your business you will have to resign from your day job at some point. Making this decision is like jumping out of a plane. At first, you are eager to put on the parachute and get up in the air, the idea of free falling on your own is exciting.

You are now several thousand feet up in the air, with your feet hanging out of the plane. Then the question come into your mind. Is it safe? Am I ready? Should I wait? But if you wait too long the moment might pass completely.
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The first thing you should do is double-check your business plan. Has it covered everything? Do your finances make sense? Do you have accurate financial projection? Do you have a marketing strategy? What about staff, equipment, premises? All of these things need to be considered and you need to be confident in your plan.

Next, are you sure that your product or service will work? Make sure that you have sufficient market research and that it is something the public want and need. Are they willing to spend money on your product or service?

Most importantly, can you financially afford to give up your job to focus on your business? So many people think that the reason their business isn’t doing as well as they expected is because they don’t have enough time to put into it. Make sure this is the real reason it’s not doing so well and it’s not just that the business really is viable.

Think ahead. It’s likely that your business will take longer than you expect to become profitable, make sure you are financially secure enough to cope with it. So before quitting your job, perhaps see if there is the option of part-time, freelance or contract work with your employer – an arrangement that will give you far greater flexibility and won’t tie you down, but will still give you some regular income. Alternatively, are there other sources of funding you can fall back on? Can you release equity from a home? Can a partner’s income cover over both of your financial needs? Do you have savings?

Before taking the plunge, it is well worth investing time and money with an experienced business advisor. They can really help you to ensure you have considered everything and bring experience and knowledge to help make the right choice for you. Remember that quitting your job will put an enormous amount of pressure on your new business to succeed. It might not be ready for that. You might not be ready for that.

Give RBSS Consulting based in Romford, Essex a call on 0333 355 1696 or email us at info@rbssconsulting.com.