COMMITTEE CONTENT
43
STARTING YOUR OWN COMPANY
how will this be financed, and if you need staff to help you
with this. It might also be worth contacting an accountant
and solicitor to understand taxes and company responsibil-
ities and rules. And it’s certainly worth talking to your local
Chamber which has a readily available network for help. in this crazily busy world of ours, nobody will care about
my product or service. Friends will be naturally supportive,
prospects may tell you they like the idea, but there is a huge
amount of effort needed to get people to buy something that
is new.
To be on the safe side, try starting your company while
moonlighting so that you can build up enough revenue to
support you and any staff and services to get going. It may
seem a little mercenary and it will mean a huge amount of
work but, as we will mention again later, sales and thus cash
don’t suddenly appear. Inexperience of managing a business—or an unwillingness
to delegate—can negatively impact small businesses and
coupled with a poorly visualised business plan (which we
talked about earlier), can lead to ongoing problems once the
firm has started.
And naturally, remember cash is king.
Yes, it really is king. When companies go out of business
(and about half do in their first 3 years) it’s nearly always
because they have run out of cash. That’s why having a tool
in Excel or an accounts application to manage cashflow is
very useful. There will always be times when cash is tight
and knowing exactly where you stand allows you to take the
emotion out of decision making. Also, it will really help if
you get a separate bank account and split your personal and
company finances into separate groups.
What’s the biggest mistake you see when someone starts
their own company?
There are a few but the biggest one for me is not doing
enough market research and assuming that business will
suddenly start pouring in immediately. In my experience
sales are a gradual process. For example, a very long time
ago I helped set up a business that made short videos to take
the jargon out of IT. I was in IT and my business partner was
in filming. We took the view ‘if you build it, they will come’
and had the hubris that we could rival Hollywood with our
production. Our mistake, not testing the market by doing a
pilot and finding out how and where we would get advertis-
ing or other revenue before committing further.
Starting Your
Own Company
James Price, member of the BritCham Startup, Entrepreneur and Small Business
Committee talks to our Business Services Director, Nicole Wharfe
So James, what are the considerations for someone want-
ing to start their own company? So passion is a good place to start. What other factors are
needed? I’m assuming there must be lots.
To start off, you need to make it a reality. Everyone has a
good idea. For example, I’ve loved the idea of running a bar.
I’ve gone into some detail how it would work. Could it hap-
pen? Possibly. Will it happen? No. I’m not that passionate.
And to have your own company you need to be very passion-
ate as there will be lots and lots of hurdles in the way to make
it survive. Oh yes. Running out of money is a small business’s biggest
risk. Owners often know what funds are needed day to day
but are unclear as to how much revenue is being generated,
and the disconnect can be disastrous. But to get started, it’s
best to start off by creating a business plan. This will give
you some focus. What are you going to sell, how are you go-
ing to sell it, in which markets, at what price, and who is the
competition. List down what is unique about the thing or the
service you are going to sell. What marketing you need to do,
Now, If I’m trying something new, I always take the view that
Remember to constantly strive to make sure what you’re
selling is better than your competitors. It might be by the
slimmest of margins (and in a lot of occasions this might be
all it is) but remember in sales you get nothing by coming
second.
And finally, set goals and milestones and celebrate these
when you hit them however small.
Any final thoughts?
James: When you start a company you need to remember
that it’s not for everyone. And for the first time it feels like
jumping into a void, even though the reality is that void is
less that half an inch deep. It will be a rollercoaster ride with
massive highs and lows. And it does helps if your family are
on side to share some of these experiences or to understand
what you are going through.
Don’t forget, if it’s your business it’s really hard work! I’ve
always said running a business is a 24/7 commitment.
Are you the sort of person who’ll be thinking about it for 168
hours a week? Can you switch off? Who will you go to de-
compress? Not everyone will share your passion. But ignore
them. When it works there’s no better feeling of accomplish-
ment.
Plan properly and then, just go for it!
Find out more about our Startup,
Entrepreneur and Small Business
Committee here.
COMMITTEE CONTENT
STARTING YOUR OWN COMPANY