First of all you need to decide how much longer you want to work in your business before selling it or passing it on. This can be based on priorities, for example if you have other more profitable priorities to concentrate on, or if you have financial commitments that need to be met. In the last few years of your business you will want to try and build its value, so you get the best deal at the end of it. Whilst you can focus on building revenues, more specifically you want to try and focus on building cash flow to increase its final value. Increasing the cashflow and increasing your customer base are two of the most effective actions to follow.

Getting an exit strategy in place also involves deciding and planning how you will pass on the management tasks of the businesses, will you train an existing set of employees or will a new group be hired from the incoming owner? Your ability to sell the business will obviously depend on the industry and type of business you run. If your business is a ‘personal’ business offering an individual service, for example a sole physiotherapist, then it is the reputation you have built up individually that is important, and you might not be able to realistically sell the business.

As well as attempting to increase the cashflow of the business, trying to streamline the business operations is also important, to make potential future management as easy as possible for people looking to take over the business. By ensuring that training and manuals are available for future staff, and that operations are as easily transferable will help to smooth the process and encourage buyers.

Of course selling a business isn’t the only ‘exit strategy’ possible, there are a range of other strategies: You might want to keep the business in the family, delegate operations completely, pass the business on or just close it. For any potential exit which involves either selling the business or involves new staff taking over then the above tips will hopefully be relevant.

Whatever you decide, the key is to plan well in advance.

Tags: exit strategy, planning your exit, small business, exit strategies, business exit

I received an email the other week from an individual claiming and acting like a genuine customer. They requested a quote, and instantly said they would like to go ahead with the order (which was a bit strange as they hadn’t even asked any questions). Then I received an email from them saying that the cheque would be in the post, HOWEVER, this is where I began to thought it was a scam.. The ‘customer’ said that unfortunately his ‘PA’ (yeah right!) had mistakenly written the cheque out for ten times the amount I was charging! I was asked to cash the cheque and then send one back for the surplus amount – by this point I’d already told the scammer that he would have to re-send a cheque for the correct amount.

If I was to actually cash the cheque in, it would have bounced within a few weeks as it would probably have been fraudulent funds. By that time I could have sent the scammer the surplus funds, and when his original cheque did bounce, I would be seriously out of pocket. So whatever you do, don’t accept overvalued cheques, and also don’t send your financial details or bank account information (even on your pro forma invoice) to customers who you don’t really know.

Tags: scam, overvalued cheque, internet scam, email scam, avoiding scams

For the first time I tried using the PAYE Online system to complete the task (as I try and avoid using accountants wherever possible – not that I have anything against them, apart from their get-rich-quick fees). With the exception of trying to remember a ~ 20 digit random logon username generated by HMRC, the process was quite a smooth one. Once you’ve logged into the system , you just click “File Returns Online” and then select the relevant documents. Then the system prompts you for the necessary financial information, which you should copy from your paper-based records, or from the HMRC Employer CD-ROM if you’ve been using it.

Overall it took about 15 minutes to file the return, and if you’re a small business you can also get a £150 tax free payment from HMRC for filing them online, although you have to claim it yourself after the form has been processed. Anyway just remember the deadline is the 19th May to avoid any penalties.

Tags: HMRC, P35, P14, deadline, PAYE Online, PAYE, employers

There are a few grants still available for ‘website development’, which according to BusinessLink are available for website projects which will improve business competitiveness, encourage growth, job creation and increased UK and international marketing. The value of the grant has also been reduced to £1,000, however this can now represent up to 70% of the total website cost, rather than the 50% previously. You also have to be located in a specific area to be allocated a grant, currently these are certain boroughs of London, Leeds or Merseyside in the UK. The Business Link website provides an interactive tool enabling you to search for available grants in your area.

In conclusion, although the days of widespread £2,000 ecommerce grants seem to have dried up there are still a few opportunities to be had for these Government ecommerce grants, as long as you live in the required location. In my experience many companies underestimate the need for online marketing of the site post-development – it would be good to see some Government grants aimed at either educating businesses as to the need for online marketing, or by providing financial grants to enable them to contract the services of online marketing specialists.

To some extent it seems that the Government has already recognised this – I receive semi-annual Business Link invitations to free ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ seminars, however these are likely to just scratch the surface of all the complexities of online marketing. Businesses also need to realise that the potential online market is HUGE, and there are still enough niches out there waiting to be tapped into, if only they could apply the necessary online marketing tools and budget.

Tags: Government business grants, funding, ecommerce website grants, business grants, website grants, uk grants

In the UK, the WebCheck service from the Companies House website allows you to check the availability of business names. This is a definite essential step as you don’t want to get 6 months down the line to be informed that you’ve got to change your business name. You should also check to make sure that your intended business name isn’t too similar to any trademarks that have been registered at the Patent Office. Another simpler check is to check local phone books and directories for any business names that don’t appear on the Companies House website as they’re unincorporated businesses.

Avoid ‘Sensitive’ Words

No these aren’t words which have easily hurt feelings, but they are ones you cannot include in your business name without official permission, according to the BusinessLink.gov.uk website these are:

• Words suggesting your business is national in nature – eg: British, Irish etc..
• Words suggesting a special status such as Association, Authority, Chartered etc..
• Those words that suggest a function – eg: charity, register, insurance
• Words in which a specialised activity is conveyed – eg: Architect, Chemist etc.
• Political or royally associated words – eg: Royal, Government, Parliament, Queen etc..

Once you’ve whittled your shortlist down to all those available names, one useful method in getting the list down to just a few names is to actually ask a group from your target market which name they prefer by conducting a poll or survey, or by just brainstorming within your team. Failing that, if you’re a one-man-band then to avoid being biassed you could try asking friends and family for their opinions on which name they prefer.

Registering A Business Name Online

Once you’ve chosen your perfect business name the next step is to actually register it. The method you will use depends on the legal structure of your business – whether that be sole trader, partnership or limited company status. For sole traders your right to the business name is based on ‘trading experience’ – for example if you’ve been trading for quite a while and somebody tries to compete with you directly with a very similar name to yours, they are likely trying to benefit from the goodwill your brand has developed. As you were the first with that name, you would probably have the upper-hand if you were to take it further. For limited companies however, you have to register the business name, and this can be completed either online or with your accountant / lawyer. The process of actually registering the name of your business is covered in our other article, Online Business Incorporation, and is a relatively simple matter if you use one of the many company formation agents.

Having your business name registered as a limited company is definitely a safer way of protecting your business name, as it has been officially recorded. For further information about business names, the Business Link or Companies House websites provide a range of useful information.

Tags: registering a business name, advice for business startups, business names, online registration, business startups

The recent amendments specifically state that company registration number and place of registration must be displayed on a company’s website and email correspondence. An email signature can easily be set up to contain this information (and can also be combined with other contact and possibly marketing messages). There was also some worry that the requirement to display the information would be site-wide, but you’ll be pleased to know that the details need only be displayed in one place on the website, possibly the ‘legal’ or ‘contact us’ page. Although these are Ecommerce legislations, it is essential for all companies to display this information online, regardless of whether they actually conduct any selling through their website.

There are also a range of other aspects that your website needs to display, such as:

•  
  •  
    • Company name, registration number, trading name.
    • Geographic address (not a PO Box) and email address – this can also be the registered office.
    • VAT Number
    • Prices must be displayed clearly and must state whether they are inclusive or exclusive of VAT
    • Any trade memberships should also clearly be displayed.
    • Although not a legal requirement, a disclaimer should also be a high priority.

If you are in any doubt as to these requirements or have any questions then please feel free to contact us for further clarification (info@aerodesigns.co.uk).

Useful Material: The Companies Act 2006

Tags: company websites, companies act 2007, company websites regulation, regulation amendments

You may have been trading as ‘sole proprietor’ or unincorporated partnership status for a while, but should things go belly up then you as the business owner would be personally liable for all business debts. I know this applies to the UK and am pretty sure that it’s the same over in the States, someone feel free to leave a comment and correct me if I’m wrong. I’m not trying to be pessimistic, but when your finances, savings and possibly home are at stake, you need to ensure that these are as ‘safe as houses’ (excuse the pun) – you don’t want money coming out of your own pocket if things didn’t work out.

You can avoid this situation by incorporating your business into an Limited Liability Company (Ltd. or LLC).  As the name suggests, when you’re incorporated you as an individual only have ‘limited liability’, unless you’ve signed a personal guarantee. These guarantees can sometimes be requested of you by banks or finance institutions before they will issue you with finance or loans. In such a situation, should your business ‘default’ on repayments then just as a sole trader, you would be personally liable according to the terms in the guarantee.

Traditionally, business incorporation has been undertaken offline by accountants and lawyers, however many ‘company formation agents’ are now appearing on the Internet which offer online business incorporation. This involves you completing their online forms to give them all the necessary information for the formation of your company, and then they use this information to create the necessary documents, and send your details to Companies House in the UK, or the IRS in the United States. Many of these formation agents charge extremely competitive fees for company registration – typically from £34 to £200. The exact amount depends on the options you choose, as you can choose to contract them for more services, such as mail forwarding or the provision of a registered office address for example.

I imagine that they offer a lot better value than having your company registered offline, as with everything on the Internet, there is a lot more price transparency and comparison available, so the prices will be more competitive. An example of the type of documents created by the company formation agents during online business incorporation are shown below:

• First directors and secretary and intended registered office (Form 10)
• Declaration on application for registration (Form 12)
• Memorandum of association
• Articles of association
• Register of members
• Register of directors and secretaries
• Register of directors’ interests
• Register of charges
• Share certificate/s (companies with a share capital only)
• Declaration/s of trust (where requested)

As you can see, the list of documents is quite extensive – personally I wouldn’t even try registering your company yourself unless you’ve got an accounting / legal degree! For as little as £34 it really is worth getting one of the online company formation agents to do the legwork for you, as all you need to do is type in the details they ask for, saving you having to hunt around to find out what details need to be submitted with what documents. The Company Wizard is one such formation agent, which you can find out more information by clicking the link below:

Company Formation – Form a limited company online from £34.99

Tags: online business incorporation, ltd, llc, forming company