Start a
Business
an easy guide
laying the groundwork
could you be an entrepreneur? 5
researching your market 8
pricing your product or service 14
marketing your business 20
setting the whole thing up
financing your business 25
forming your business 31
your legal obligations 37
setting up your first
communications and IT system 44
you’ve got your first customers
effective selling 51
simple book-keeping 58
credit control 63
the essential plan
writing your business plan 69
Content by BHP Information Solutions
Design by Ben Wuersching
Photography by Harrison Photography
Printed by Warwick Printing Ltd
© BHP Information Solutions Ltd 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted without the written permission of the publisher. This publication is for
general guidance only. The publisher and expert contributors disclaim all liability for any errors or
omissions. Consult your local business support organisation or professional adviser for help and advice.
Provided by Invest Northern Ireland and part financed by the European Regional Development Fund
under the European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland.
we’re here to help

If you’re looking to start a business,
you’re looking in the right place. This
guide is just one of the services the
Invest Northern Ireland business-
support network offers to people
like you every day. So if you want to
know how to start up a business or
how to make it grow, get in touch
with us.
2




Call 0800 027 0639 or visit
our website at www.goforitni.com
to find out more about the
Go for it programme.
3
our mission
Invest NI provides businesses
in Northern Ireland with a
single point of contact and with
expert advice and high-quality
programmes of support. Our role
is to grow the economy by helping
new and existing businesses to
compete internationally – and
by attracting new investment to
Northern Ireland.

 local: core support and advice
is provided through the Go for
it programme – contact 0800
027 0639; www.goforitni.com
 Am I suited to starting and
running a business?
 What market research should I
carry out?
 What are my legal and tax
obligations?
 How much do I need to sell each
month to break even?
 What’s the best way to keep my
books?
how to use this
guide
You can use this guide in two
ways. If you’re considering making
the leap and creating your own
business, you can read it through
to get a clear idea of all the areas
you have to cover.
And if you do decide that running
your own business is for you,
the guide’s logical, practical
structure means you can use it
as a reference companion every
step of the way – from identifying
the niche your business will fill to
the best ways of winning your first

business.
The quality of this advice should
give you a flying start. We’ve made
sure all the major issues you want
guidance on are here, including:
If you require a copy of this
document in an alternative
format (including Braille, disk,
audio cassette or in minority
languages to meet the needs
of those whose language is not
English) then please contact
Invest NI’s Equality Team on
028 9069 8273; Textphone
028 9069 8585 or email

4
tailored support
If you’re starting a new business –
or just thinking of it – the Go for it
programme can provide you with a
range of support tailored to your
business needs.
Call the Go for it helpline on
0800 027 0639 or visit
www.goforitni.com
If you're already in business but
want to grow, then contact our
Regional Business Team who may
be able to help.

The Business Information Centre
also holds a contract with the
European Commission to host
Enterprise Europe Northern
Ireland — part of a network of
some 500 centres in Europe and
beyond. Through a dedicated email
system, the network provides vital
local knowledge within a short
timescale.
For more information contact
the Business Information Centre
and Enterprise Europe Northern
Ireland, based at Invest NI's
headquarters:
Bedford Square, Bedford Street,
Belfast – it’s open
Monday 11am-5pm;
Tuesday-Friday 9am-5pm. To
make an appointment to use the
resources at the Information
Centre, or if you have a query,
please call 028 9069 8000 or
email
our partners
Invest NI works closely with its partners to ensure that services are tailored
to your needs. Among the organisations we work with are:
 Enterprise NI/Local Enterprise Agencies
 Prince’s Trust NI
 Advantage NI

entrepreneur has. Some might come naturally to you, others you might have to work
at. You’ll need to check you’ve got at least some of these attributes before you start.
You can’t be half hearted. You must be able to show others that you are
confident too.
But as your business grows, you must be ready to share responsibility and to
build and lead a team.
For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/leadershipskills.
Running your own business can be lonely. You’ll need to be a good networker
and find the people out there who can support you.
Have you got the inner resources not only to survive but to thrive?
You will have to keep going when times are tough. Have you got the grit to
make things happen – even when they are not going your way?
You must learn from mistakes and make changes if you discover a better way
of doing things.
Are you happy to ask questions when you're unsure? Are you happy to ask
questions even when you're sure? And are you comfortable taking advice?
Just because you will be boss won’t mean you can put off work or decisions.
Also, you don’t have to act on your own without getting advice, but once
you’ve made important decisions, can you stick with them?
Make sure you understand the effect that starting a business will have on
your personal life. Be prepared for change.
For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/worklifebalance.
could you be an
entrepreneur?
Running a business can be exhilarating, liberating and rewarding. But it
isn't for everyone. There are millions who have done it successfully, but
there are many who have found that it isn't as simple as they thought.
You need to consider seriously whether starting a business is right for
you by honestly appraising your strengths and weaknesses and what
making the move would mean to you, your family and your friends.

manager, it’s a lot easier. The
business has grown and I can finally
delegate some of the responsibility
and concentrate on strategy and
business development. I couldn’t do it
alone – and there’s plenty of support
out there from people like Invest NI.
You’ve just got to go and get it.
Starting and running my own
business has made an enormous
difference to my life. It’s incredibly
satisfying to do something that
supports so many people. It really is
something I love doing – it’s fun to
come to work every day. And there’s
not many people who can say that.
Lorraine’s tips
1 Be passionate about your idea
2 Research as much as you can
3 Ask for advice and support
”
I’ve always been aware that some
children need extra support when
they’re growing up. My sister
Emma has Sotos syndrome – a
genetic condition where children
grow too quickly in their first two
to three years which can lead to
physical, communication and learning
difficulties – and I was always trying

www.learningspaceni.co.uk
why I wanted
to set up
my own
business
Lorraine McAleer is owner
of Learning SPACE, an
award-winning retailer of
toys and educational
support aids. She set up
the business to provide
easier access to toys,
games, software and
books that help and
support learning. Now
selling online and through
a retail outlet, she says
that the business has
transformed her life
“
laying the groundwork :: could you be an entrepreneur?
7
1.7 You will need to be
resilient, patient and
realistic. Success isn’t
usually easy or quick.
1.8 If you’ve answered Yes to
most of these questions,
you’re in with an excellent
chance of success – so

is not great – that’s what
this guide is about.
You will need to face obstacles with renewed strength and determination,
have the energy to bounce back and the long-term vision to see setbacks as
isolated incidents.
Are you realistic enough to realise you won’t make millions overnight? Can you
nurture the business over a long period of time to make it work?
If your responses are mainly negative, you have a number of barriers to
surmount. You should talk to a business adviser to help you assess how these
can be overcome.
For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/startingup and
www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/goforit.
You may be the right kind of person to run a business, but this doesn’t
necessarily mean that it’s the right thing for you to do. There are other
factors you should carefully weigh up.
It helps if family and friends have the same faith in you and your business that
you do. Will they support you every step of the way?
You are probably thinking of committing your own money or assets. Can you
afford to lose this investment?
What is more important to you – safeguarding the money and security or
seeing the business grow?
If you place others at risk, have you considered the implications for them?
Are factors other than a determination to ‘go it alone’ affecting you?
It’s not enough to be fed up with your existing job – you have to be actively
prepared to take on the challenge of running your own business.
But if serious questions remain, you’ll need to persevere and do more work
and thinking before creating your own business.
Starting a business may be a challenge and you may understandably be
apprehensive. But it’s worth acknowledging any doubts before you proceed.
You will need to accept that risk is part of starting and developing a business.

will have to be more broad-ranging to find one. A potential business without a
defined customer base is a failure waiting to happen.
If you will be selling to individuals, you need to know their sex, age, marital
status, occupation, income and lifestyle.
If you will be selling to businesses, you need to know their size, industry type,
product-buying patterns and service requirements.
You also need to know what characteristics are common to all your
customers and who makes or influences the buying decision.
For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/valuablecustomers.
A printing firm should understand whether its customer base will want a
thousand postcards or a million brochures.
A successful sandwich shop will predict its top-selling sandwiches and how
many of each they expect to sell every day.
Customers of a toy manufacturer will buy more towards the end of the year
so that they are fully stocked for the pre-Christmas trading period.
A taxi firm will usually expect more business on Saturday evening than
Monday evening.
For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/seasonalbusiness.
laying the groundwork
researching your
market
When you’re setting up a business, researching your potential market
is essential. Although time-consuming to acquire, a thorough and
reasoned knowledge of the market is invaluable to the future of your
business.
With a true picture of your potential customer base, you can
realistically assess the viability of your venture. Resist the temptation
to rush ahead, analyse your results hurriedly or cut down the amount
of research – it can be the difference between make and break.
This section explains:

You also need to make a decision on a specific location – in terms of access,
passing trade or cost, for instance.
For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/saleschannels.
Every new business has to know why customers will buy from them rather
than the competition. This will become your unique selling proposition (see
Marketing your business, p20).
Your research should test how effective this is. If you are starting a sandwich
shop, are you sure your potential customers will prefer the taste of your
sandwiches to those sold in supermarkets? If you are going to manufacture
jewellery, do retail jewellers think the designs will sell to their customers?
If you are going to manufacture office furniture, you need to know how often
your target customers will want to renovate their offices, and how regularly
they need replacement equipment. You also need to know about the health of
the business-property sector – if the economy was shrinking and businesses
giving up property, you might find your customers have no need to buy from you.
You have to understand the needs of your customers and the position of the
market you are going into.
The research technique you use will depend on whether you need numerical
information about people’s attitudes or a deep understanding of their views
and motivation.
The answers provide key statistical
information.
For example, a survey by a tennis
club developer may find that 22
per cent of local adults play tennis,
7 per cent are already members of
a club and 8 per cent would like to
join a club. Using this information,
the developer can decide where to
build a new club and how large it

to see when one or two
opinions distort the overall
picture.
 Drawing optimistic conclusions
from information to support
your preconceptions.
www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/marketresearch
10
how I
researched
my market
Shane Meehan spent
12 months researching
the market and refining
his business plan before
launching Media Lightbox
with his business
partners. As a result, the
firm — which offers online
storage and collaboration
tools for businesses —
launched from day one as
a service that customers
really value
that some people didn’t like emailing
large files to multiple recipients, so
we added a feature that lets you
email multiple recipients a secure link
to the file held on the system. This
means the recipients can download it

“
Future vision: Shane researched
his customers and competitors
Media Lightbox
Greenshoots Centre, Ballinacraig Way
Newry, Co Down, BT34 2QX
www.medialightbox.com
The idea for Media Lightbox came to
me when I was working for a local
authority as a marketing manager. I
often spent much of my time digging
out images for press and other
departments and thought ‘Wouldn’t
it be great if there was a way to
make these centrally available and
save all the hunting around?’
I discussed the idea with the
people who are now my business
partners, Anthony Kieran and Cecil
Hetherington — they’re the people
who had the technical knowledge
about how we could achieve it. And
12 months later, we fully launched
Media Lightbox. For a monthly
subscription, the system lets you
securely store, catalogue and
manage your digital assets from
anywhere you’ve got an internet
connection.
At the start we spent a lot of time

any research.
3.2 Do not take any negative
comments personally.
4
low-cost
research
4.1 Make use of existing data
which is freely available.

4.2 Specialist market research
reports are available.

laying the groundwork :: researching your market
To find out if people would use your product or service, you could contact
relevant businesses and arrange a morning event for people to drop in for
a coffee and a demonstration. At the very least you will be making new
contacts. Otherwise you could offer to drop in and see them.
Approach potential retailers about test marketing. They may agree to put a
prototype of the product in-store.
It is important to be objective to avoid interpreting the results unfairly.
Do not base market research only on the opinions of friends and family. You
risk hearing what you want to hear, rather than honest opinions.
Record any comments given in a focus group or you may forget criticisms
that would enable you to improve your product or service.
If possible, hand the analysis over to someone who is not immediately involved
in the project.
You can often learn more from criticism – and improve your business because
of it.
Trade associations collect data from their members which they often publish
on their websites. Visit www.taforum.org to search a database of UK trade

on specialist sources of
research.
5
the competition
5.1 Check out what your
competitors have to offer.
5.2 Consider if the demand for
the product or service will
change over time.
5.3 Your research will have
given you an idea of how
many potential customers
are out there.
12
laying the groundwork :: researching your market
The Invest NI Business Information
Centre can give you access to
searchable company databases
including Kompass, FAME,
AMADEUS and Dun & Bradstreet's
Global Reference Solution (GRS)
– these can be used to find out
about customers, suppliers and
competitors in your sector
(call 028 9069 8135 or email
).
To find your nearest enterprise
agency, call Enterprise Northern
Ireland on 028 7776 3555 or visit
www.enterpriseni.com.

Could the market be affected by external factors, such as the economy or
legislation? Are there any protective measures you could put in place?
Look ahead to possible problems – you may be able to develop your product
to appeal to a wider selection of markets, increasing your chances of survival.
But be aware that new markets will attract competitors if they see you are on
to a winner.
open/closed
questions
When asking people to comment
on your product or service,
there are a few useful tips to
remember.
 Asking a closed question will
gain a limited response. ‘Did you
like X product?’ is likely to be
answered with a simple ‘yes’ or
‘no’. While these answers are
easier to collate, they are not
as useful in determining why
the potential customer does or
does not like your product or
service.
 Asking an open question is
likely to get a more detailed
response. ‘What do you think
can be improved?’ will be
interpreted as a request for
more than a one-word answer.
Open questions will allow
you to find out more useful

6.3 Industry associations can
offer further advice on
using professionals.
7
what does it all
mean?
7.1 Effective market research
will show you if you can
gain a viable share of
the market. But the
preparation doesn’t end
here.
7.2 Once you are up and
running, continuing your
research will allow you
to keep on top of your
customers’ needs and
ahead of the competition.
13
laying the groundwork :: researching your market
Specialists have the time and the expertise to do a good job.
Customers sometimes find it difficult to voice complaints to the supplier of the
product and may also worry that you are trying to sell them something.
You may find it difficult to be impartial.
You might ask someone suitable to carry out a telephone survey, for example.
This approach will only be successful if the survey questionnaire is simple and
well thought-out.
Provide a clear brief and agree on a budget. Make sure the person fits the
image you want to convey to potential customers.


 The price your competitors charge.
 Market research – review your pricing policy regularly and be prepared to
react to market conditions.
1
cost and price
versus value
1.1 Successful businesses
maximise their profits by
matching their pricing with
the value customers put on
their products or services.
1.2 Product pricing is often
built on a ‘cost-plus’ basis
(see 4), while service
pricing is generally created
on perceived value (see
6–8).
The cost is the total outlay required to create a product or service.
The price is your financial reward for providing the product or service.
But the value is what the customer believes the product or service is worth
to them.
The cost for a plumber to fix a burst pipe at a customer's home may be £5
for travel, materials costing £2.50 and one hour's labour at £10. But the
value to the customer is far greater than the £17.50 cost, so a plumber may
charge up to £50. Computer printer ink cartridges can cost less than £5 to
manufacture. However, to the user who can't print anything without them,
their value is much higher. And so is the price.
For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/pricing.
Both methods require a comprehensive understanding of costs (see 2) and
the competition (see 3).

have been factored in before
applying the mark-up.
15
Your cost structure provides a basis for what you need to charge. However, it
will not necessarily show you what you can – and should – charge.
Variable costs will increase when your sales increase – goods and materials,
extra labour, transport and so on.
Fixed costs remain largely constant, regardless of how much or little you sell.
For example, rent, salaries and business rates.
For example, a car dealership has variable costs of £9,000 per car sold and
total fixed costs of £200,000 a year that must be covered. The contribution
required depends upon the volume of sales. If the company sells 80 cars
each year, it needs a contribution of at least £2,500 per car (ie £200,000
divided by 80) to avoid making a loss.
Selling the cars at less than £9,000 (the variable cost per car) is suicidal.
The more you sell, the more money you lose.
Selling 80 cars at £9,000 will mean a loss of £200,000 per year, as none of
the fixed costs will be paid for.
Selling cars at £11,500 will result in breakeven, assuming the target 80 cars
are sold.
Selling cars at £12,000 will result in a profit, assuming 80 cars are sold.
If more or fewer than 80 are sold, profits will be correspondingly higher or
lower.
It is certain that you will face competition in some form. This gives you an
opportunity to benchmark your potential pricing.
If your competitors know you, get someone else to call.
 It is probably unwise to set your prices much higher or lower without good
reason.
Too low and you will be throwing away profit.
Too high and you will lose customers, unless you can offer them something

6.1 Convenience.
6.2 Brand.
6.3 Fashion.
6.4 Monopolies.
6.5 Pure perceived value.
6.6 Supply and demand.
Fridges: cost plus 25 per cent.
Branded clothing: cost plus 135 per
cent.
Jewellery: cost plus 250 per cent or
more.
For example, if a business buys a
product for £10 and marks it up by
50 per cent, thus selling it for £15,
the margin is 33 per cent (the value
of the mark-up, divided by the selling
price, x 100).
The higher the margin, the more
lucrative it could be.
Low-margin, low-volume products
should not occupy large chunks of
your time or storage space at the
expense of higher-margin products.
The alternatives to cost-plus pricing
focus on what customers are willing
to pay. This perceived-value pricing
takes a number of forms.
A late-night convenience store can
charge much more than a supermarket for a pint of milk.
There may be little to choose in technical terms between a branded and

 Cost-plus pricing assumes that
you will achieve a sales target
to break even or better.
 Alert competitors can lower
prices to win business from
you, either through having a
lower cost base or working on
lower margins.
 Under this model, employees
have little incentive to control
costs.
www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/pricing
7
flexible pricing
7.1 Should you use different
margins for different items,
as department stores do?
7.2 Is demand seasonal?
7.3 Will some customers pay a
premium?
8
vanishing
opportunities
8.1 Perishable goods are
worthless after their sell-by
date.
8.2 Many products become
obsolete as improved
models become available or
as fashions change.

For example, a plumber may offer low daytime prices (to ensure a full
workload), but charge heavily for emergency call-outs (when customers will
pay significantly more).
Some goods and services are valuable today and worthless tomorrow.
Your pricing should reflect the situation. For example, who wants to buy a
Christmas tree on December 28?
If you sell off goods cheaply, ask yourself whether the same customers would
have bought full-price items.
Offer the goods at special prices to your regular customers first to generate
goodwill.
Review your pricing and business strategy if you are always having a sale.
If in doubt, start-up businesses should try higher prices first.
Be prepared to lower prices if the required sales volume is not achieved and
your cashflow is under pressure.
Some businesses can win more customers (as well as boosting their margins)
by setting higher prices.
What you will be able to offer is a string of benefits such as convenience,
personal service, speedy delivery and specialist skills. That is why customers
will buy from you.
Many small firms underprice in order to ‘build up sales’. Aim to build up
profits instead – the buying decision is rarely made purely on price.
www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/pricing
18
10
special tactics
10.1 Odd pricing.
10.2 Loss leaders.
10.3 Price war.
10.4 Skimming.
10.5 Penetration.

have bought it.
The opposite of skimming.
This tactic involves starting a
product at a low price and getting
the market sewn up before
competitors can catch up with you.
With significant market share under
your belt, you find ways to raise
prices later.
Would you lose volume – or
customers? Remember, lower
volumes at higher margins can still
magically improve profit.
Discuss it with customers
beforehand. The key to success is
having a good relationship with them
in the first place.
Make sure customers know why
they are buying from you rather than
a competitor.
laying the groundwork :: pricing your product or service
discount
with care
Offering too many discounts
can lead customers to question
your full-rate pricing. But, used
sparingly, discounting can work
if it achieves one of the following
objectives:
 Capturing big orders with a bulk

11.4 Unreasonably high prices
can destroy goodwill,
especially if the customer
has no immediate
alternative supplier.
12
other
considerations
12.1 Would more marketing
muscle help?
12.2 Control your variable costs
(see 2.1).
12.3 Can fixed costs be pared
down?
12.4 Should you alter your
product mix?
Remember to attribute part of your price to the cost of providing high-quality
back-up and after-sales service.
Customers soon start looking for new sources.
Would sales rise if you increased prices by 5 per cent and spent the extra
revenue on promotional activity?
For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/marketing.
Are there cheaper supplies elsewhere?
Would the suppliers you have already lined up be prepared to drop their
prices?
Can you negotiate savings without reducing your performance?
Can you renegotiate your lease or save money by moving to less central
premises?
Would increased use of IT reduce the cost of running your business? For
more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/ebusiness.

your target market (see
Researching your market,
p8).
 Your marketing and sales operations will be dependent upon customers
understanding the benefit. This is what the customer buys, not the product.
For example, a consumer doesn't want to buy a drill, they want the holes the
drill creates.
A computer promotion should show a customer the tasks they can complete
with a computer, not how it is manufactured.
 Working out what to charge is discussed in Pricing your product or service,
p14.
 You should know by now who your most important customers are going to be.
 Be careful to focus on the section of your customer base you are most likely
to be able to sell to. If a number of sectors seem promising, consider them
objectively and then prioritise them.
Concentrate on the 20 per cent of customers who will make up 80 per
cent of your business. Other peripheral customers will take up a lot of your
time for little reward. For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/
valuablecustomers.
www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/marketing
1.4 Once you have a firm
grasp of your product,
price and place, a
thorough evaluation of
your competition and the
anticipated strengths
and weaknesses of your
business (see 2 below) will
lead to the construction of
your promotion and your

only ‘natural’ option.
If a rival baker goes organic you
would then identify a further USP,
such as value for money or a
delivery service.
 Offering the lowest price for your
product or service can be a USP,
but it is dangerous to compete on
price alone.
Your established competitors may
have deeper pockets and start
a price war to keep you out of
the market. Find another USP to
concentrate on, if possible.
 With careful and creative thought,
you can turn many competitive
weaknesses into strengths.
For example, many small businesses
find it difficult to compete with large
companies on price. But the small
business can make a virtue of the
personal service it can offer ahead
of the larger business, and therefore
justify a higher price.
laying the groundwork :: marketing your business
powerful PR
Positive press coverage can
provide an invaluable boost for
a start-up. At an early stage,
effective PR can help let the

always think of the story from
their perspective – be able to
tell them immediately what it is
in your story that will interest
their readers or listeners.
 Although you need to be aware
of potential costs, it may
be worth considering using
a freelance PR agent to do
specific tasks, such as writing
and distributing a press release.
www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/marketing
22
3
building the
marketing plan
3.1 Your product or service.
What are the most
important elements?
3.2 Your target customers.
Who are they?
3.3 Your pricing.
3.4 Sales.
You need to know who will
do the selling.
3.5 Distribution.
How are you going to
deliver your product or
service to your customers?
3.6 Promotion.

 For more information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/saleschannels.
 Advertising and public relations are useful for building awareness of your
business. But make sure the media you are advertising in will reach your
target customers.
For example, if you are opening a cake shop, the food and drink page of your
local newspaper may be a useful place to advertise. An advertisement in the
local business magazine is unlikely to be as effective (see box, right).
An important form of advertising for small businesses can be buying an entry
in a directory such as Yellow Pages. To advertise in Yellow Pages, contact
0800 328 0028; www.yelldirect.com.
 A direct mail campaign can spread your message to potential customers.
While the costs of design, print and mailing can be high, it can be a useful
tool if your business is built around high sales volumes.
Names and addresses of consumers or businesses can be bought from
a range of companies – many are registered with the Direct Marketing
Association (020 7291 3300; www.dma.org.uk).
 Exhibitions can provide a direct route to customers, particularly for businesses
selling to other businesses. Make sure your target customers will attend.
Check with the organisers about previous attendance statistics. It is also worth
asking your competitors who have previously exhibited – most will tell you.
 Email marketing is a fast and effective way of getting your marketing message
across. You can instantly target customers without the delay and expense
associated with printing.
 Many companies promote themselves on the internet. This is a particularly
useful method if your business has limited face-to-face contact with its
customers. Sales can also be made via websites. The cost of setting up and
maintaining a website has come down significantly in recent years.
 For further information, visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/marketing.
laying the groundwork :: marketing your business
www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/marketing

than finding new business.
Check through your marketing plan and make sure you are avoiding some of
the most common mistakes.
 For example, a start-up printing firm can get business from smaller local firms but
is unlikely to get the entire print contract for a multinational company in year one.
 For example, don't call your business 'A2B' – call it 'A2B Delivery Services'.
 Ensure your research has proved there is a gap for your product and service
– and check it is exactly the gap you are filling.
 Do not presume you will sell 100
cars in year one and 1,000 cars in
year two. Cautious planning ensures
your business will survive; exceeding
realistic targets is a bonus.
 If you conducted your research a
year ago, the competition may have
changed. Keep up to date with who
is doing what in your sector.
Marketing is a continuous process.
To keep track of your progress and
how the market is changing, you will
need yardsticks and milestones that
mean something to you.
 What sales do you expect in your
first 12 months for each customer
or each type of customer?
 What sales do you expect from each
type of product or service?
 What sales growth should you aim
for?
 How much should you spend on

may be suitable if you supply
businesses or specialist groups.
There are a large variety of
publications offering accurate
targeting of well-defined and
committed readerships.
 Lifestyle magazines and hobby
magazines are particularly
useful for promoting consumer
goods, especially for mail order.
www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/marketing
24
6
everyday
marketing
6.1 You or your staff are the
company as far as the
customer is concerned.
Everything you say or do
creates either a good or
bad image.
6.2 Make sure that you are
self-marketing.
6.3 Make a point of asking
each new customer how
and where they heard
about the company.
6.4 If you are advertising or
sending out promotional
material, keep it consistent

environment, the more you will be able to anticipate change and turn threats
into opportunities.
 For example, small fashion retailers can source and sell summer clothes if
the sun starts to shine in April.
High street store chains will still have to wait until they receive their scheduled
delivery in June.
 Small companies can exploit niches and fragmented markets (eg gluten-free
foods, body-piercing) where large companies cannot make a profit.
 Building or acquiring new strengths – by recruiting appropriately skilled staff,
for example – can be a part of your business' growth strategy.
laying the groundwork :: marketing your business
www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/marketing