The summer is a time when visitors come from all over the world to watch our famous sports events including Wimbledon, test cricket at The Oval and the UK Grand Prix at Silverstone. To the side of these visits, many are also researching the UK as a destination for their new business. The UK is now one of the easiest countries in the world to do business in but there are a number of essentials you must have in place before you can start trading if you are a non EU citizen. Visa You will need a Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa, or a Tier 1 Investor Visa. For the Entrepreneur Visa you will need to invest a minimum of £200,000 in your new business and employ yourself and at least two members of staff. For the Entrepreneur Visa you need to be prepared to invest at least £2m in the business. Business Idea You need to start with an idea of what product or service you want to sell. The first step is to think who might buy your product and why. You need a USP (Unique Selling … [Read more...]
Better budgeting in 10 steps
Many entrepreneurs and their management teams don't devote enough time or attention to the process of preparing annual budgets, especially when they operate in rapidly growing or uncertain markets. A financial plan in a private company is at risk of becoming gradually ignored over time, devaluing the operational benefits of measuring performance against budget and the process next time round. With a careful and efficient planning process a business will set a much clearer picture of where it is heading, knowing what to do at each stage to hit and exceed targets, but also how to react when these are missed. With the benefit of our collective experience of managing hundreds of budgets and plans, we have put together some top tips on making your budgets more robust, realistic and valuable. Get everyone involved - It is a common place misconception that your finance team puts a budget together. A business plan and its budget should be produced by the collective … [Read more...]
