Manchester is a vibrant city with a lot to offer, and it’s also a great place for those with dreams of starting a business to pursue these ideas. Whether you want to start a home-based business and sell the majority of your products or services online, or you want to open a retail unit, restaurant, or set up an office, here are a few tips for budding entrepreneurs who want to get their start in the city.
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Market Research
The first place to start if you want to establish a new business is to carry out market research. You will need to see how well your business idea will do in the current market, and how much room it has to grow. You can begin by looking at your potential competitors in Manchester and the surrounding area, then consider more regional and national competition too. You’ll also need to think about what your overhead costs will be when running your start-up, so look into average costs for the type of business you want to start and look at possible suppliers and other professional services you might need to help you get your company up and running.
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Business Plan
Once you have carried out your research, you can start using this information to create your business plan. You will need to include your business branding ideas, how you intend to market your brand and products, highlight who your core demographic is, and include cash-flow forecasts indicating your predicted overhead costs and profits for at least the first year of trading, but preferably up to three years if you can. If you want advice on how to develop your business plan, there are plenty of online resources you can use, or reach out to services like the Business Growth Hub, which is based in Manchester.
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Stay on Top of Your Accounts
You must make sure that you’re managing your business finances effectively if you want to succeed. It can be easy to let these more administrative tasks slip through the cracks, particularly if you’re trying to manage the majority of business management tasks yourself, but you must keep your books up-to-date. Using accounting software can make this a lot easier for you as you can sync this to your business bank account. You can also use it for making tax digital so you can have peace of mind all the right taxes have been accounted for when you come to file your annual accounts with HMRC
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Develop a Marketing Strategy Early
A strong marketing strategy is key if you want your business to be successful. This is how you will boost brand visibility and attract new customers to try out your products and services. Having a good digital marketing strategy is a must in the modern era when so many consumers use search engines and even social media to find new brands that they will love. You might want to look at budgeting to hire a professional marketing agency to help you with this, particularly if you do not have previous marketing experience yourself.
If you are a budding entrepreneur in Manchester, use these tips to help you start putting your business ideas into action.
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