Before you embark on any business venture you must prepare the ground. It is important to cultivate an image which will leave a lasting impression on the people you deal with. This chapter sets out the important elements of the preparation necessary for success. They include:

Choosing Your Name

If you have already started your business you may well have decided on a name. This may be your own name or one you have given it. It is a good idea to choose the name with care. Your future marketing may be helped or hindered by the name you choose.

For example, let us suppose your name is John Nelson, you live in Brockenhurst and you are starting a business as a printer. You have an infinite number of options for naming your business. Here are a few:

• John Nelson Printers Ltd
• J N Printers Ltd
• Nelson Printers Ltd
• Brockenhurst Printers Ltd
• Masterprinters Ltd.

Now consider some advantages and disadvantages of these names.

‘John Nelson Printers Ltd’ immediately identifies the business with you. This is useful where the people you deal with know you. If they do not know you then ‘J N Printers Ltd’ is just as good. ‘Nelson Printers Ltd’ also identifies you and is shorter and easier to remember whereas ‘Brockenhurst Printers Ltd’ lets people know where the business is situated. Unless you later move but cannot find premises in Brockenhurst! ‘Masterprinters Ltd’ is a description of what you do but does not say who or where it is.

Imagine also your business expands in the future and you wish to move your works or open another branch in, say, Winchester. The identification with Brockenhurst then becomes a liability as Brockenhurst is no longer the home of the business.

So you see it is worth taking a little time in deciding what your business name is going to be. And remember to check with Companies House that the name you want is available. For full details of requirements you may need to refer to the Business Names Act 1985.

Opening Your Bank Account

It is essential for a business to operate its financial transactions by using a bank account. This has a number of advantages:

• It is a permanent and independent record of your transactions.
• It provides a place to put your money until it is needed.
• It enables you to get rid of excess cash if you are in a cash business.
• It allows you to pay the people you owe money to conveniently and efficiently.
• It enables you to secure a loan or an overdraft when this is necessary.
• It gives you access to a range of other services.

Banks, like any other business, are keen to get more customers. If you are starting a new business there is every chance that most banks will be offering generous terms for you to join them. For example, they may offer free banking for the first twelve months of trading. This will normally be only if you remain in credit, that is if you have some money in your account all the time.

Bank managers are human despite what some people may say. They are in business to make a profit just as you are and they want to see a sound business idea before they think of risking their money.

So if you are going to see a bank manager make sure you have done your homework first. He is interested in what you are going to do, where you are going to do it and how much money you are going to need to carry it out. These objectives must be clear in your mind.

Questions you should have answers to

• What will happen if your idea doesn’t work?
• What will happen if you do not get the sales you expect?
• How much money will you be putting into the business?
• How much do you expect to take out regularly to live on?

Be the master of the facts and give your bank manager the confidence that you really know what you are talking about.