As we enter 2023, why not take advantage of the upcoming winter months to hunker down and make your business dreams a reality. The new year is a perfect time to get your business ideas off the ground. Here are the top tips for starting up a business in the new year.

Write a business plan

Maybe you’ve had your business plan in the works for a while, or maybe it’s still in the ideation phase. Wherever it’s currently at, you will need a comprehensive business plan in order to get started. A thorough business plan should consider what solution your business is offering, who is the target market, how you plan to reach them, and how much you will be selling your product or service for. 

Going deeper, you will need to consider the different stages of your business timeline, how much you expect to spend getting started, how much you intend to earn, and when you expect to break even. Assessing all of this before launching your business will help ensure that you have a viable business plan and that you have a product or service which is not only in demand but that is genuinely lucrative.

Consider funding

“Once you have developed your business plan, you will need to think about how you are going to pay for your business costs and fund your growth,” explains Richard Dent of funding platform, Finger Finance.

“To do this, first think about what you will need to spend in order to get your business up and running.”

“There are a range of different expenses required when getting started so make sure to be as thorough as possible when adding up the different costs. You may be able to self-fund your project for a certain amount of time but this probably can’t last forever.” 

“Look at your business plan to see at what stages you may require funding and plan whether you want to try and raise the money or borrow the capital. And, if it’s the latter, weigh up your different options including bank loans or approaching investors who might be interested in your business.”

Think about the ABCs of your business

Before setting up, you will need to have the fundamentals of your business clear. To start, your business location will be one of the most important decisions you’ll need to make – for example, depending on the nature of your business, it may make more sense to have brick-and-mortar premises which will affect paying for overheads such as rent and utilities. 

On the other hand, maybe it makes sense to launch an online store and, if this is the case, have a remote workforce. The choice you make will affect your taxes, legal requirements and could even impact your revenue.

“You will also need to decide how you are setting up your business legally,” explains Matt Sullivan of Harpsey.com.

“The decision to set up as a limited company or under your own name will impact your personal liability as well as how much you pay in taxes and the requirements for business registration.” 

No business can start without a name. This may sound like an easy step but choosing a name for your business can be challenging. You will want to choose a name that clearly reflects what product or service your business offers yet something that is also unique and something that future clients will remember easily.

Get your business registered

Once you have decided the legal structure of your business and have chosen the perfect name, you need to make it official in order to protect your brand. If you’re a sole trader, you do not need to register your business name. However, if you’re setting up as a limited company, this is an important step in the process. Sole traders will need to register for Self Assessment with HMRC in order to pay their taxes.