Small Business Saturday Blog

If you’re thinking of starting your own business, firstly congratulations! I know it can be scary. How do I know? I’m doing it, too.When I wrote this, I was four weeks into working for myself, and I want to share what I’ve learned by that point. Hopefully, reading this will make the process a little less scary for you.1. Help from family and friendsThey may not know what you do on a daily basis, or may not understand why you want to work for yourself. BUT, they are a wonderful source of support. My husband has been with me every step of the way. He’s having to listen to me thinking out loud about what services I should offer, about what my branding should look like, really anything to do with my work.The same goes for friends. I really feel supported by my friends, who also want me to succeed. Some are even looking for business for me!So, don’t think that just because you’re going to work for yourself that you’re on your own. You’re not. Your family and friends are there for you, so make the most of the support they’re willing to give you.2. Keep in touch with your business contactsIf, like me, you’re going to leave your job to start your business, look at the contacts you’ve already made to see if any of them can help you. You’ll be surprised at how willing people are to help out, especially if you already have a great relationship.My last job at Constant Contact put me in touch with some great organisations that help small businesses. One of these is Small Business Saturday. Having heard that I’m starting my own business, they have been very supportive and offered advice and the opportunity to write for them. And here I am, writing for them! How great is that?3. Rely on expertsJust because you’re only at the start of your business journey, don’t discount how experts can help you. Whether it’s a chartered accountant, an IT specialist or someone who has been running their business for years, the knowledge they have can really turbo boost your set up.I have a friend who ran her own marketing consultancy and she helped me to figure out my offering. She’s literally taken weeks off my services development. I still have a lot of hard work to do to get set up, but she’s really helped accelerate that.4. Don’t think, doThere’s a lot to be said about putting words into action. Don’t spend too much time thinking about what you should do. Start doing stuff. Even if it’s getting down on paper what you’ll offer, working out what should be on your website, or grabbing your business name on the social channels you want to use. Act on it today!Actually seeing things happening will spur you on to get the next thing done, and you’ll see your business take shape in front of your eyes.5. 80% is good enoughA manager of mine once told me about the 80/20 rule. It not only changed the way I looked at my work, but also gave me the freedom to just try things.If you’ve not heard of it, then simply put, whatever you’re trying for your business, if it’s 80% there, then get it in front of the world. Beit your website, a brochure, your branding. It will all evolve as you & your business evolve and grow. Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect, 80% of the way there is OK.6. Organise your timeHaving an expanse of day in front of you can be daunting. So use whatever means suit you to make sure you get the most out of your day.For me, this means using the same methods I used when I worked for someone else. I block out time in my Google Calendar for all my tasks. I did it for writing this blog post. Oh, and I stick to it. Of course, something may crop up that needs to be dealt with, and that’s OK. Just reschedule the task to another time.Being organised will mean that you’ll get more done and get up and running faster.Bonus tipGet out and about. Working for yourself can mean spending A LOT of time on your own. Make sure you get out and about. I’m going to the gym more, I actually go to the supermarket rather than order in a shop, and planning on seeing more of family and friends.I hope my experience so far will help you with your own start-up. If you want to share your experiences, I’d love to hear and learn from you. Find me at @Minal2804 or on my Facebook Page: Marketing by Minal.Minal is a marketer with over 15 years’ experience of working for national and international companies, most latterly Constant Contact, a leading email marketing provider. Having worked with 1000s of SMEs whilst at Constant Contact, Minal decided to start Marketing by Minal, making her marketing expertise accessible to SMEs that want to give their marketing more focus.

We are pleased to announce Dylan O’Neil from Indeed to run a four-part series of workshops in the Small Business Saturday Headquarters at Somerset House on 'Expanding your business - Taking the first steps in recruitment'.In this series Indeed, the world's #1 source of external hires, will provide great tips for small businesses looking to find great employees to help their business grow. From writing your first job description to deciding where to advertise your jobs, Indeed will share insights they have gained from analysing job seeker behaviour across the UK.The first workshop in the series will be giving Tips for Top Notch Job Content from 11:45am on October 22nd.The second workshop in the series will be presenting How People Search for Jobs Today from 11:45am on October 29th.The third workshop in the series will be on Investing to Reach the Best Talent from 11:45am on November 17th.The fourth workshop in the series will be on Measuring for Success from 11:45am on November 30th.The events are free for small businesses to attend and will be an hour long with opportunities for questions. They will be live streamed on Periscope with real time Twitter Q&A, so even if you are not in the room you can still get involved. Make sure you follow @SmallBizSat for updates.For more information and to register attendance please visit the links above.With thanks to Indeed for the support of these workshops.

At We Are Pop Up we are passionate about creating connections between independent businesses and creative minds that are ready to embrace a new approach to retail. With ShopShare collaborations you can discover a whole new world of entrepreneurial possibilities.In our last article, we spoke about how new retail partnerships with ShopShare may be the perfect move for you and your business. This time around we wanted to dig a little deeper and talk about some of the amazing collaborations that are emerging as tenants pop up in shared spaces, and how you can get a slice of the action by making sure you pick the right brand match.Whilst a ShopShare can provide excellent opportunities for both parties involved, it is very important that there is a good synergy for you to both make the most of the relationship. It’s not as simple as finding a brand, it is also about making sure it’s the right fit - that the space and product together attract the right customers. We Are Pop Up have put together some top tips on making sure that this partnership is a fruitful one.Have a clear vision Many businesses use ShopShare as a way of finding new, emerging designers to strengthen their shop with products that have never been seen before. Glassworks was born from the idea to create a fashion destination for modern women, so Director Lauren Lewis offered up her Shoreditch and Dalston shops as a ShopShare to work with other collaborators who fit the brand aesthetic. They have now hosted over 17 fashion and accessories ShopShare pop-ups in little over a year. Including the likes of Be-Snazzy, Urbiana and Suite Hazen, Glassworks continues to create partnerships with exciting new brands in their goal of discovering talent.Get the mix rightHaving the right fit is important to ShopShare success. Chris Shelley, Manager of Lanna, a jewellery shop in Notting Hill, collaborated with Dar Leone, a globally inspired range of homeware and lifestyle products. “When Dar Leone approached me I knew her jewellery designs would fit right in. I think it’s important to get that mix right, otherwise it’ll make the shop look a bit odd and won’t be a good selling experience for the pop-up.” Creating a dynamic like this means brands can seamlessly link in with your existing products, enhancing your overall brand story as well as theirs.Use your imaginationThinking outside the box can also make for interesting and eye-catching matches. McQueens florists and Black Vanilla gelato joined forces to create a unique ShopShare, collaborating to make gelato flavours inspired by floral scents – English Rose Petals, Mint and Lime, and Madagascan Vanilla. The romanticism and beauty of both products coming together made it an excellent match, and its originality captured the imagination of local media helping both businesses gain significant attention from the press.Match your demographicsLike all collaborations, finding the right partnership is essential to ensuring the success of a ShopShare. Pip Black, founder of dance, fitness and holistic studio Frame wanted to create a unique experience for her clients by offering cold-press juices and smoothies after classes. Through We Are Pop Up she met Blend & Press Founder Emma Wood, and their ShopShare collaboration was born. The brand fit was ideal due to their coinciding visions, with Pip adding that “there’s nothing worse than working with a brand that’s trying to talk to a different demographic.”Emma popped up at Frame Shoreditch serving her nutritious, organic juices enhanced with herbs and supplements to Frame’s health-conscious clientele. “It was a great opportunity to start a business on a budget and the client exposure was amazing. Our brands fitted perfectly together and it gave Frame's customers an added benefit to their workout experience.” Off the success of her ShopShare with Frame Emma went on the work with high profile clients including Nike, Twitter and London Fashion Week, before going on to set up her own standalone pop-up in the heart of Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden.It’s important to take your time to discover the right fit with a brand that suits your business, whose creative vision is in tune with yours and wants to target the right kind of people. Whether you are looking for new collaborations for Small Business Saturday or for any other day of the year, We Are Pop Up offers an enormous range of ShopShare opportunities available to help turn your dream into a reality. Browse our hundreds of projects now and start your own perfect partnership.By Anna Trotter, We Are Pop Up

When people are planning to start a business, they are often looking for external support – for someone to guide them on their journey, to give them a few pointers and to reassure them as they take their brave first steps into self-employment.Others go ahead without consulting anyone or taking any external advice.  Whilst both methods can work, we would actively encourage anyone thinking about setting up a business to get some support in advance – the benefits are clear, those who do seek external support when starting out are much more likely to survive and thrive than those who don’t – so if you want your business to have the best possible chance of success then what harm can it do?What support is out there?Enterprise support providers are operating all across the country. They are there to help people looking to start up or already running a small business, providing a wide range of help and support. From answering simple questions, to offering sessions with business advisers on matters such as small business planning, marketing and finance.Often they will have a variety of workshops on topics relevant to new small businesses; they may have access to loan funds which will help you when starting up – they will also have a good handle on all the other financial support which might be available to you locally.Enterprise support providers can offer a variety of networking opportunities which will put you in direct contact with other people setting out on their own: people who you can share experiences with and more importantly who could become trading partners. Many enterprise support providers operate managed workspace or incubation facilities and so if you’re looking for good quality premises with support on tap – look no further!There continues to be an increase in the demand for enterprise support services. People looking to set up a small business are calling upon membership to provide them with the independent support, advice and training that they need.National Enterprise Network’s online business support directory, launched in May 2014, aims to help people looking for core support in starting up.  The directory signposts organisations operating directly in a local area that can offer start-up advice and support. It is organised by region and searchable by local authority area, making it an extremely easy search facility.National Enterprise Network members are locally rooted in the communities they serve, so they know first-hand the opportunities that exist locally. For anyone thinking about starting a small business, enterprise support services such as ourselves can start a conversation, essentially an independent expert on your doorstep, to understand more about your requirements, your ambitions and aspirations and look to support you with a package of support according, much of which is free or heavily subsidised.By Sue Fletcher from National Enterprise Network, who offer an email or telephone signposting service: 01908 605130 or email enquiries@nationalenterprisenetwork.org.