The past 16 months have brought a great deal of turmoil into the lives of many of us. For some, it has been an opportunity to reassess their career and life goals. The Financial Times reports that the pandemic has ignited the UK’s strongest start-up boom in a decade, as redundancy and changing consumer patterns have opened new doors.

Whether out of necessity or because you want a lifestyle change, there are some great incentives to start your own business at the moment. Interest rates are low,  and there is plenty of government support available.

Combined with a population who are both far more comfortable buying online, and also keen to get back out and about in the real world, the opportunities are wide open for new business ideas. If you have an idea that you are committed to and you have done some market research, now may be the ideal time to take the next step.

Assess your finances

Of course, even great ideas with a ready market need some level of financial help to get them off the ground. Some will be relatively inexpensive; others will need to make outlays for equipment or premises.

Work out the base investment you couldn’t manage without, then the amount it would be helpful to have to improve the operation, and then anything that would be nice to have to make small improvements, but isn’t essential.

There are a number of ways to obtain finance for a start-up if you don’t want to risk your life savings. The Startup Loan Company is a government-back scheme where you can borrow up to £25,000 with a fixed interest rate of 6% p.a. There are also a range of business loans and bridging loans available from banks and other financial companies.

To be considered eligible for a loan, you will need to make a convincing business plan, including a profit and loss account, to show that your idea is viable. You will also need to plan how you are going track and manage your money once you start trading.

If you would like to speak to profit consultants, please get in touch today.