Skip to main content
Helping your business to Start, Grow and Develop.

Search

For a successful business, you need a viable business idea, the skills to make it work and the funding. Discover whether your idea has what it takes.

Forming your business correctly is essential to ensure you are protected and you comply with the rules. Learn how to set up your business.

Advice on protecting your wellbeing, self-confidence and mental health from the pressures of starting and running a business.

Learn why business planning is an essential exercise if your business is to start and grow successfully, attract funding or target new markets.

It is likely you will need funding to start your business unless you have your own money. Discover some of the main sources of start up funding.

Businesses and individuals must account for and pay various taxes. Understand your tax obligations and how to file, account and pay any taxes you owe.

Businesses are required to comply with a wide range of business laws. We introduce the main rules and regulations you must comply with.

Marketing matters. It drives sales and helps promote your brand and products. Discover how to market your business and reach your target customers.

Some businesses need a high street location whilst others can be run from home. Understand the key factors from cost to location, size to security.

Your employees can your biggest asset. They can also be your biggest challenge. We explain how to recruitment and manage staff successfully.

It is likely your business could not function without some form of IT. Learn how to specify, buy, maintain and secure your business IT.

Few businesses manage the leap from start up to high-growth business. Learn what it takes to scale up and take your business to the next level.

Essential checklist for exhibitors

Exhibitions can be a great place to meet potential customers face-to-face. Here are the key steps to exhibition success.

  • Clarify your event objectives - for example, to collect leads, meet existing customers, make direct sales, or network with other businesses.
  • Choose an exhibition that will attract your target audience, and take into account the exhibition’s reputation, location, size and publicity plans.
  • Consider whether the timing suits your plans and existing workload.
  • Assess how cost-effective it will be: compare expected benefits with the costs of exhibiting, including staffing your stand.
  • Book early to ensure that you are included in the organisers’ publicity material.
  • Book a space which will suit your proposed display; consider which locations in the venue offer the most cost-effective exposure.
  • Decide whether to use the organisers’ shell scheme, or design and use your own stand.
  • Start planning well in advance: organise marketing literature, signage,  product samples and any promotional gifts, plan the layout of your stand and find out what facilities are available (eg storage and security, lighting, power points, broadband access and refreshments).
  • Before the exhibition, promote your attendance to current and potential customers (for example, by advertising, in your email newsletters, in the press or with VIP tickets).
  • Decide in advance how you will respond to different visitors - for example, potential customers, existing customers, suppliers, industry VIPs and competitors looking for information.
  • Select personable, knowledgeable employees for the stand, and provide sales training if necessary; take enough people to allow for breaks.
  • During the exhibition, let visitors browse briefly before approaching them to identify who they are and what their interest is.
  • Arrange to follow up; as a minimum, record the name, job title, contact details and area of interest of each potential customer.
  • Consider using the organisers’ list of attendees, as well as your own records, to contact people after the exhibition (as long as they have consented to this).

Stay up-to-date with business advice and news

Sign up to this lively and colourful newsletter for new and more established small businesses.