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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.

Business planning

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

Resource topics

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A business plan outlines your strategy - from your market and finances to your staff and marketing activities. Our guide to writing a great business plan.
A business plan is the roadmap for how you run your business. Here's how to write yours.
No-nonsense jargon buster explaining many of the key start-up words and terms you might come across when starting, forming and running your business.
Answers to your key questions on writing a business plan including how to outline your idea, strategy and financial plan for achieving your aims.
Unless you are happy as you are, you will be looking for ways to develop and grow your business. These ten steps will lead you in the right direction.
Writing a business plan can seem daunting if you've never done it before but you can't afford to put it off. Here's how to get it right.
Boosting profitability depends on doing many little things better than the competition. Our guide to making your business more profitable.
Profitability needs to be the key long-term aim of any business. Follow our helpful tips to ensure you have the best chance of making profits.
Firms are always searching for ways to trim their costs and increase their profits, in good times and in bad. Make your business leaner and fitter.
Once you've come up with the idea for a new product or service, you need to develop it, test it and take it to market. Our guide to the key steps.
Innovating isn't a luxury, but an essential if you don't want to be left behind. How to use innovation to improve and expand your products.
To make good management decisions, you need clear information on how your business is performing. How to identify and monitor key business drivers.
Key performance indicators can help you measure how your business is performing in particular areas, so that you can track and improve this over time.
Although the rate of business failures is dropping, failures are still well above the rates seen before the start of the economic crisis.
Benchmarking provides a way to measure how effective your processes are, compared to competitors. Here's how to set up benchmarking in your business.