Business Helpsheets
Listed below are links to the business link online resource for businesses. All the links open in a new window.
Considering starting up?
- Starting a business from home
- Different approaches to starting your own business
- Research and develop your business ideas
- Prepare a business plan
- Common mistakes when starting up - and how to avoid them
- Buy a franchise
Finding and managing the money
- Choose the right finance when starting up
- Grants: the basics
- Innovation, research and development grants
- Grants and Support Directory - Search Tool
Business names & structures
Buying a business
Choosing and setting up premises
- Choose the right premises for your business
- Use your home as a workplace
- Renting business premises
- Buying business premises
Keeping the workplace safe and your employees healthy
- Your responsibilities for health and safety
- Assess your environmental compliance - Interactive Tool
- An overview of IT and e-commerce *
- Setting up a basic IT system
- Choose and manage your IT supplier
- Computer software: the basics
- Open source software
- Benefits of email and the internet
- Planning for e-commerce
- Get the right website for your business
- File returns online
- Business start-up organiser
Importing and exporting
Protecting your business & ideas
- Protecting intellectual property
- Security and crime prevention
- Find out how to protect your ideas
- Non-disclosure agreements
- Copyright for your business
- Get patent protection for your business
- Use trade marks in your business
- Design right and registration
- Overview of the court services
- Court processes and attending court
- Business start-up organiser
Contracts and suppliers
Sales and marketing
- Sales & marketing: the basics
- Comply with the law when buying and selling goods and services
- Know your customers' needs
- Market research and market reports
- Write a marketing plan
- Develop an e-marketing plan
- Web 2.0: a guide for business
- Search engine optimisation
- Online networking
- Forecast and plan your sales
- Understand your competitors
- Price your product or service
- Choosing the right advertising media
- Tender for a contract