Skip to main content
Guiding you to a better future

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.

Top tips from Community Interest Company Miss Macaroon

Many of us at some point have had an idea we believe would provide the basis for a profitable business, but is having a great idea enough to succeed as an entrepreneur? And do you really need a new idea? After all, haven't some of the most successful entrepreneurs just improved existing ideas or delivered existing products and services differently?

So how can would-be entrepreneurs turn their dream into a reality? The National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs and Santander have joined with some of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs to offer advice on all aspects of starting up, regardless of business type.

 

Rosie Ginday is the founder of Miss Macaroon, a social initiative and baking company that helps ex-offenders get back into to the world of work. A professional chef who trained under the Michelin-starred Glynn Purnell, Rosie left behind her successful job creating culinary delights for a prestigious hotel to set up Miss Macaroon when she was just 26. So what has she learned about starting and running her own social enterprise?

Stay up-to-date with business advice and news

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