New year, new business
Jan 12 2010
Looking through interviews with small business owners in our Success Stories channel, it’s interesting to see how pretty much all of them had to dig into their own pockets to get their idea up and running.
Tony Lutwyche used his own funds to set up his bespoke tailoring business Made in England, while Sue Scott-Horne had to use £30,000 of her own savings to start her educational resources company EGAR. In both cases, grants and loans for those businesses were obtained after that initial investment was made.
The classic route to raising finance remains to put everything on the line by remortgaging your house. That’s what Mia Woodford and Emma Leschallas did to set up online auction site Buy Once Give Twice, which provides a way for charities to raise money. They also sought investments from business angels, raising around £300,000 in the process.
For those who don’t have a property to remortgage or a spare few thousand pounds in the bank, clearly it’s going to be harder to start a business, but not impossible. Sanchita Saha received £2,500 from The Prince’s Trust to set up the networking site CitySocialising.com. From there she arranged a bank loan with a £20,000 overdraft facility and she went on to raise an impressive £260,000 of early-stage investment to take her company to the next level.
Matt Bingham, on the other hand, was made redundant but was fortunate – and persuasive – enough to receive a little financial help from a friend to establish training company Red Cloud Photography Days. Becoming an entrepreneur has made a huge difference to the quality of his life. ‘If someone has the right idea, it’s definitely something they should think about doing,’ he says.
If your new year’s resolution is to start a business in 2010, but you’re not sure how, take some time to read these interviews and gain an insight into how new businesses are being created in the UK every day.
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