​16 top tips for starting up your own business

Who would have thought that in the last month I would have spoken to a total of eight friends and ex-colleagues who have been asking me for top tips about setting up their own consultancy?
 
In June, it will be five years since I started my business at my kitchen table.

That turned into a desk in our front room, and then we converted the small old wash house in our back garden into my Farrow & Ball painted space, with vintage apple-crate boxes for my shelving system, and our old dining table fashioned into an uber cool long workbench!

It was a big milestone and reinforced why the world demands offices, or at least designated separate office space, whether it's serene calm or funky co-working!
 
I have built up my consultancy business to advise some wonderful clients, and I haven’t looked back.

I tap into a brilliant network of suppliers: design & creative agencies, digital providers, print companies, photographers etc.  I’m in my office probably one to two days a week, and go out to clients on the other days.
 
I’m always so flattered to be asked for advice on starting up on your own – it means that hopefully I’m doing something right!
 
So I thought I would list the top things that I couldn’t live without and my top tips:

1. My Apple MacBook Air – light enough to carry around all day and a fast operating system!
2. Dropbox Pro – my saviour!  I store all my files here, securely and also have the Dropbox App which means I can access and files even if I don’t have my laptop to hand
3. 1and1 – I use this for hosting my website domains, plus my webmail - it links to my Mac Outlook.  But if I ever lost my MacBook, my emails are all there, securely
4. WordPress.com or Weebly.com – best websites for hosting, designing and importantly managing my website – super templates and customer service
5. iPhone 6 Plus – it’s big but I need the big screen as I use this so much when I’m out and about
6. Amazon.co.uk – I buy all my office stationery through here.  It’s delivered to my office and means I don’t have to lug back reams of A4 paper, or panic that I’m nearly out of printer ink!
7. Food shopping delivery – juggling family and work is great but any extra help you can get with home life is a bonus!  My weekly shop is brought to me by Ocado – a huge help and means on weekends, I’m not spending hours negotiating a busy supermarket and its car park!
8. Industry enewsletters - sign up to as many business & industry enewsletters - there's so much brilliant advice and knowledge sharing available out there that keeps you at the top of your game.  For me it's: Econsultancy, FT's Tech blog, Brand Republic, TED Talks etc
9. Do think about your business plan, your target clients/customers, your promise, your sectors
10. Do look at your logo, colour palette, font, tone of voice – how do you wish to be perceived and what will resonate with your target audience?  But be true to yourself – what's your story?  Really interrogate what you’re offering and selling
11. Do set up a slick website – it’s your shop window and always amazes me the number of people who don’t make the most of this obvious, cheap and so easy to create marketing tool
12. Do use social media: twitter is one of the noisest ones out there but it gives reach and there's some coding that can be easily imbedded into your website, thus giving you a very easy and uptodate snapshot of what you’re up to.  And never underestimate the power of LinkedIn – seek those client recommendations – word of mouth is key
13. Don’t be tempted to spend money on ordering reams of letterhead, with comps slips etc.  All my business correspondence is electronic so Word versions of letterhead and invoices are enough to get started.  My printed stationery is just business cards and with comps postcards - all easily ordered through the brilliant moo.com
14. If consulting, do spend money on Professional Indemnity insurance – it’s simply peace of mind for your clients and you.  I use Hiscox
15. Do start as a sole trader to get a feel for things, then progress to Limited when appropriate – get a great accountant, and I would say a local one to you who you trust
16. And lastly, to quote the wonderful Seth Godin, work out whether you are a "freelancer" or "entrepreneur": is your business for cash flow or a future saleable asset.  Read Seth's blog for more, all of which is still so true to today

 
Running your own business is brilliant, and if the last five years are anything to go by, I would recommend it to anyone.