So you have had a brilliant idea for a business, you’ve done the research and found there is a market and decided this is something you really want to do.
You then need to decide on what format your business will take and consider other matters such as accounting, staffing, location and licences – look at the advice on www.gov.uk/set-up-business and more general advice on www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline.
Still want to start your business?
What is the next thing to think about?
Name Come up with a long list of possible names. To help you shortlist, do internet searches for each possibility and see if there is someone else with the same name and check Companies House and see if the name is registered. Also check on web domain companies to see if the name is used in a domain already. Once you’ve crossed off the impossibles, you can then look again at your possibles.
Double check the internet for reviews with the same name – a list of ghastly reviews for a something anywhere with the same name could be a turn off for potential customers.
What’s in a name? It’s really good to have a story behind your name – it doesn’t have to have anything at all to do with the type business, it could be the name of your first pet, or a word based on a favourite quotation, or anything that actually means something to you. You can always add an explanation to the name such as Rex Computer Services. A bit of research around the subject of your business is good – the history behind it, any notable names linked to it, any images that immediately crop up when you do internet searches.
Branding and identity Your name becomes your brand. The story behind the name can help with the identity of your brand. If you’ve named Rex Computer services after your first dog, the dog could become your brand identity.
Website A website that can be viewed on a mobile, tablet and desktop not only helps potential customers to firstly find out about your business, but also adds legitimacy to your business and helps to reinforce your brand and identity.
Social media Many people will immediately search on social media for your business to look for reviews, more information and to find out a bit about you personally. If you don’t have time to spend on regular updates, there are lots of companies out there that can do this for you. A simple Facebook page, Twitter account and linkedIn profile with your company name, details, branding and identity is a good starting point. Remember not to use these solely as a selling platform – mix in personal posts and photos so potential customers get to know you – and interact with other accounts.
Business cards and promotional literature When you are starting out you need to get the word out there as many ways as possible. Always have business cards with you – you’ll be really keen to talk about your business so make sure you hand over a card to everyone you speak to about it. Even if they are not interested in using your services, they may well know someone who is. Leaflets, brochures and other promotional literature are good for direct mail campaigns, instantly handing over more information at face to face meetings, and great to leave in suitable venues for passing potential customers.
Stationery It may seem old fashioned to have printed letterheads, but sometimes you do need to provide your registered company address and other details on a business letterhead. It is also a good introduction to other local business to send an individual letter on your new letterhead. Remember, the more often your brand and identity is seen, the more likely it is that a potential customer will start to recognise it and remember you and your business.
Advertising and signage There are lots of different ways to advertise yourself. Posters, banners, signage if you have a shop front, magazine adverts, newspaper articles. If you have a company vehicle or van, it is a large, free advertising hoarding – get vehicle signage. Spread the word, shout about what you do and get yourself noticed.
So, how can we help you?
We can help with name ideas, branding, identity, promotion, print, signage and websites. We can also suggest some experts to help with social media and marketing.
Have a look at our branding website, By Jimbo! to see some examples of Jim’s work. We have created some great affordable starter websites and of course we specialise in design and print. We won’t persuade you to go full steam ahead with a load of printing that may not suit you at the present moment – we want your business to flourish so we will give you honest advice. We don’t profess to be experts in all aspects of starting a business but we’ve seen a lot of start-ups come through our doors over the past 16 years and we’re good at what we do.
Talk to us when you feel you’re ready to go – we actually love helping to come up with names too, so if you’re struggling, have a word!
Our dreams of running our own festival started to come true when we were successful in a bid for lottery funding in 2017. Summer Trifle was born. A 2 week mini arts festival in our own grounds in Wilmington, East Sussex, which we repeated in August 2018.
Part of the bid was for publicity, something we know to be a major part of any event, having been involved in the Hailsham Festival of Arts and Culture for many years. To attract sufficient numbers of visitors, you need to get the word out about your event. We designed and printed fliers, posters, leaflets, maps and programmes and created advertisements for various printed and digital publications and social media campaigns. Having learned lessons about our audience (here comes that word…) demographic in 2017, we were able to target our advertising more effectively. By far the most successful piece of the advertising campaign was the printed programme.
Our festival programmes (folded leaflets) are distributed widely to all sorts of different venues: galleries, shops, music venues, pubs, Tourist Information Centres, libraries, campsites, local attractions, hotels, cafes, waiting rooms and fast food outlets. They either go on display on tables or in leaflet dispensers, often alongside many other brochures and leaflets, so the important elements need to be eye catching and visible.
Tips:
One third A4 size is a good standard size which fits into most dispensers and doesn’t slip down behind other leaflets. Ours are A3 double sided, folded to 1/3 A4.
A really distinctive cover image draws the eye and increases the chance of your leaflet being picked up.
Consistency in colour and style in all of your publicity helps to build your brand, making your event easily recognisable and memorable.
In October 2016 we decided to leave our offices in Hailsham High Street and work from a home office. One year on and we are still very much in evidence on the High Street. You can’t turn a corner in the town without seeing something that we have designed or printed.
Once again we were very happy to be on the committee for the annual Hailsham Festival of Arts & Culture and were involved with several of the events. The pop-up-shop in the middle of the High Street had posters, banners, leaflets and programmes, many of which were designed by us. We promoted the Dicker Players productions at Hailsham Pavilion (OK, yes, we performed too!) and helped to organise the 3 Minute Flix movie competition, again at the Hailsham Pavilion.
Some of our local clients include Highcroft Veterinary Group, Hailsham Jewellers, Hailsham Town Council, CMA Karate, What’s On in Hailsham, ESAB, Smythe and Barrie, Ross & Co, Quinnel House, Marlow Ropes, MFC Supplies, Hook & Sons, Hailsham FM, Howdens Joinery, Millies, Firefly Tattoo Company, Experience Holidays, Rare Repro and the Arlington Bluebell Walk, amongst many other small and large businesses, local and national.
So, even though we are working in a small studio surrounded by the trees of Arlington, we are still very much in evidence in the town of Hailsham.
One in our series of questions and answers regarding design and promotion
Q: I am starting a gardening business and want lots of leaflets to put through doors . I will just put my mobile number on it for now as I haven’t set up a website yet. What other information should I put on the leaflets?
A: Well the question should perhaps be “What information don’t I need?” It’s very easy to include too much information which will make your leaflet about as interesting as ….. watching grass grow.
You don’t need your postal address on leaflets, although if you want to concentrate on attracting local customers it’s often a good idea to let them know what area you cover.
You don’t need a complete list of every service you do. Many gardening services will be a given, so by all means include popular things, but try think about what sets you aside from other gardening business – maybe it’s your qualifications, or perhaps you have a particular specialism, such as vegetable gardens.
Finally, to answer your actual question, I would suggest you do include:
A logo. It wants to be easy on the eye and have some kind of garden reference such as, I don’t know, er, perhaps, a flower!
In large text “Garden Services” at the top
Use a photograph of a garden or flowers if you can
Bullet points of what services you offer (see above)
Finish off with a big clear contact number and something along the lines of “call (your name) for a free friendly chat about your garden”