Before you explore how to get funding for a new business of yours, the first step is to look at your own financial situation. One of the best sources of funding is your own money. You will be able to fully take control of your company’s financial transactions this way and present a more promising picture. If you have committed your own money, you will also be better able to persuade other investors of the viability of your Business Idea. It will help minimise the perceived risks for investors and open up more avenues of funding. After all if you aren’t backing yourself how do you expect others to.

When starting out, it is essential that you draw up a business budget as evidence to support your finance applications and to enable you to answer important questions from banks, lenders or investors. If you start small, you’ll be able to scale these budgets with your projected growth. Huw Moxon from Informi has shared his top tips and real-world examples to help you create your first business budget–read more here.

Decide How Much You Need

Drawing up a budget will enable you to see how much you actually need. A common mistake early-stage business owners often make is asking for too much money. Be realistic with growth plans and forecasts so that when you’re quizzed, you can back up your figures. As part of this plan, there may be different stages of funding that you will go through. This round may be to acquire premises, purchase machinery or get your branding designed. As you grow, there will be different needs, so be clear about what is essential now and what can be slotted in further down the line. Once you’ve come to a figure you feel confident about, it’s good to get some feedback from another business owner or mentor. Alternatively, search out your local growth hub; they can be a useful centralised information point and offer valuable resources, advice or signposting.

Short-Term Borrowing

After putting your plan in place, you may identify that you only require funding in the short-term. Generally, short-term lending means the money will be repaid within 12 months and is considered cash flow management rather than a financial investment.

• Invoice Financing –

  This is a great way to quickly free up cash on outstanding invoices owed to the business. As a smaller venture, you may have longer terms of payment on your invoices, leading to periods of poor cash flow. Invoice financing has become more flexible in recent years, with companies like Penny revolutionising the industry.

• A Short-Term Personal Loan –

  If the business hasn’t been operating long and you just need a small injection of cash to get you up and running, this is a good option. Ensure you have thought it through and can afford the repayments however things pan out. Your first port of call should be your bank. If you don’t have any luck there, we would advise consulting your local growth hub for alternatives.

Long-term Borrowing

If you decide a larger amount of money is needed, it’s important to do your research before signing on the dotted line. It is worth ensuring the company structure is in place to protect you, or that you have a backup plan if everything doesn’t proceed as predicted.

• Bank finance –

  the traditional route for many businesses. You can apply for a business loan with any high street bank. They will request documentation and forecasts from you and may require guarantees.

• Alternative debt finance –

  if you are turned down for a loan from your bank, there are other responsible lending agents out there. The application process is similar, but the interest rates may be slightly higher than a bank-backed business loan.

• Start-up loans –

  are government-backed loans where the borrower/s can each borrow up to £25,000 to a maximum of £100,000 for any one business. Critically, these loans are personal loans, and repayments will be made by the individual, not the business.

• Investors –

  this is referred to as equity capital and will require you to relinquish a portion of ownership. This could be a great way forward but can become complicated; more on this later.

• Crowdfunding –

  this is a fantastic way to raise capital that you don’t necessarily need to pay back in ‘money’. It is particularly effective for product-based ventures with a strong brand identity that people can get behind.f

There are many benefits to registering your business name and a few different options available to business owners looking to maximise this important asset. Start.biz have been helping budding entrepreneurs set up and protect their businesses for over 37 years. In this article, we’ll outline how to pick the perfect name, why you should register it and which protection is best for your situation and type of business.

How to Pick Your Business Name

As intellectual property (IP) protection and business set-up specialists, we understand how valuable a strong business name can be to the success of your venture. Some entrepreneurs have picked a name before they’ve chosen what the company will do, but others struggle with the decision. Over the years, we have registered thousands of business names and know the common pitfalls. In this section, we’ll outline what laws you need to be aware of, vital research to undergo and how the different types of brand protection should affect your decision process.

Are there any rules when naming my business?

Yes, there are laws in place in the UK to prevent offensive or misleading names from being used.

• Words that make your business sound like it is affiliated with the UK government or an official body cannot be used, for example, ‘British’, ‘National’, or ‘Parliament’. This is designed to prevent companies from marketing themselves as a governing body or influencing customers to buy because they believe it is a legal requirement for them to do so. Permissions can be applied for, but it is at the relative authorities’ discretion whether you will be allowed to use these words or not.
• Similarly, you can’t include a word that would be used to denote a status, like ‘charity’ or ‘trust’, unless you have officially registered as such.
• Restrictions also apply for accredited professions requiring a qualification, such as ‘Solicitors‘ or ‘Patent Agents’.
• Finally, there are regulations to hinder offensive names from being registered. This is one to watch if you are choosing a pun name for your business.

Test Your Business Name

Ask friends, family and colleagues about your potential business name to gain some insight into how potential customers might receive it. Listen to people’s feedback objectively, especially if they are your target audience. They may notice something that you haven’t. A good way to break it down is by doing the ‘Hear/Speak/See’ test.

• Hear – your name needs to be easy to understand and have a memorable element to make it stick in people’s heads.
• Speak – it needs to be simple to say and have a nice flow to the words. If folk enjoy saying the name, they will enjoy telling people about it.
• See – does it work visually? This will play into your branding and logo design.

How to Register Your Business Name in the UK

You’ve trusted the process and come up with the perfect name for your business. What is the best way to register it? This depends on a few factors. The main factor will be what status your business has and how much budget you have available. In this section, we’ll detail the three most common ways to register and protect your business name within the UK.

Business Name Registration (BNR) from Start.biz

BNR is a unique service from Start.biz and the National Business Register that protects your business name from ‘Passing Off’. The common law of ‘Passing Off’ stands to protect a trader’s goodwill and business against copying. Anyone can bring an action of ‘Passing Off’; however, with BNR, all representation, administration and legal fees up to £10,000 are covered. Business Name Registration is ideal for sole traders, limited companies and freelancers looking to protect their name and reputation. Find out how you can be protected for £100 per year here.

Forming a Limited Company

In the UK, you can register a business with Companies House, preventing anyone else from forming a limited company with exactly the same name. However, this doesn’t stop companies with similar names from registering. Seeking advice from a formation agent is advisable, as well as conducting some research into your competitors’ trading names.

Register a Trade Mark

A trade mark is a type of Intellectual Property (IP) connected with a particular company, product or service. Trade marks are something that customers recognise and associate with your good reputation and the quality of your product or service. These could be words, names, logos or designs. To register a trade mark in the UK, you have to make an application to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The process takes around 5 months, and your mark can be objected to and denied with no refund. We would always advise consulting an IP expert when applying to register a trade mark. They will be able to fill out the forms, advise on the likelihood of registration and defend your application against objections. Start.biz are trade mark specialists and have successfully registered thousands of marks for business owners, find out more here.

Conclusion

There are a few different ways to register your business in the UK. The best option for you depends on how you plan to run your company and what level of protection you need. Registering your business and your IP not only protects your business from imitation but also adds integrity, prestige and value–authenticating a brand’s identity. We would always recommend seeking professional advice when setting up your business to ensure your company is compliant and properly registered. This will put in place a solid foundation from which you can grow your business.