Dodo Loves Marketing

Licensing, registration and inspection

It is amazing how many businesses require some form of licensing, registration or inspection. Bed and breakfast establishments, for instance, may need to be inspected by fire officers, to be registered with the local authority, and may even need planning permission and official approval of their signs from local planning officers. That’s before they start taking on catering, in which case there is another host of rules to contend with. These rules have been set up for the public good, wisely or otherwise. But many people do not know about them. Unfortunately, ignorance is no defence and you could end up being fined heavily if, for instance, your kitchen is not up to environmental health standards for a catering business, or if you are an unregistered childminder. If you make toys which do not comply with safety standards or sell clothes without the correct labelling, you could also end up in hot water. ..more

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Once you’ve done your market research and worked out if you can make a profit from the business, the next step is to take advice. This will not only confirm whether your calculations are realistic, but can take a lot of the pain out of setting up. The good news is that there’s lots of advice available - and much of it is free. What’s more, experts on small businesses reckon that over 60 per cent of small business failures could be avoided if only people took advice in three areas - money, management and marketing.

1 TECs/LECs A good place to start is your local Training and Enterprise Council (TEC), or Local Enterprise Council (LEC) . These can also put you in touch with other helpful agencies; such as your local Enterprise Agency and Business Link. You can find them through your telephone book, Yellow Pages or local library. The Department of Trade and Industry also has a hotline. ..more

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There are thousands of grants and low interest loans available for small businesses. The problem is finding out what they are and whether your business qualifies. Some fields are more liberally provided with grants than others. For instance, the Crafts Council has a setting-up scheme which allows selected craftspeople to receive a grant of £2,500 for maintenance and up to £5,000 for equipment (they pay half of equipment costs), provided they apply within two years of setting up. While this would not cover your start-up costs entirely, it could certainly be a very useful addition. Other areas where grants may be forthcoming include : ..more

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‘Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.’

Have you ever tried to eat at a restaurant the day after it’s been well reviewed in the local newspaper? The lines can reach around the block; such is the power of free publicity.

In addition to increasing visibility in your community, press coverage can be copied and used as part of your mailing package to prospective clients. When your company appears in a magazine that is printed in four colours, have the front cover reprinted as well as the piece inside that is about you. The promotional effect of using a colour copy of the article is enormous compared to a dull black and white reprint. In this way the article about you becomes a permanent part of your promotional material and can be seen by people who missed it when it appeared in the media.

You can generate good publicity by taking the following steps:

1 Read through your local newspaper. Look at the length (number of words) of its articles and what subjects are seen to be of interest to its readers. If you live in a major metropolitan area, don’t limit yourself to the largest newspaper or the major radio or television stations. Study local suburban papers and smaller radio stations to determine if they are the right mediums for your news release. ..more

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