Running your own business can be both rewarding and hard work. If you are thinking about going it alone then you will need to ensure that you have thought about a number of points before proceeding. There are often many risks involved in setting up a business and you may also have to invest a large sum of money to get it off the ground. You may have to take out a loan to cover the costs, borrow money off a family member or dig into sayings. If the business doesn’t work you may still need to find a way to pay this money back or recoup your savings.

Ideally you should create a business plan before proceeding with any business and if you are approaching banks etc for a loan, then they will want to see this. A business plan will allow you to go through step by step and think about each area, there will be sections for finance and forecasts, market research as well as marketing plans. Marketing and competitor analysis is vital to any business and therefore should not be done lightly. It is also important to check that you can be competitively priced whilst still making a profit.