Launching yourself onto a new, exciting business journey is a wonderful experience, although it
can easily become a very scary one too. If this is your first time running a small business, you
should know there is plenty of help and resources available to you, and you do not have to deal
with it all on your own. In this article, we are going to list 5 ways to find support for your small
business. Let’s get started!
1) Find a business mentor
Many business owners decide to run their business completely on their own, without any initial help
or advice. Nevertheless, counting on the help and expertise of a good mentor will allow you to save
lots of time and money, and achieve better results more rapidly.
Being able to talk to a qualified and honest expert in business growth will prevent your from making
wrong decisions and invest an unnecessary amount of time in the wrong things. Having a mentor
on your side will give you clarity and help you understand what you should prioritize in terms of
money and time.
The most important aspect of all, though, is that counting on a professional mentor will help you get
out of the “self-employed” mindset so that you can learn how to lead your business like a real
businessperson.Moreover, a good mentor is going to save you from undergoing a type of growth based on trial and
error, thus allowing you to go forward successfully and easily. Keep in mind that your mentor has
walked the very same path you are walking, and he has gathered precious experience so that you
don’t need to make the same mistakes he did.
Lastly, A good mentor will help you manage your entrepreneurial energy optimally and transform
your mindset so that your business can work as it should.
2) Know your small business grant options
It is always recommended to start looking for government-funded grants as soon as possible in
your business journey. You might be eligible for a start-up loan up to £ 250.000, or find out more
funding options at the British Business Bank’s Finance Hub. Moreover, the UK Government
provides many opportunities to get grants and funding, also providing support and advice for small
businesses. You can check the opportunities in your area on the Government’s website:
https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support?keywords=grant+for+small+businesses
Applying for grants as early as possible can allow you to decrease financial pressure and give you
a bit of breathing space when you start your business. It is also important to know that in the UK,
grants do not have to be paid back, unlike loans. This means that if your small business is eligible
for a regional or national grants, it can benefit from the funding without worrying about giving the
money back at a later time.
Since the type of grants available greatly varies from region to region, you can get in touch with
your local entities for further information, or seek the help of an accountant, who will also provide
you with tax advice.
3) Use a co-working space to meet professionals
Many entrepreneurs based in the UK are choosing to work from co-working spaces, shared offices
where different professionals come together in search of a flexible space, with the possibility of
connecting with other entrepreneurs. This option is nowadays way more popular than renting an
office, as co-working spaces allow professionals to become part of a network and feel that they are
part of a community.
Professionals are free to interact with each other and share ideas or fun projects. In other words,
co-working spaces are a fantastic way to create synergies between individuals.
Professionals are able to come into contact with different people they probably would not have had
a chance to meet otherwise, and learn from them. Moreover, working together with other
professionals allows you to look at your business from a different perspective, ending the isolation
many self-employed individuals feel on a daily basis.
A co-working community also facilitates the creation of workshops and events, whether for training
or leisure, and encourage interaction between members.
Lastly, the great feature of co-working spaces is that they can be used however you see fit:
monthly, daily or even hourly, according to the amount of time you plan on working on your
business.
4) Join a conference or training event for small business owners
Conferences, seminars and technical courses are an excellent way to get support for your small
business: you can join an online community of small/medium business owners and keep up to date
with yearly events and training sessions.
Many different exhibitions and events for small businesses happen every single year in the UK, so
you can check online whether new events are scheduled in your area. Just to name a few, you
might be interested in the International Franchise Show in London, The Festival of Marketing or the
Leicester Business Festival. All these events are open to business owners, influencers and
innovators.
5) Build your social media presence with LinkedIn
Learning to use social media to your advantage can provide tremendous help to your business.
Many companies are now focusing on building their social presence through LinkedIn, to maintain
a good reputation, to get to know their competitors, but also to get in touch with potential clients.
With regards to your business’ reputation, applications such as Company Buzz allow you you to
keep track of what people are saying about your business on platforms like Twitter.
You can install the application and customize your themes to see the most important tweets, trends and keywords.
An excellent way to build social media presence is by using the LinkedIn Answers section: the
feature provides a great opportunity for users to share their experience, as well as a link to pages
that can help answer others’ questions. If you are able to provide useful information, users will
remember your name and become potential clients, or be more likely to trust you and come to you
first when they need your services.
LinkedIn Ads is also a great tool to gain visibility: if you’re looking to complement your organic
marketing efforts with a little bit of paid advertisement, LinkedIn Ads is an option to consider.
We hope you enjoyed this list of ways to find support for your business. If you like this article, don’t
hesitate to share it with a friend of family member who is interested in finding support for their
businesses!
We hope you enjoyed this list of ways to find support for your business. If you like this article, don’t
hesitate to share it with a friend of family member who is interested in finding support for their
businesses!