Partner Article

Challenges of a business startup: Part II

I came up against a plethora of obstacles when it came to setting up my own business, and in part I of my story I talked about how frustrating this was for me just starting out. Now I have that off my chest I can move on from finance and on to the more hidden issues where there are some real opportunities to intervene in ways that wouldn’t break the bank (excuse the pun).

There is some great information out there… Companies House and the Patent Office are brilliant sources of the basics and I would advise anyone to start there (and by the way make sure you register your intellectual property early because as soon as you start talking to people about your business you expose yourself to being copied). There are also areas where information is opaque at best and almost deliberately baffling at worst ! I am thinking of health and safety regulations which is one area that is, frankly, a mess and not helped by the approach of my local Trading Standards office who seemed unable to give me a straight answer when I asked whether I was breaching any EU standards or regulations. Trading standards officers are in a great position to reach out to local businesses and provide all sorts of information and support and in my opinion we could be using them far more effectively as one of the few remaining in situ sources of Government advice.

The third issue that I believe has a profound impact on the UK’s ability to become an island of entrepreneurs is the British reserve, or a tendency towards assuming the worst. I can’t recall exact numbers but I can tell you that it seemed to me to be upwards of 80% of the people I met and talked to about my business in the early stages (whether that was potential suppliers, friends and even family) discouraged me from continuing on the basis that it would be so hard/ most people fail/ wouldn’t it be easier to go back to normal work etc etc.

The few exceptions are the ones that have kept me going and had faith in me (and you know who you are Victoria & Jas). I have a hypothesis that the negativity and presumed failure which budding entrepreneurs face when starting out is a major contributor to the failure rate of new businesses in the UK. Now I can’t provide any scientific proof of this hypothesis but (as a psychology graduate) I believe there are proxies for the same phenomenon that are well evidenced e.g.: if you tell a child they are no good at something they tend not to be. And there are examples of this in daily life - if you are riding a bike/ horse/ motorbike you will go in the direction you are looking ! Alongside this negativity is a reluctance or perhaps it is shyness in the UK to be sold to or to ask for business which seems to prevent those around you from helping to push your new product/ service etc.

This is not something our American friends, for example, suffer from and I am certain that this cultural difference is economically significant. I would encourage Government to invest a small amount of funding to properly research this cultural barrier because it is not until you shine a light on a subject that you see its true form and potential. Who knows where that might take us in terms of policy and programmes of support… maybe we could all be issued with a business start up coach whose job is to motivate, support and encourage entrepreneurs as well as point them in the right direction for information and advice ?

My last thought for Government is this – the age of celebrity and social media provides a fantastic opportunity for relatively cheap Government interventions that provide new and small businesses with a platform they would otherwise spend scare resources on or simply not use. Take a lead from the likes of Theo Paphitis who uses his Twitter following to promote new businesses every Sunday to great effect. We have also seen the commercial success of group selling websites such as Not on the High Street – again something that could be shaped into an effective public sector programme to help provide SMEs with a sales platform (and yes, competition regulations could be adhered to in the process).

And my very final thoughts are for anyone thinking about – or in the process of - starting a small business… if you really believe that you have something unique, different or simply better than your competitors and you have the drive and persistence to overcome whatever is thrown at you then go for it. Businesses can and do succeed every day in the UK and if you work hard and relentlessly pursue your vision you stand a really good chance of getting there. Listen to the advice and caution of others of course, but trust your own judgment to make the decisions you feel are right and if you really believe in it – don’t give up!

As for me, well I am now on the look- out for a investor to help me grow my business and crack the US market as Little Punk London goes global (I know, ambitious but then you’ve got to be – look at Simon Cowell)… I’ll keep you posted on what I find along the way.

Helen Keenan launched Little Punk London children’s clothing label in November 2012.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Helen Keenan .